4 Ways To Organize Your Life & Home With The 'KonMari Method' So You Can Stop Feeling Like A Hot Mess
Take control of your stuff!
by Renato Abati from Pexels Learning how to organize your life and home can be easy if you ditch the clutter.
If you've gotten the idea to declutter your home, whether it's just to clean it or to "KonMari" (Marie Kondo's method for tidying up) it and see what sparks joy, then you may wonder where to start.
There are a lot of misconceptions around how to live a less cluttered life, like needing to go minimalist, or how feeling overwhelmed by your clutter means that you’ll never dig out.
But the truth of the matter is this: Sometimes the simple things help tremendously. That’s why some of the best clearing clutter tips are, on the surface at least, deceptively simple.
I promise when you dig in, though, you’ll see the beauty of them. And in addition to being simple, these clearing clutter tips allow you to begin building habits that lead to a less-cluttered home.
These 4 clearing clutter tips will help tame the chaos and get your through your KonMari cleaning frenzy with ease:
1. Make your bed
One of the best habits you can create is to make your bed each day. Making your bed each morning begins your day with the gift of completion. You're reminding yourself that you can accomplish things.
When you struggle with clutter, that inner voice says you’ll never have a tidy home. This proves that you do have the ability to complete a task. And that even if other areas of the house are cluttered, you have one safe space.
I suggest you do this before you head to the office. And if you work from home, you should make the bed before lunch. For those parents out there, having a child get in the habit of making their bed sets them up for success.
Don’t underestimate the power of making your bed. Everyone likes to come home to a neat and tidy space. By making your bed before you begin to work, you are blessing your home and honoring yourself.
Adding small rituals of opening and closure to your day gives tremendous value to your mind and soul.
2. Identify your "hot spots"
You likely have spaces in your home that seem to be a magnet for stuff.
Usually, it’s a flat surface, like a coffee table, your nightstand, or a kitchen island. You put something there that's convenient in the moment, and you mean to come back to it later.
The problem with this is that once you put something there? It invites other things to get piled on top.
If you aren’t careful, soon you have just a big pile of stuff! Yep, a hot spot soon grows into a big ole out of control fire of clutter. And clutter will always distract you from what’s important.
The first step is to identify your hot spot. Then commit to making that spot clutter-free at least once a week.
3. Make your bedroom a "sacred space"
Your bedroom is the place where you should feel safe to be naked — both literally and figuratively. You sleep there, make love there, and often dress there. You also let down your inhibitions and allow your mind to go to the places your dreams take you.
Your bedroom is not for surfing the internet or working. Nor is your bedroom a dumping ground or a storage place for all the laundry that needs folding.
Your bedroom is one of the most sacred spaces in your home. And, darling, you deserve for it to be serene.
Next, rid your bedroom of everything that doesn’t belong in there. Grab a laundry basket and clear every flat surface of excess. This includes your nightstand, your dresser, and any chairs.
Anything that doesn’t say: sleep, rest, sex, or comfort goes.
When you commit to having a clutter-free bedroom you'll begin to understand what it’s like to experience a clean and tidy space. By transforming your bedroom to a space that feels nourishing, you gain inspiration and momentum to work on other spaces.
Because you’ve proven to yourself you can do it.
4. Create a "launchpad" area
One of the biggest challenges to having a natural tendency for clutter is getting out of the house on time. You can’t find your keys. Your little one can’t find their shoes. Homework is always somewhere other than the backpack.
When it comes to managing clutter, I’m sure you’ve heard the phrase: “Everything in its place and a place for everything.”
One of the biggest detriments to getting out the door with more ease is not having a place that everything “lives.” That’s why you need a launchpad.
Designate a place for each person in your home to drop their important things (backpack, purse, briefcase, etc) when they walk in the door. Make it a rule, make it a habit. And as part of your evening routine, make sure everything that’s needed in the morning is in that same space.
Everything you need to take with you when you leave the house needs to be there. Everything goes there — keys, purses, etc.
Yes, that means that books and homework that were pulled out of the backpack need to be put back. And for adults (or teens) make sure your launchpad has a place to charge your phone (it doesn’t need to be by your bed, anyway).
Help younger children out by having a secondary launchpad in their room for their clothes. Before bed, help pick out clothes for the next day and stage them there (yes, along with socks and shoes).
Because no one needs to lose their head rushing around looking for what they need in the morning.
If you commit to following all four of these clearing clutter tips, you’ll build habits that help you have a tidier home.
When you take these clearing clutter tips and allow them to help you create new habits, you'll begin to prove to that critical voice in your head that you are capable of tidying up.
Building good habits that stick also helps remind you that you're capable of discipline. And success at something that feels challenging also builds confidence in yourself.
And when you prove to yourself you can do it? You, my darling, will be unstoppable.
Debra Smouse is a life coach and author who discovered that when she cleared her clutter, it was easier to love her life.