So what is the KonMari Method?

Well, I had no idea until I picked up The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up: The Japanese Art of Decluttering and Organizing at a bookstore in the airport while waiting for a recent flight. I was looking for a good read for my trip, so naturally, the best seller rack was where I headed. Now, I’m not a big fan of thrillers or romances (unless it’s related to Fifty Shades;) so that ruled the majority out. When I stumbled on The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up: The Japanese Art of Decluttering and Organizing, I remembered reading something about it in a fellow bloggers post related to the KonMari Method, so it intrigued me. Who wouldn’t want a tidy life, right!?

Learning More

I’ll be honest, I finished her first book in 48 hours and ordered the second, Spark Joy: An Illustrated Master Class on the Art of Organizing and Tidying Up, as soon as I got home. It was not that it was one of those heart grabbing or exciting novels but triggered a different excitement, the possibility of a decluttered life! Marie takes you through her life beginning in childhood, where her love of organization began. The part I appreciated the most was her trial and error confessions. I can’t explain how much I hate when books on this topic list specifically how many of an item you should have or where you should store items, Marie is different. She simply explains how to determine which items you should keep and the best ways she has found to organize them without any fancy storage fads items. Her method is strict on the order in which you need to begin the process and when you start reading she thoroughly explains why. The main takeaway from this book is only to keep those items that “spark joy”. At first, I thought this was nuts, how can an item “spark joy”! Marie explained it well and showed how to make a somewhat negative activity,  a positive one ultimately making a believer out of me.

Spark Joy: An Illustrated Master Class on the Art of Organizing and Tidying Up takes her teaching a step further giving specific details, everything from how to fold your clothing to how to hang items in your closet properly. She includes maps and diagrams to guide you through the process from start to finish as well as encouragement along the way. Additional, Marie stresses the point that while this tidying event should be done quickly, her definition of quickly is roughly six months. Though if done correctly, should never need to be done to this extent again. That lightens the blow to me and makes the time investment well worth it.

Documenting

The final book,  Life-Changing Magic: A Journal – Spark Joy Every Day, is a fantastic diary to document your success or failures during your journey. We will be starting our journey this week beginning in my oldest daughters room with the first category, clothing. With any luck, my next post will include a successful first venture through the KonMari Method, stay tuned.

Update:

Check out our progress here!

What are your favorite tidying methods? I’d love to you hear from you!

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