What is the KonMari® Method?

I have a confession to make: I am a recovering shopaholic. No visit to a mall was complete without me carrying a shopping bag of things (that may not have been on my list, to begin with!). After I became a parent, my situation with ‘stuff’ spiraled out of control. I was always ‘organised’ but the sheer amount of things a parent was “supposed” to have was starting to get to me. There surely had to be a solution to this challenge that so many new parents face. As I was scrolling through a parenting community online, I came across the KonMari® Tidying Method and couldn’t believe that if I implemented this method correctly in my home, I never had to tidy it again. Sounded too good to be true right?

In a quest to understand how to confidently and consciously bring items into my home while parenting without the nagging, I also had the opportunity to understand Maria Montessori and her work with children. I was attracted to the idea that if I prepared a home environment that supported my children’s developmental needs, they would grow to be independent & confident young adults.

As I started to devour Marie Kondo’s books, I realised that the method is not just about organising your things in beautiful containers and trays but is rather an introspective, intentional, and mindful process of curating belongings in your life that serve a purpose & are in alignment with your values. This process (if done properly) takes an average of 3-6 months (this is called a “Tidying Festival”) depending on the size of your home and amount of belongings and is done just once in your life. The method teaches you to be grateful for what you have, understand your priorities and look at life from a positive perspective.

All these ‘a-ha’ moments made me appreciate the method so much that I went on to get certified as a KonMari® Consultant in late 2020. I feel blessed to have been given an opportunity to combine my passions in organising, Montessori-inspired parenting, and of course sustainable living.

So what is the KonMari® Method and how is it different from conventional decluttering methods? I’ve included two infographics here to highlight the differences, as well as what I believe are the pillars of the method.

The 6 steps in the KonMari® Tidying Process are:

• COMMIT TO TIDYING

  Taking the initiative to tidy and adhering to your commitment is the first step towards a successful tidying outcome. This means scheduling time in your calendar to tidy as well as being open to learning & implementing the principles behind this method.

• VISUALISE YOUR IDEAL LIFESTYLE

  Setting your goals and objectives to tidy & aligning them with your values helps in maintaining your momentum towards reaching your ideal lifestyle. This includes creating a vision board, journaling, or painting what you want your ideal home to look and feel like.

• TIDY BY CATEGORY

  Tidying by category and not location helps to ascertain how much you own & reevaluate your purchasing and storage habits. This avoids clutter from rebounding and helps to hone confident decision-making skills.

• FOLLOW THE RIGHT ORDER

  The KonMari® tidying method sets you up for success in your tidying journey by teaching you what to keep in categories that are relatively easy, before moving on to more challenging ones (clothes > books > papers > miscellaneous items > sentimental items).

• CHOOSE JOY, THEN DISCARD

  The KonMari® method teaches you what to keep based on what ‘sparks joy’ to you rather than what to discard. This helps to tidy with a positive mindset. Discarding with gratitude reframes how to let go of our belongings without guilt (one of the most common reasons why we have so much trouble letting go of our things).

• ORGANISE

  Only once you have completed the discarding process can you think of where & how to store what you have. Purchasing storage solutions prematurely is detrimental to your tidying efforts and has a higher chance of clutter rebounding.

I hope that this article helped in giving you clarity on how to start your own tidying journey! It did wonders for me (and still is!) and was truly a magical & life-changing experience.

Which method appeals to you? Traditional decluttering methods or the KonMari® Tidying Method?