Marie Kondo’s Best Tips: Take Tidying To The Next Level

I’ve been creating and perfecting efficient methods for decluttering for over a decade now. I understand how complicated and overwhelming it can be to reduce clutter and organize your home, especially if you don’t know where to start or you’re just feeling unmotivated.

So, I decided to bring in some tips from one of the world’s most renowned tidying gurus, Marie Kondo, to help give you the perfect jumpstart.

Discover Marie Kondo’s Life-Changing Tips

Organize And Declutter Solo

Marie believes you should declutter by yourself. That’s because your roommates, friends, or family members may get anxious with the amount of stuff you’re getting rid of and guilt trip you into keeping more. I agree that working solo can be the most effective route because it gives you space to reflect. If you’re unsure of how to let go of some of your belongings, try these seven questions to ask yourself as you declutter.

Let Go Of The Past

Discarding your belongings can be hard when it feels like you’re letting go of a part of yourself. Marie says to let go of what you no longer need with gratitude. We both agree that our living spaces shouldn’t be for who we once were, but for who we are now. What I find worked best for me when I had a hard time letting go of the past was remembering why throwing things away is good for me.

Declutter Before You Start Organizing

Marie and I wholeheartedly agree that you should always identify what you really want to keep before you start organizing. When you put your belongings away before taking a moment to reflect, you create the illusion that the clutter problem is gone.

This starts a negative cycle where you’re constantly decluttering and never finished. Once you let go of all your clutter, then you can move on to finding the right home for your items.

When you start out by decluttering, you make space for the items you most cherish and want to keep in your life. You also get rid of the ones that no longer make sense to keep, meaning less stuff to organize and less overwhelm.

After you identify what stays, you can move on to storing your belongings in a way that works for you.

Store Your Things Wisely

Once you’re sure the decluttering phase is over, you can move on to storing your belongings. Storage containers can be a handy way to organize and find your items later. Marie recommends using what you already have lying around the house, like a shoe box.

Store your items by category and use clear bins for miscellaneous items. This allows you to clearly see what’s inside. These boxes can then go in a larger container. My personal preference is to keep clear bins behind closed doors to reduce visual clutter. If it’s on a shelf, I stick to containers that are opaque and more decorative.

Use Vertical Storage Methods

Arrange By Color

After grouping items within the same category, like clothes or books, Marie suggests organizing them by color. This will create a harmonic look reminiscent of a rainbow. The result is an organized space that is pleasing to both the eye and the mind. Organizing your colorful items in this way makes it easier to find what you need, and can even inspire you to keep your belongings tidy when you’re done using them.

Save Space By Folding, Avoid Hanging

This way, you can flag the clothing items you use least to ease up your decluttering process.

Use The Bag-In-Bag Method

Marie proposes a useful solution for those of you with an abundance of bags, totes, and backpacks. She suggests storing one bag inside the other. This way, each item acts as its own storage unit, which not only saves storage space, but keeps your shelves clean and neat. As a minimalist, I don’t have that many bags lying around the house, but I do this for the ones I do own.

Wash Your Sheets Weekly And Always Make Your Bed

A clean bedroom is a happy bedroom. There’s no better way to give a clean bedroom one final boost than by changing the sheets. We sleep in our beds every night and, even if we’re in the habit of always showering before bed, our sheets get dirty with dead skin cells and dust mites very quickly.

Wash your sheets and pillowcases every week to guarantee a clean bed and serene sleep environment for yourself and your loved ones. I like to do this as part of my Sunday reset routine to ensure my week starts smoothly.

Keep Your Closet Space Separate From Your Partner’s

Keeping your closet space organized is not always easy. This is especially true when you share space with a significant other or a roommate. So, avoid combining your items in the same wardrobe or dresser.

Each person should have their own designated space for clothing — and be responsible for their own sections. When either or both of you have too many clothing items, dividing them and keeping things organized can be hard. If you’re looking to reduce the clothing clutter and give yourself some extra space, consider trying project 333 to simplify your closet.

Show Respect To Your Items

Most of the items you own have served you in one way or another over the years. So, treat them with respect. This doesn’t mean you have to keep them. Just let go of them with gratitude. Remember the joy they brought you, appreciate them, and thank them for their time, much like saying goodbye to a friend. Then, decide whether you will donate or dispose of them responsibly.

Take The Price Tags Off Of New Items Right Away

Have The Courage To Throw Away Gifts

Parting with gifts is not easy for most of us because they are strongly connected to how we feel about the person who gifted them. That’s why Marie suggests dealing with sentimental items last. Gifts are a prime example, and most of the time, they aren’t exactly useful.

Believe me, I’ve tried to make my odd birthday gifts useful but most of the time they just don’t fit with my lifestyle. We hold on to them because we feel guilty about throwing them away. If they’re not adding value to your life — or not sparking any joy, as Marie likes to put it — it’s okay to throw them away.

Track Your Progress

Tracking your progress is a good way to keep your momentum and stay motivated as you declutter and start organizing. One thing I like to do is take before and after photos, which helps you visualize your progress. Marie recommends breaking your process into bite-sized tasks. This makes it easy to complete your tasks with measurable results that will keep you going.

Make Sure Everything Has A Home

Get Rid Of Papers

Do you have a huge stack of unopened mail or bills waiting to get paid? It’s not uncommon to shove your paper documents into a drawer never to be opened again. Marie and I both agree you don’t have to keep those. With the ease of digital statements and online paperwork, there’s no need to hang on to physical paper documents. These endless stacks of paper often go unopened, adding to the clutter in your home.

Keep Small Change In Your Wallet

Do you have a piggy bank for loose change? Marie doesn’t understand the value in this, as it renders the money useless. Instead, do what we do, and keep the pocket change in your wallet. Putting your loose change away prevents it from sitting in random drawers for years on end. Plus, you’ll thank yourself next time you find a coin-only parking meter.

Understand That It Will Look Bad Before It Gets Better

Put Marie Kondo’s Advice Into Action

I’ve got lots of other methods that’ll help you get started on clearing space for a more serene and welcoming home.

Your Turn!

• Which of Marie Kondo’s tips have you adopted in your decluttering journey so far?
• What decluttering advice can you share from personal experience?

By Ryan Mitchell on June 2, 2023   /   Minimalism   /   3 Comments

Tags: Lifestyle, Minimalist