Last year I read the book The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up: The Japanese Art of Decluttering and Organizing by Marie Kondo. I read the book to help my sister get organized, but I realized that for a person to become more organized, that person will have to want to do the work and JUST DO IT. Giving a disorganized person tips won’t work unless that person is committed to and works hard at maintaining a tidy home.

If you are currently committed to becoming more organized and you don’t have time to read the book, view the videos of Marie Kondo explaining how to tidy up (view video above).

RIGHT ORDER OF ORGANIZING / TIDYING UP (the KonMarie method):

Clothes
Books
Documents
Miscellaneous Items
Mementos

It is CRITICAL that you follow this order because looking at mementos always stops you from organizing so you have to save that for last. You are training yourself slowly by starting with clothes so by the time you go through your mementos you will have a lot of practice asking yourself if each item “sparks joy”.

HOW DO YOU START ORGANIZING / TIDYING UP?

You have to tidy up in one shot and tidy up as quickly as possible.
You need to SHOCK your mind. While you are shocked, you’ll realize that living in a tidy, organized home is achievable and something that you will want to maintain. Make sure to tidy your things and finish it in a a short period of time. Set a deadline to organize for one week or every weekend.
Sort by category, not by location.
It will never end if you do one part of the closet or living room. If you organize by category, do it quickly. So if you organize clothes, make a big pile of all the clothes in the house. If you organize books, take all the books in your home and stack it in one room. It’s difficult to bring out all your stuff in one location, but if you do this you will realize how many clothes and books you have. Every day we rarely understand how much we have around us. So if you see it in a big pile it will be easier to let go of your things. This is a great opportunity to see how much items you have so you can decide what you really want to keep and get rid of.

HOW DO YOU KNOW WHAT ITEMS TO KEEP AND GET RID OF?

Separate the things you need and don’t need
When you don’t know if you should get rid of an item, you have to ask yourself if the item you are holding “sparks joy” and makes you happy. If the item doesn’t make you happy that is an item you can donate.
When you get rid of an item, make sure to thank each item before donating it.