When it comes time to ready for a move, one of the most impactful things you can do is to properly organize your belongings. One way to effectively accomplish this is embracing the famous method of Marie Kondo known as the KonMari method. You might have seen her show on Netflix or heard of her bestselling book “The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up.” Read on to learn more about the KonMari method of tidying up:


It’s a Minimalist Approach

The theme of Marie Kondo’s method is to discard items that lack value and then to properly tidy and/or organize the remaining items. When you determine if an item has value to you, you have to consider if the item serves a role or sparks joy. If not, it needs to go.

There is a Proper Way to Go Through Your Items

It’s overwhelming to think about organizing your home in its entirety. However, by following the KonMari method, each space is broken down into more digestible units. For example, you go through a room in the following manner, discarding items in this order:

  • Clothes
  • Books
  • Papers

Utilize Subcategories Within These Broad Categories

When you are organizing your items, it might be necessary to break down your items within subcategories. For example, when organizing clothing, you might need to break down into tops, hanging clothes, folding clothes, skirts, pants, underwear, socks, etc.

Once You Have Minimized, Move to Organization

Once you have given your house a once over and gotten rid of any items that don’t spark joy, it’s time to organize what’s left. By doing this, you will make the packing process much easier as you will know where everything is and where it needs to go in your new space. Using the KonMari method, you will do this by following two basic rules:

  • Store items of the same type in the same place: For example, don’t have magazines, books, shirts, shoes, etc. stored in various locations within the same room.
  • Keep storage space together: When storing items don’t spread it out over several rooms, keep it all in one general location.

The KonMari Folding Method

Perhaps more famous than her book is Mari’s method of folding clothes when storing. Her folding method stands clothes in an upright manner, folded so that a glimpse into your drawer will allow you to see all the shirts, shorts, skirts, etc. you have available. The theory is that when you stack clothes in a traditional method, you can’t see what you have and end up forgetting items. This way, you can see what you have at a glimpse.

Do it All At Once, Not a Little at a Time

Finally, to completely embrace the KonMari method, you need to do all your organizing and discarding at once. The term in Japanese it ikki ni. This means “in one go.” This means don’t go through your home a little at a time, but instead take a day or two and finish the job completely.

In conclusion, organizing your home using the KonMari method with make the process of packing, moving and then unpacking so much easier. You will find less to move and what remains will already have an assigned space. Therefore, why not try it to make your upcoming move as easy as possible?

 

Sources:
https://www.goodhousekeeping.com/home/organizing/a25846191/what-is-the-konmari-method/

Marie Kondo — The Japanese Tidying Master (#234)