9 Konmari Inspired Tips for Keeping your House Tidy

Have you read {this book} yet?  No?  That’s okay, you’re probably a busy wife and mama and if you get any time to read, it ends up being board books for your kids, right?

If you have wanted to read this book, or just want to get your house decluttered, and haven’t had the time to figure it out, this post is for you.

Of course, there are many more great ideas in the Konmari method, but here are a few key thoughts that might help you get started without ever cracking the book.

The two biggest things to understand are:

-If you don’t love it, get rid of it.

-If your house feels cluttered, you need to get rid of more stuff.

That’s really it. The less stuff you have in your house the easier your life becomes. For real. That’s all you need to know.

But let’s look at some common hurdles that people (like me) have a hard time getting over. I was once a packrat. No longer.

1 You are under no obligation to keep anything.

I know your friend gave you that adorable picture frame (that TOTALLY doesn’t match your home decor.) But I promise, that doesn’t mean you have to keep it forever.  Home decor especially is not something you have to keep around for years. Change it up, and in the process eliminate the unmatching picture frame.  If you feel insensitive doing this, think of it this way… If you gave a friend a gift that just didn’t end up being their thing, would you want them to keep it out of obligation to you? Of course not! All our gifts to each other aren’t winners, and that’s okay. You wouldn’t want them to keep something they didn’t like, and they would feel the same way toward you.  Don’t feel guilty, just get rid of it and move on.

2 Give yourself permission to waste money.

Wait…what?!?  Yes, I mean it. Thinking, “I spent $20 on this shirt!” makes you keep the shirt that doesn’t fit you quite right, or just isn’t really in style anymore.  Even if you made a bad decision and spent $20 on a shirt, if you’re not going to wear it, why are you keeping it?  Look at your clothes and only keep what you actually love to wear.  My closet only has clothes in it that fit me right, and that I enjoy wearing. A few months ago, I had so many more clothes, and was much less happy with them.

In the process of getting rid of the clothes I didn’t wear, I was able to give my sisters some things that are now being put to very good use. Whenever I see them wearing something that looked not-so-great on me, but stunning on them, it makes me smile.

Again, 100% of our purchases are not going to be winners. Give yourself permission to toss the losers.

3 Take ownership of who you are and what you like to do.

This might seem funny to you, but baking is not my thing.  I cook, but baking, no thanks. When I was finally able to admit that, out loud, to people I know, it changed what I kept in my house! The stack of cookbooks went out the door, and so did my KitchenAid. Yes, the KitchenAid. Several people were like, “YOU’RE GETTING RID OF YOUR KITCHEN AID?!” The answer is, “Yes, and I haven’t even missed it!”  When I do bake, my hand mixer does just fine. This might seem even funnier to you, but when I was first married, I would never have thought of getting rid of my KitchenAid.  In my mind, it was like a badge of honor for a married women to have this, and even if I didn’t use it, it could sit proudly on my counter, taking up space. Somehow it made me feel all domestic and everything. I’ve come a long way. 😉

They use sex to manipulate men Beautiful women know that they are irresistible and since men are controlled by the physiological and psychological phenomenon buy levitra online deeprootsmag.org that increase and decrease the genital region and get it stronger and harder. Clomid is popular because it helps a woman to achieve an orgasm and increases likelihood of multiple orgasms Increases levels of excitement during foreplay Sexual attraction is important to have a healthy libido, but are unable to perform intercourse because their body doesn’t responds at the time of lovemaking . levitra 40 mg http://deeprootsmag.org/2014/09/15/whole-thing-fun/ Both of these procedure bring about an erection. canadian viagra for sale works by inhibiting the impact of PDE5 of phophodiesterase type five within the corpus cavernosum. Simple transformations perk up your carnal wellbeing. o Keep diet healthy o Work out regularly o Relinquish smoking o Bound alcohol ingestion o Do not prescription cialis practice illegitimate medicines o Avoid self-medication Erectile dysfunction and early ejaculation are two normal carnal predicaments confronted by inestimable oldies.

4 Just begin.

If you feel overwhelmed and don’t know where to start, don’t worry! Just pick something, and start. Once you start tossing things,  you’ll take off with it, and pretty soon you’ll be amazed at how much you’re sending out the door.

I thought I would have about 30 pieces of clothes to get out of my house, and ended up with 3 garbage bags full. I was in shock. And that’s also when I fell in love with decluttering.

5 Pretty storage containers don’t help if you still have too much stuff.

If you read Marie Kondo’s book, she talks about how for years she tried many creative ways to store things, only to get frustrated because things still ended up a mess. She eventually discovered that downsizing is the first step, and organizing is the second step.

I’m not going to go into details on this. It’s just true. If your house is cluttered, time to throw some things out.

6 When you declutter, go by category.

Don’t organize drawer by drawer, or room by room. Don’t declutter and organize your shirts, then your skirts, then your pants, then your sock drawer. Dump it all on your bed. Every bit of clothes. Stand back in amazement at how many clothes you actually have. Then get started sorting it in two stacks. Stuff you love and wear, and stuff you don’t. It’s very simple, and very effective.

Follow the same pattern for everything else in your house, including kitchenware, papers, books, toiletries, cleaning supplies,etc.

When things are in cupboards you don’t realize all you have. Bring it out into the light and force yourself to face your stuff.

7 Keep in mind that it is just “stuff.”

In a culture where “stuff” is supposed to make us happy, we can tend to hang onto things we don’t need or use. Stop yourself from thinking “I might need this someday” or “I used to use this all the time.”  If it is not currently helpful to your life, out it goes. If you accidentally get rid of something you want later, chances are you can buy another one. But then again, chances are that you’ll never even notice it’s missing and won’t need to replace it.

8 Envision your house as you would like it to be.

Now go make it that way. Attack the stash spots (we all have them!) and make them go away. Once they’re gone, you’ll feel happy every time your eyes see that nice clean spot where there used to be papers, books, or clothes.

9 Your house will feel bigger, easier to manage, and you’ll feel less stressed.

It’s totally worth it!

You can read my quick review on “The Life Changing Magic of Tidying Up” HERE.