Summer Slim Down: 4 Spots in Need of KonMari
Cut through the clutter to find your home’s serene state with lessons learned from this Japanese tidying sensation.
Design: Veneer Designs
Whether you’ve been swept up in all buzz surrounding KonMari or are stumbling upon it for the first time, let us preface with this: It will instantly ignite a satisfyingly frenzied deep-cleaning state of mind.
Conceived by Japanese decluttering guru Marie Kondo, KonMari is a holistic approach to organizing—one that does away with the notion of cleaning a bit a day. Instead, she advocates to commit to one serious purge, tackling your possessions by category, not room, in a very specific order.
KonMari is based in the emotion of an object and whether it “sparks joy,” rather than pure function or obligation. This approach to tidying essentially features two phases: Purge, then put in place. First, pull everything you own in one category out and sort by touching every item, asking yourself each time if it sparks joy to you. Then, once you’re left with only the items that do, place each in a specific, thoughtful place—giving it a home in your home.
Playing off Kondo’s method to finding calm at home, our editors share four usual suspects of clutter at home and how to tackle them without the full-on, whole house KonMari commitment.
1. Closet
Design: Terracotta Design Build
Step one in the KonMari clean sweep is clothing, as Kondo found it’s the easiest (aka least sentimental) category for most people to begin with. For a complete closet redo, clear out every single piece you have, from shelves and drawers to purses and hangers. Set it all in one central location, subdividing by type (shirts, pants, shoes) so you can get a visual view of your assortment.
Now it’s time to touch, decide if it sparks joy, and set aside to keep, donate, or toss. As you start restocking your closet, be thoughtful in where you place each item—and don’t overcrowd. Aim for the airiness that breathing room between items provides, utilizing drawer dividers, bins, and open shelving to fuel your organization.
Tip! Kondo also mastered a specific method of folding as part of her KonMari craze. You can find her helpful video tutorial here if you’re itching to try it out.
2. Bookshelf
Design: Victoria Elizabeth Design
Next up: Books. Kondo believes we hold onto too many volumes—and we see her point. Bookshelves are often overtaken by their sheer numbers, instead of serving as a clean forum to showcase a collection of beloved objects, including books.
Pick your biggest bookshelf culprit and start anew: Pull down and sort all books using the KonMari question, placing each volume into a keep, donate, or toss pile. Then visualize the final look that speaks to you—whether its spines sorted by colour or a lighthearted combination of books and special pieces—and place what you slated to stay back accordingly.
3. Nightstand
Designs: a simple room
This precious pillow-side real estate can clutter up in the blink of an eye. As one of the first things you see each morning, your nightstand should help set the tone of your day—and that means less mess and more eye appeal.
Once you’ve cleared everything off of your nightstand, consider what you want to see there when you roll over—a sleek lamp and tiny arrangement of fresh flowers always make us smile. But we won’t ignore the need for practicality here: Phone chargers are pretty much an essential, after all. Incorporate your must-haves into this approach, and get clever with storage solutions, stashing items neatly out of sight when possible.
Tip! Closed doors don’t hide disorganization from your mind, so take the time to clean out and add dividers if you have drawers.
4. Bathroom Vanity
Design: Common Bond Design
With such minimal surface area to work with, it's impressive just how quickly a bathroom can clutter up. (We’re looking at you, beauty products.) What starts as decorative (and useful) display of lotions, perfumes, and skincare quickly compounds into an overwhelming catchall that claims valuable counter space and mental energy.
Sift through all your products, along with anything else on your vanity top and hidden underneath. Once you have your final lineup of keepers—spanning both necessary and joy-sparking items like toothbrushes and scented candles—make the most of compartmentalized storage solutions, including bins and trays, to corral small items on top of and inside the vanity. To achieve a serene finish, be sparse in the pieces you choose to set in plain sight, putting thought into each you choose.
