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In a society driven by financial goals, quotas, deadlines, and awards for achievement, it can fool us into thinking that our lives are dependent upon these things for meaning.

In a world driven so much by those things that we “have” to do, but don’t “want” to do, it can seem to us that we’ve lost interest in doing anything at all. 

Author Marie Kondō puts it this way in her wildly popular and evolutionary book, “The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up: The Japanese Art of Decluttering and Organizing.” 

“Keep only those things that speak to your heart. Then take the plunge and discard all the rest. By doing this, you can reset your life and embark on a new lifestyle.”

She also goes on to say.

“But when we really delve into the reasons for why we can’t let something go, there are only two: an attachment to the past or a fear for the future.” 

When we insist on surrounding ourselves with the clutter of things that bring little satisfaction or joy, and only so-called achievement and success, we are holding onto a way of life that not only brings more anxiety and stress but one that keeps us from fulfilling our true potential. 

The KonMari Challenge

I really loved everything Marie Kondo had to say in her book, and just to see if I could experience some of the amazing benefits of simplifying my life (and find what sparks joy for me), I decided to put it to the test. For one full month, I followed the instructions found in her book and–in one tidying-packed fell swoop, was able to tidy every space in my house.

As she recommends, I did so without letting my husband see too much of the mess (!) and followed the order of:

1. Clothes
2. Books
3. Papers
4. Miscellaneous
5. Sentimental Items

Clothes

Although Marie says clothes are the easiest to start with, I was actually the most intimidated by this category, because BOYYY do I have a lot of clothes!

And this was made very clear after setting all of my clothes onto my bed. The pile was HUGE!

Marie suggests doing something that I never thought was possible: having ALL of your clothes for ALL seasons in your closet and dresser.

I used to keep four large containers on the top shelf of my closet and every change of season, I would take down those containers, pull out all the clothes for the coming season, and replace them with the clothes I had hanging in my closet.

I thought I was making good use of my space by not crowding my closet with too many clothes during any one season.

But what Marie suggests is GOLDEN. Because it not only saves you the work from replacing your clothes every couple months, it also keeps you aware and accountable for every piece of clothing you own—because you have to look at every single one hanging in your closet or in your drawer.

I was making it wayy too easy to keep things forever in those containers by allowing some clothes to fly under the radar and stay hidden.

ANOTHER thing she suggests for aesthetic appeal is the way you organize your closet.

Lighter-colored and shorter clothing goes near the front with darker, longer clothing in the back to give a sense of calm and order.

Her advice to find organizational boxes that are the right size to fit your space also has been a GAMECHANGER!

I used to just shove miscellaneous junk into these little cubbies, but these organizational drawers I found work like a charm and allow me to use the space for a specific purpose now. If you have the same problem, you can find something similar below.

The Result

There is such a tangible difference for me when I open my dresser or closet now. Everything feels and my clothes actually feel cleaner (Marie says this is because if you treat objects as living things it starts to make sense that the better you treat them, like choosing to hang clothes instead of piling them on the floor, the more vibrant and full of life (and longer-lasting) they will be!). I actually get excited and creative when putting together outfits now! I find greater satisfaction in what sparks joy for me!

Books

Ahh we have a LOT of books too! So this one was a bit of a challenge (especially because my husband loves to read too) but I ended up getting rid of a TON of books! As Marie suggests, I combined a giant pile of ALL the books we have in different locations throughout the house. And what resulted was a behemoth-sized monster of a pile. I had textbooks from college from classes that I cared very little about still stored neatly in my storage boxes! I had numerous, random books that I had to read for various literature classes that I will never read again sitting nicely on my bookshelf.

The point that Marie makes is 100% correct. Many times, we have to re-evaluate the reasons we keep certain books on our shelves. Are we wanting to look more intelligent? Are we trying to seem like we’re well-versed in poetry or the classics? The plain truth is, a lot of those books weren’t ever going to be read or even flipped open again. So what’s the point in keeping them?

The Result

Instead, I can focus on not a clutter of books that keep guilting me because I know I have no desire to read them, but on a bookshelf that accurately reflects exactly what I’m interested in, and what I have every intention of reading and learning from. Plus, donating a bunch of my textbooks made me feel good that hopefully someday, some financially struggling student will be able to benefit from my clutter. 🙂

Papers

This one I don’t have as hard of a time with. Although I did get rid of a lot of papers!

Marie suggests organizing very simply when it comes to papers. First off, get rid of anything you absolutely don’t need before it even enters your house—I’m talking about you, junk mail!

As I talked about in THIS post, there are ways you can keep the junk mail from being sent to you in the first place, but if it does make it to your door, don’t let it get any further. Promptly throw it in the trash or shred anything that contains confidential information.

By this act alone, you keep your clutter at bay by not letting it multiply with each trip to the mailbox!

Also, when organizing what information you do need to keep physical copies of (a lot of information can be stored digitally on an external hard drive to save you physical space!), Marie suggests filing into three categories: 1) papers in use 2) papers needed for limited time 3) papers needed indefinitely.

Unfortunately, as refreshing as that sounds because we have so many papers we have to keep physical copies of (mortgages, etc.) I opted for just categorizing my papers into our different banks and mortgages. I just make sure to go through those papers every couple weeks (as she suggests) to clear out any unneeded or outdated info. Obviously, it will be up to you to decide what records you need and for how long (some are needed for tax purposes).

The Result

I used to keep papers all over the house. Now I have one appointed spot for everything (or as Marie says, a “home” for every item). If I need to find something, I know exactly where to look, and if something is going to take up more space I think twice before keeping it. I can’t tell you how EASY it makes looking for important papers. Not only this, I now have my external hard drive (mostly) updated with all of the papers we need too!

Miscellaneous (or komono)

This is a category of “little things” that happens to cover a LARGE variety of things around your home. This ranges from everything from electronics, kitchen supplies, gardening supplies, kid’s toys, hobby supplies, to bedding, tools & hardware, pet supplies, cleaning supplies.

This category is where the perfectly-fit boxes we talked about earlier can really help you out. Marie likes using shoe boxes because she says they’re the perfect size for small things. I, like most people, have specific utensil organizers for our kitchen drawers that house our forks, spoons, knives, as well as separate ones that house serving utensils like ladles, spatulas, etc. We also have one for our measuring spoons and cups. We have something similar to what you can find below.

Having things organized into compartments using utensil organizers, or other organizational units allows you to see everything at all times and not have to dig around in drawers or shelves to find things.

Whatever it is you decide to use, you just have to make sure each category of item has a “house” it can return to after use.

The Result

Knowing where everything goes, and having a home for every item makes life easier and more effective. I no longer have to worry about scouring the house for kitchen items in the laundry room, or vice versa. When you organize things so you can actually see all of the items you own at a glance, you don’t have to waste time looking for things, and you don’t end up buying multiples of the same thing!

Sentimental Items

This is the most difficult category to tidy and is last on Marie’s list for good reason. Sentimental items can include anything from photo albums, children’s keepsakes, souvenirs, to journals or family heirlooms.

Sentimental items can be difficult to let go of because of the memories attached to them and the perceived value we put on them. But as Marie says, these items are merely that, items. It’s important to separate the two. Just because you get rid of your middle school spelling bee trophy doesn’t make you any less of a spell-er. And just because you get rid of a souvenir from your trip to South America last year doesn’t mean it never happened.

Once you’re able to realize that the “thing” is separate from the memory, you’ll stop insisting on holding onto mere “things” that clutter up your space without any specific use.

Not only do “things” with ill-perceived sentimental value take up space, but they also keep you from moving forward and focusing on who you are NOW.

Getting rid of your high school yearbook might help you move past the nicknames and judgments people made of you and help you to move on and focus on what you can do differently in your life right now.

Whatever hold the past may have on you through old letters, trinkets, or souvenirs can be cleansed from your life to make room for new memories and new relationships to look forward to.

The Result

Going through a couple of boxes of my old school things, I realized that not only am I holding onto things that don’t really have the sentimental value I thought they did but I also never go back to those boxes. They were just taking up room for absolutely no reason!

It really is amazing how therapeutic a cleanse can be. It really is like you have to make more mental room for more things you choose to keep, and letting go just frees up that space and gives you peace of mind.

10 bags of clutter and 4 trips to the nearest charity later…

After going full-force for a whole month tidying and cleaning following the KonMari Method, my life has truly become more simplified. I don’t have closets brimming over with bedding and ready to fall on me every time I open the door. I have clear spaces instead of ones covered in things I don’t even need. I now take better care of the things I have and think twice before I buy more. If I have to buy anything more, I think about what I can get rid of to make room for it.

As Marie says, I now know that I don’t have to spend 50% of my life tidying! I’ve done my major tidying ONE TIME, and now all I really have to do is upkeep and cleaning. And on top of that, I feel accomplished! And truly feel like I can focus my time and energy on accomplishing other things—instead of getting bogged down and stressed about how cluttered my house feels!

Have you taken the KonMari challenge yet? How has it changed your life? Are you looking for something that sparks joy in If you’re thinking about taking it, what’s holding you back? Tell us all about your experiences in the comments below or on our Facebook group!