I Tried the Marie Kondo Method

The Marie Kondo Method – I loved the results, but it’s not for me

If you don’t know anything about the Marie Kondo method, you can read more here.  It’s a method of tidying up your house that is done in a specific order and all at once, while only keeping what sparks joy.  Personally, I am not a big fan of cleaning or tidying.  I know it needs to be done but the all at once part is what was difficult for me.  Deciding to give her method a try, I cleaned out my closet on a weekend that my husband was out of town.  Following her advise, I only kept items that sparked joy.  It was needed!  I did get rid of bags of clothing and shoes, but I also felt like I wasted my weekend cleaning.

While I did feel incredibly satisfied with how my closet looked, I also felt like I worked all weekend.  I didn’t see my friends, or go on any adventures, or really do much besides clean and reorganize my closet.  And, if you work all week shouldn’t the weekends be mostly about time to do things that spark joy?

So, I wasn’t really excited to move on and spend hours discarding books, paper, mementos, etc . . .  I never got to it.  Maybe that says something about me, and that’s ok.  I appreciate when things are clean and tidy but an entire day of cleaning and tidying does not spark joy for me at all.  It is more of a feeling of accomplishment, which can lead to joy, but the act was not joyous.

The Marie Kondo Method taught me many useful tips! 

I appreciate most what she says about only keeping what sparks joy and if it doesn’t then get rid of it.  If it’s not HELL YES, then it’s BYE BYE.

At first I was really disappointed with myself for not finishing but I guess I wasn’t disappointed enough that I was inspired to continue.  It’s a great method, I think anyone who is curious will gain some wisdom from reading her book and trying her method.  I would rather do things slowly and over time than all at once.  All at once for me is slightly miserable (maybe I was doing something wrong or maybe I just had too much stuff)

I’ve adopted my own version of keeping things tidy – clean one thing everyday.  While doing my one thing a day, I ask myself if the items spark joy and then decide whether to keep or not to keep.  I appreciate that insight I gained from the Marie Kondo Method and will continue to use it as I take a little time everyday to to keep things tidy.

You can read how I keep things clean and tidy here.