Clutter (whether mental or physical) can create stress and anxiety within our lives. Physically, it could be a messy and crowded home or workspace. Mentally it could be a cluttered mind with too much to think about or too many things to do. You might have already noticed it affecting your day-to-day life but it could also just be subtly affecting your mood and therefore your daily routine.

The ‘clutter’ affecting your mood might just be that annoying kitchen drawer which is stuffed full of everything and anything. BUT you use it on a daily basis, and therefore it might be causing a negative reaction on a daily basis.

Your home might already be perfectly organized but you might just have that one room or garage which is an absolute nightmare. And it’s slowly niggling away at your thoughts (even if you don’t realize it). This, therefore, is why it’s important to get your clutter under control once and for all.

Introducing Marie Kondo

Marie Kondo — have heard of her and her famous KonMari method? Whatever stage you’re at with your decluttering and tidying up process (perhaps you didn’t even think you needed to declutter your home until now), it’s time to turn to this organization queen and to see just how her expert methods are transforming people’s lives for the better.

The whole ethos behind her strategy is to stop and think about everything you own and whether it ‘sparks joy’ or not. If it doesn’t, then it’s time to move on and to simply say goodbye to that item.

The aim of Marie Kondo is to make room for purely the possessions which bring you joy and happiness. Sounds too good to be true right? Well, if her best-selling book The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up or her hit series on Netflix has anything to say about it, then this is one tidying up journey you’ll want to get involved with.

Clutter Effects Focus

Not surprisingly, clutter has an effect on our ability to focus as well as our creativity. This is why it’s common for many people to struggle to relax or switch off if they’re in a cluttered and messy room.

So if you’re one of those people that doesn’t love certain rooms or areas in your home, it’s time to assess why that might be and to create a happy and harmonious space instead.

Whether you love or loathe her methods, Marie Kondo has methods that work. She really does know what she’s talking about when it comes to tidying.

Marie Kondo believes that every single item you own should have a designated space. If it doesn’t, well then this is the start of your clutter.

The KonMari Method

There are two main steps to her strategy – 1) getting rid of any possessions which don’t ‘spark joy’ and 2) finding a home for each of those items.

It’s important that the whole family is aware of where everything belongs as well, so they can put it back. Yes, the Marie Kondo approach might be a bit drastic and lean towards the more minimalist way of life but her methods really can be applied to any category or aspect in your home.

Start small and work your way up and you’ll soon start seeing the results.

Whether you’ve read her book, watched her series on Netflix, or never even heard of her, the infographic below created by JD Williams will help inspire you to get going.

The infographic shares 50 of Marie’s most inspiring quotes from her Magic of Tidying Up book. You can use these quotes as a starting point to motivate you, or you can even use the quotes as a bit of a checklist whilst you’re working through your clutter.

Are you ready to embark on your KonMari journey?