I never believed that a single book could change one's life, and I would certainly never suggest that if one existed, it would be about decluttering. 'The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying' by Marie Kondo sounds like a read for bored housewives, but I can ensure you it's a great phycology piece for everyone no matter gender or age. I will not praise the book itself. Rather, I will share the most useful tips I have learned on my way and some that I have developed myself.
Does it spark joy
The method described in the book gave me a very simple key to decluttering, and that is keeping things that spark joy. Hundreds of possessions were kept in the house for silly reasons as 'I might need it someday': jeans from middle school in case I gain weight, jeans from uni in case I lose weight, shirt that I hate but it might be back in fashion in five years.
The truth is, that never happens. Yes, I did use prom shoes once while performing, but was it necessary to store them for nine years in a closet for one-time use?
Although throwing most of your possessions will feel like a waste, you will gain much more in return. In the case of clothing, you are letting go not only a piece of fabric but the pressure that you apply on yourself every time you regret not fitting in. If you don't want to trash it - give it to charity. Knowing that things will bring joy to someone else will make you twice as happy.
Vertical storage
One of the best tips on storing clothes is abusing chests of drawers. I used to think that the perfect storage is a massive wardrobe where everything is placed on hangers, but in practice that doesn't work. My wardrobe is never long enough to store all the items, and the more I store there, the harder it is to get them out.
To my surprise, folding T-shirts in a certain way and storing them vertically is a marvellous way to organize tops. The whole pile stays in place while you remove a single item, and the cloth is not creased because of the weight of the whole pile. The best thing is that you can see all your clothes right in front of you, so you can explore combinations without even touching your items.
Getting ready in the morning is no more a struggle for me. Within the first week, I was even excited to wake up in the morning because I knew that dressing up is going to be very easy and I was discovering new combinations almost every day. I also started going out much more than I did before.
Grouping items
You will never realise how many items in one category you have until you group them. I never knew I had 7 make up bags or three spare computer mouses. I certainly had more than three different shampoos and over six different creams. By simply putting all items in one place you get a different perspective of your possessions. It is also much easier to see what is necessary and what is not being used. I gave myself a promise not to buy new beauty products if I still have some to use. It helped me to free a lot of space and develop a habit of wasting less.
Everything in sight
Once you declutter your house, you can start organising it. The key is to store everything in sight. For example, once I reorganised my fridge I immediately started using a wider variety of ingredients than I usually do. Once I've emptied drawers of my table, it became easier to reach my notebook, so I started writing four times more than usual.
Make it work
The amount of work ahead in order to organize your environment might be overwhelming. The book requires to do the clean up in a few days, but mine took half a year and is ongoing. As a result of numerous decluttering sessions, my concentration improved. I became less irritable, I started spending less and saved a lot of time because of the optimised environment.
No question sometimes I do fail to put things back, and I must admit on some days floor is my closet. But I have already developed a lot of healthy habits. I don't waste time looking for my keys anymore, I know exactly where all of my documents are, and I cook much more because my kitchen is clean and ready to go any second. Suddenly everything in my house is accessible, and my life goes faster and smoother.
After working as a property photographer and visiting more than 400 flats and houses I came to the conclusion that hoarding is a very common issue. Don't get me wrong, I don't judge anyone for messy apartments. Moreover, I strongly believe that mess can be a good environment for work. But this also takes an effort to make it work for you.
