KonMari Method

It’s practically impossible to talk about decluttering without talking about the KonMari method.  Between the books and the Netflix series, I think almost everyone has at least heard of it.

I like large parts of the KonMari method, and there are parts of it that I don’t care for.  As always, I prefer to get the negative parts out of the way first. 

To me, the biggest drawback to the KonMari method is the idea that you have to tackle such huge projects at once.  For example, clothing is the first category of items to work through.  The KonMari method calls for removing ALL of your clothing from closets, drawers, etc., and going through every single piece, one item at a time. 

I understand that clothing should be relatively easy, and it makes sense to keep yourself from dealing with the same things over and over again.  But, trying to find the willpower, time, mental fortitude, and physical energy for a task like that can be daunting.  It’s easier to put it off for a weekend, then a long weekend, etc.  It’s also the kind of thing that has made me not want to start another project for a long time. 

If we were to pile all of our clothing on our bed, and it took longer than anticipated to go through it, we would literally have no good place to sleep.  We don’t have a guest room.  And spending the night in a recliner or on an air mattress doesn’t sound appealing. 

So, we broke it down into much smaller steps.  I think it’s important to get some easy wins early on.  So, I started with my socks.  I discarded socks that I couldn’t find mates for and even perfectly good pairs of socks that didn’t spark joy.  (More on that later.)  It was a doable project.  I felt good about it and myself when I was finished, and that gave me the confidence to move on to the next category. 

I’ve seen a lot of memes making fun of the KonMari system and talking about how things like a bottle of aspirin or a vacuum cleaner or broccoli don’t spark joy, so that must mean you need to get rid of them.  But, I think my favorite part of the KonMari system addresses that. 

Before you even start with tidying or discarding, the KonMari method tells you to envision your ideal lifestyle, what you want your days to look like, and what you want to surround yourself with.  In my opinion, that addresses the “these things that I actually need don’t spark joy” argument.  Personally, my ideal lifestyle doesn’t include a headache (now the aspirin is a keeper), dirty floors or furry furniture (now the vacuum cleaner is a keeper), or never eating healthy foods (the broccoli will never be a keeper, but plenty of other vegetables are, even if ice cream does spark a lot more joy).

Some of the things I picture in my ideal version of life are not being slaves to keeping the house clean, not being stressed out or late because we couldn’t find something we needed, and being able to have people over to the house any time we want.  If we’ve learned anything from COVID, it’s that time and opportunities are precious.  I don’t want to waste those because I don’t want someone to see how messy my house is.  So, with the KonMari method, those are the goals I’m working toward. 

The “spark joy” part of the KonMari method can take a little while to get used to, especially when applying it to ordinary things.  It kind of clicked for me when I was working on sweaters.  Yes, I broke clothing into very small categories; socks, sweaters, tee shirts, other shirts, pants, jeans, shorts, etc.  Anyway, during the sweater process, I had a lightbulb moment with these two sweaters. 

They both fit me, they’re both colors I typically wear, they’re both a brand I like, and there was no damage (stains, tears, etc.) to either one of them.  I almost never wore the teal one.  I still can’t really articulate a reason why.  Maybe the neckline?  I’m not sure.  Anyway, I never really enjoyed wearing it, but I kept it around because it was a perfectly good sweater, and I had it as a backup if I didn’t keep up with the laundry.   I almost never let it get to the point of wearing the sweater, though, because I just didn’t like it.  The argyle plaid one, on the other hand, I wore (and still wear) all of the time.  Argyle plaid always makes me happy!  I feel good wearing that sweater.  I like how it fits, feels, and looks.  I feel confident in it.  Incidentally, it’s what I’m wearing in my work ID photo because it seemed like a great choice for my first day at this job. 

The argyle plaid sweater (and all of the other argyle plaid sweaters I have) spark joy for me.  I feel good wearing them.  The teal one didn’t.  I was never going to feel great about wearing it.  So, it turns out I didn’t need it, even though it was a perfectly good sweater.  That sweater is no longer hanging in my closet, and I don’t have to move it aside to reach a sweater that I’m happy wearing. 

It sounds almost too simple to make a difference, but when you think about applying it to everything, it adds up to a huge change.  When your clothes are all things you enjoy wearing, your cookbooks are all ones you enjoy cooking from, your pots and pans are all ones you use and enjoy using – you can imagine how much the list can go on - it leads to an overall feeling of being happier and not needing to devote so much mental energy to basic things. 

We’re not 100% there yet, and our house definitely doesn’t look like anything you’ll find on Marie Kondo’s website, but it’s so much better than it was.  We’re benefitting from the things we’ve simplified.  Last weekend, we invited our neighbors over to dinner on the spur of the moment.  We were all outside working on various yard projects and started talking.  Everyone was home, and it was the perfect opportunity.  Because the house was in order and I knew what we had in the freezer, it was easy to decide on a last-minute dinner.  I made a huge pot of spaghetti, so we all ate, talked, and played games.  It was a great evening and one we wouldn’t have been able to have if the house had been too messy for us to be comfortable inviting people over.  That sparks joy for both of us.

So what about you?  Have you used the KonMari method?  What sparks joy for you?