Are you untiringly untidy? Do you keep saying: “I can find everything I need in my mess” but intimately realise this isn’t altogether true? Are you sometimes under the impression that you have almost lost yourself in all that chaos? If you have answered “yes” to some or all of these questions, the time has come to tidy up!
Marie Kondo’s method
This tidying up expert probably needs no presentation. Marie Kondo became famous thanks to her book The Life Changing Magic of Tidying Up published in Italy by Antonio Vallardi Editore in 2011. It quickly sold more than one million copies, becoming an international bestseller.
But that’s not all: her philosophy transformed an apparently insignificant, daily chore into a real zen art and has become so popular that a series called Let’s tidy up with Marie Kondo has been recently dedicated to her on Netflix.
What’s the secret behind all this success? Undoubtedly her way of positively combining very practical advice – that can be used in everyone’s daily routine – with mental health benefits. That’s because – in Marie Kondo’s opinion – tidying up is not just a practical way of taking care of your home; it’s also a way of taking care of yourself and doing a bit of interior cleansing.
10 tidying up rules
What are the essential steps of this practice? We’ve summarised them here for you, one after the other in perfect order!
1. Do not hoard
The first tidying up rule is to sabotage your chances of making a mess in the first place. Do not hoard useless object just because “someday” you may need them. Be brave enough to give or throw away things you don’t need: focus on quality instead of quantity.
2. Tackle categories, not rooms
If you think the best way to tidy up is by tackling one room at a time then you are starting off on the wrong foot. A good tip to obtain the best results is to organise your work in categories, i.e. one type or set of objects at a time: this way you won’t run the risk of putting away objects that don’t have their own specific place because they don’t belong to a category of things you really need (if they don’t, go back to step 1!).
3. Put your happiness first
You will definitely have some objects you are particularly fond of in your house. Keep them but fit them into your interior décor in a harmonious way. They can influence your mood more positively than you think possible.
4. Try to have a global view of your wardrobe
Before you tidy up your wardrobe and drawers put everything (yes, very single garment!) on the bed so you can see exactly what you want to keep and what you want to give or throw away.
5. Fold everything neatly
Try to patiently and constantly fold all your clothes. It will be easier for you to find your garments and the whole room will look neater and cleaner.
6. Store your bags one inside the other
Space optimisation is important when tidying up: follow this principle for your bags by putting the smallest ones inside the largest.
7. Create your favourite place
Make a cosy area for yourself using the accessories that make you feel good, like a comfortable sofa placed in front of the warm fire of a stove where you can read a good book or listen to your favourite music. A safe place to come home to, even at the end of an exceptionally stressful day.
8. Plan how to organise your spaces properly
Shelving units, bookcases and floating shelves can become your best allies to keep your house tidy: work out where you need them most in line with your personal requirements.
9. Prefer vertical storage
According to Marie Kondo, one way to make space organisation easier is to store your objects vertically instead of horizontally.
10. Give each object a specific place
Each object must have (and keep) a specific place: there’s no other way to keep everything tidy.
