The new Netflix original Tidying Up with Marie Kondo is all the rage now with families across America and it seems to be inspiring everyone to look around their homes and ask themselves if what they own “sparks joy”.

I personally read Marie Kondo’s book The Life Changing Magic of Tidying Up a few years ago so I was familiar with her method and philosophy for home organizing.

So when I saw the Netflix special I was curious to watch it to see how she would present her information, as well as how her clients enjoyed the process.

When I worked as a professional organizer, the main organizational show on TV was Hoarders (is that even still on?).

I never worked with hoarders personally, so I was excited that Marie Kondo’s show would be targeted to the problems most professional organizers encounter with their clients on a routine basis, which is dealing with clutter that accumulates normally in the home, and finding ways to better preserve and utilize the things we do keep in our homes.

My Dillema with Clutter

Even though I love organizing, and always keep an eye on clutter in our home, I can honestly say that the last few years things have gone a bit out of control in our house.

After 3 moves within a 3-year span, as well as the addition of a baby, decluttering fell off my priority list and everything just got transported from one house to the next, whether it still belonged there or not.

I find that this is a very common theme with moms because the addition of a little person in our home makes it that we now have to figure out how to organize their things as well, and many times this process is just an afterthought.

And as time goes by, if we don’t start taking care of the items that enter but don’t leave the home, we start to see clutter slowly accumulating. And it doesn’t take much to make us feel overwhelmed by it and surrounded by disorganization.

Sometimes it’s even hard to see what the issue really is at first.

For instance, you might just feel overwhelmed the moment you walk in your home, but now sure why that is. Or you no longer want to open certain closets or drawers because you know it’s pure chaos and it will just bring you down.

Many times the main motivator to start decluttering and organizing your home is that you just get tired of never being able to find the keys every morning, or you can’t take stepping on toys every time you walk in the living room. I think we all reach a breaking point that gives us the motivation to finally dedicate time to an organizing project.

The good thing is that once you dive in, you’ll realize how easy it is to make everlasting changes to your home. And the feeling you have afterwards is so rewarding and uplifting, that it gives you the energy and motivation to tackle a new project in your home and continue this process.

If you can use some help in the organizing department, here are my favorite tips to help you get started: 

1. Only Keep What you Use

This is so important. You cannot start an organizing project by organizing clutter. It needs to be functional and purposeful, and keeping things you don’t need will only cause headaches for you later on.

Marie suggests asking yourself if what you are keeping sparks joy, as a way to figure out if it belongs in your life right now.

I think that’s a great way to look at it, and you can also think about it as how useful it is. For instance, if you haven’t used it in 6 months or a year, it’s probably very unlikely that you will use it again.

Try not to think too much about it when deciding what to keep and you’ll be fine.

Once this process is complete, then you are ready to move on.

2. Organize One Category at a Time

The reason it’s best to organize by categories is because this allows you to organize all items that belong together at once, rather than going from room to room and finding the same items in each room.

For instance, when organizing your books, get them all together in one place, go through them, then feel free to distribute them to different rooms. This will allow you to really see how many books you actually have in your home, and make a better decision of how many you’d like to keep.

3. Create Systems & Rules

This can be very helpful because the whole family can get on board and understand the systems, so you are not the only one responsible for keeping the home tidy.

For instance, let’s say when your kids get home from school, they take their shoes off and place in a designated basket, empty their backpacks and place those items on the kitchen counter, then hand their backpacks on a designated hook by the front door.

You create the system by placing the hook and the basket for shoes, and then you explain the system to the family members so they can do it themselves.

Obviously this can take a few times of trial and error and reminding, but eventually everyone gets on board. And you no longer have to deal with shoes all over the floor and backpacks on the couch for you to handle later.

4. Use What you Already Have

This can be so helpful, especially if you think getting organized will cost money!

You don’t need to purchase any special systems if you don’t want to. Just get creative with items you already have in your home that can be used for compartmentalizing like items.

For example, a small flower pot can become a pen holder for your desk. This allows you to keep all your pens together (and only the ones that fit inside this container), and repurpose and item that might otherwise have been clutter.

5. Organize Vertically

One of my favorite ways to make a space functional is utilize the vertical space of the room.

You can create amazing systems on your walls that save space from desks, tables and the floor.

One example are the wall hooks I mentioned above. They create vertical organization by utilizing a space that might otherwise not have had a purpose.

I’m curious if you also have watched the show, and decided to declutter and organize your home?

Based on all the conversations I’ve been hearing from people around me who are inspired to get organized but would like the help of a professional, I felt inclined to open up my organizing services again, in a virtual capacity.

That means I will guide you and give you personalized advice on how to make your space functional and clutter free.

If you are interested in learning more, please let me know here.

I’d love to know how you are enjoying this show and what it has inspired you to do! Leave us a comment below.

Much love,

Angélica Renée

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