Contents
8 tips for tidying up your home
Visualize your goal.
“Before you empty yourself, take the time to think about your ultimate goal. It means visualizing the ideal lifestyle that you dream of. “
Make tidying up an event.
« You only have to tidy up once, once and for all and all at once. Tidy a little each day and you will never be done. My clients are losing the habit of tidying up little by little. They haven’t all been in a mess since they started their tidying up marathon. This approach is essential to avoid the rebound effect. When we throw in a single swing, it sometimes means filling 40 garbage bags during the day. “
Start with the “trash” phase
« Before storing, you must first throw away. We need to be in control and resist the urge to put our things away before we have finished identifying what we want and need to keep. The work involved in tidying up can be divided into two: deciding whether or not to throw something away, and deciding where to put it if you keep it. If you are able to do both of these things, then you can achieve perfection in one batch. “
Use the correct criteria to decide what to throw away
“The best way to decide which things to keep and which to throw away is to take each object in your hand and ask yourself, ‘Does this object make me happy? If the answer is “yes”, keep it. If not, throw it away. This criterion is not only the simplest, but also the most precise. Don’t just open the doors to your walk-in closet and then decide, after a quick glance, that everything in it gives you an emotion. Keep only the things that affect you. Then take the plunge and throw away everything else. You start from scratch in a new way of life. “
Sort by object categories and not by rooms
« Stock up on trash bags and get ready to have some fun! Start with clothes, then move on to books, papers, miscellaneous items (pens, coins, CDs, DVDs…), and finish with things with sentimental value and memories. This order is also relevant when moving to the storage of items to be kept. Collect all the clothes you find in one place, then put them on the floor. Then take each garment in your hands and see if it makes you happy. Ditto for books, papers, souvenirs … “
Store toiletries in the cupboards
“There’s no need to leave soaps and shampoos out when we’re not using them. I have therefore adopted as a principle do not leave anything on the edge of the tub or in the shower. If this sounds like more work to you at first, it is in fact the opposite. It is much easier to clean the tub or shower without it being cluttered with these items. “
Organize your clothes
“Fold them correctly to solve your space problems, organize cupboards and wardrobes. Coats should be on the left first, followed by dresses, jackets, pants, skirts and blouses. Try to create a balance so that your clothes appear to be rising to the right. Once the sorting is done, my clients only end up with a third or a quarter of their starting wardrobe. “
Finish with personal and sentimental items
“Now that you have put away your clothes, books, papers, miscellaneous items, you can now tackle the last category: items of sentimental value. When thinking about your future, is it worth keeping memories of events that you would have forgotten without the presence of these objects? We live in the present. As wonderful as it may have been, we cannot live in the past.
Once your sorting is done, choose a place for everything, look for the ultimate in simplicity. A spectacular reorganization of the house brings about dramatic changes in lifestyle and visions of existence. “
The Magic of Storage, Marie Kondo, First éditions, 17,95 euros
In this video, Marie Kondo shows you how to store your underwear