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Marie Kondo of Japan kicked off the cleanliness revolution with her book Magical Cleaning, becoming one of the world’s most influential home improvement consultants. Her useful advice has already changed the lives of many people, taught them how to properly clean up.
Many of us dedicate spring weekends to cleaning the house. Spring sets you up for a “reset”, you want to throw off all the ballast accumulated during the dark winter months, let the air into the apartment, take a deep breath. But often cleaning, started early in the morning, almost does not progress until the evening. We get tired, irritated, feel dissatisfied with ourselves and go to bed, asking one question: “What have I been doing all day?”
1. Remove everything in one fell swoop
Do not believe the advice about the gradual cleaning of the room. Clean a little each day and you will clean forever.
“Changing lifestyle habits acquired over the years can be extremely difficult. If you haven’t succeeded in keeping order up to now, you will soon find that it is almost impossible to train yourself to clean a little. Big cleaning gives visible results. Cleaning never lies.
If you remove it in one fell swoop, and not gradually, then you can permanently change your thinking and life habits. This approach is the key to preventing backlash. By doing everything at once, you will see the results and feel the impact of your efforts,” advises Marie Kondo in her book “Magical Cleaning. The Japanese art of putting things in order at home and in life.
2. Don’t let your family peek
Get out, if possible, alone. And in no case do not show your husband, sister or mother bags of things that you will throw away.
“If possible, take out the trash bags yourself,” writes Marie Kondo. – There is no need to let your family know what exactly you are going to throw away.
It’s not that you have something to be ashamed of. There is nothing wrong with cleaning. However, the sight of what their children throw away is the greatest stress for parents. The sheer size of the trash heap can make them anxious, making them wonder if they can live with what they have left. In the overwhelming majority of cases, it is the mothers who “save” things thrown away by their daughters. However, they rarely wear the clothes that are taken away.”
3. One category at a time
Most people keep items that fall into one category (such as clothes) in two or more places scattered throughout the house. That is why the principle of cleaning “first the bedroom, then the living room, then the kitchen” does not work.
“Say, for example, you start with a wardrobe in a room or a chest of drawers,” Marie describes the situation. “After you’re done sorting and throwing away what’s in it, you’re bound to stumble upon clothes that were kept in another closet, or thrown over an armchair in the living room. You will have to repeat all the efforts, and this can kill motivation.
Instead, you can take apart one category of things at a time. For example, gather all the clothes in the house and put them on the floor in the living room. Get everything out of your dirty bag, hallway closet, seasonal and beach suit drawers. And then take each thing in your hands and ask yourself: “Does this give me joy?” If this thing makes you happy, keep it. If this dress does not cause any emotions in you, then it is not a pity to get rid of it. With a high probability, you wore it only once, and then a few years ago.
4. Ruthlessly dispose of documents
Document document strife – sure Marie Kondo. And this means that all the papers in the house must first be sorted into two piles. The first is those documents that definitely remain. These are insurances, employment contracts and contracts for renting and renting an apartment, birth and property certificates and other documents of vital importance.
And the second pile is the documents that need to be dealt with. From it, instructions for using equipment are definitely sent to the trash (this does not apply to guarantees, they should be in the first pile). As well as old bills, statements, checks, tickets and discount coupons that are long past due. And try not to store the papers horizontally. Better get them hard vertical folders so they can’t go back to their original chaotic state.
5. Throw away first, clean up later
A big mistake we make when cleaning is to clean and get rid of unnecessary things at the same time. The most effective and fastest way is to first get rid of the unnecessary, and only then decide where and how to put the remaining things. And take out the garbage bag as soon as it is full. This will not allow you to “give up” and at the last moment pull out of it and leave something unnecessary in the house.