We Tried The Marie Kondo Method

Marie Kondo is a household name after selling millions of copies of her book, The Life Changing Magic of Tidying Up worldwide, and having a hit show on Netflix. The Japanese author changed what is means to tidy your space, and her method has even become a verb, to KonMari.

We’re not going to lie after watching Tidying Up With Marie Kondo we knew we had to ramp up our purging and organizing skills so we KonMari-ed our closet, pantry and beauty products.

So what is the KonMari method anyway?

1. Commit yourself to tidying up.
2. Imagine your ideal life.
3. Finish letting go first.
4. Tidy by category, not location.
5. Follow the right order.
6. Ask yourself if it sparks joy.

The method sounds simple enough though the all-or-nothing approach had us a little hesitant at first. Going through the selection process was tougher than we’d imagined, and determining if an item sparks joy was very challenging for us since most items teleported us back to pleasant memories. Thus, we convinced ourselves that these items were worth keeping (a big Marie Kondo No-No!) and perhaps the minimalist approach of less is more wasn’t for us.

Drawer Organizer

Linen Drawer Organizer from The Container Store

Our attachment to items could use some assistance from the expert herself, Mrs. Kondo to aid in the process of letting things go. Evidently, the emotional attachment we place on our personal belongings is a bond that is unbreakable. However, we are proud of ourselves for purging a few items from our closet, makeup bag and pantry.

Sure, in the moment we bravely tossed out a few embellished blazers to only regret this decision later which ultimately lead us to conclude that setting hard and fast rules for our cherished items just wasn’t our jam. Though purging in the moment may appear to be uplifting, dealing with the repercussions of the aftermath may not be worth the headache. Also, maintaining this elimination method proved to be difficult to keep up with afterwards.

Let’s not jump to conclusions here people, we are not by definition a hoarder, but we do take pride in cherishing the things that DO bring us joy even if most of the items we own elicit this feeling for us- oops! Though we disagree with some of Marie Kondo’s ideologies, we found that others did help us practise better organizational skills like Marie’s precise folding, stacking and flat lay techniques. Hands-down these techniques were game changers for us! Who knew that standing folded clothes upright in our drawers could be so revolutionary. Watch this video to learn more about Marie’s folding technique.

Want to get a jumpstart on decluttering and organizing your space? Try using some of these items to get the ball rolling.

Have you tried the KonMari method?