Rule 1: Commit yourself to tidying up. Without a sincere commitment to getting organized, you’ll either never get started, quit too soon, or only stay organized temporarily. Identify why you want to get organized and hold yourself accountable.
Some example reasons from the show include a couple moving into a new home together for the first time, a family wanting to get their house in order before committing to having a third child, and a widow looking to start a new chapter after her spouse passed away.
Rule 2: Imagine your ideal lifestyle. A clear vision of the results you want is a crucial motivator. I love how Marie takes a few minutes to greet each home she visits. She encourages each family to sit with her and silently talk to their house, as if in prayer.
Have you ever taken a few minutes to thank your house for protecting you and for all the memories you’ve had there? Envision the changes you want and take a moment to give thanks.
Sam and I spend so much time in our house every day working and as full-time parents with our son. We owe so much to our home – thank you dear house!
Rule 3: Finish discarding first. The meaning of this rule is to move forward with purpose. If you clean up your house’s visible areas by just stuffing everything into closets or storage, that isn’t truly effective.
Why? Without going through your items one by one and only keeping the things that you truly want in your future, it’s highly unlikely you’ll be able to stay organized. Things will inevitably get chaotic again.
Discard items first, then work on properly arranging and storing the remaining things you wish to keep.
Rule 4: Tidy by category, not by location. Traditional organizing is typically done room by room, one closet at a time, one drawer at a time. I’ve always decluttered and organized this way.
The KonMari method, however, is all about tidying by category (ex. clothes, books). The benefit of this approach is seeing just how much you have of each category all at once. Gather each category from all the nooks and crannies in your house and put everything in one big pile.
This shock factor can be quite a big wake up call, especially if you’ve developed a habit of scattering things around. If you love clothes, you might have a dresser and closet full in your bedroom, the guest bedroom, the basement, garage, etc. Making one big mountain of clothes shocks you to how much you actually have and probably don’t need.
The downside of decluttering by category is things will get super messy before they get better. Call it temporary increased chaos, but it’s worth it.
Rule 5: Follow the right order. Marie recommends tackling your tidiness goals in a specific order: clothes, books, papers, komono (miscellaneous items) and lastly, sentimental items.Clothes tend to be the easiest to go through for most people, sentimental items the hardest. Tackling categories from least to most emotional creates momentum and a higher chance of completion.
Rule 6: Ask yourself if it sparks joy. This is my favorite rule. It’s made a huge difference in my ability to let go of things, clothes especially.
How do you know if something sparks joy? Sift through your pile of clothes and find something that you love. Hold it or put it on and capture how it makes you feel. Chances are it makes you smile and feel warm and fuzzy inside.
Next, find something you don’t want to keep and compare the difference in your emotional response. If you get stuck, you can always come back to an item later or have a maybe pile.
Source: https://www.financialsamurai.com/konmari-your-lifestyle-and-finances-marie-kondo-save-time-money/