The Japanese art of decluttering and organizing -

Marie Kondo took the world by storm—a very clean and careful storm that paradoxically left everything in its wake completely organized —when she released her international bestseller 'The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up: The Japanese Art of Decluttering and Organizing' in 2014. She came to even greater fame with her 2019 Netflix show 'Tidying Up with Marie Kondo,' which was followed up with 'Sparking Joy with Marie Kondo' in 2021.

But the KonMari method is so much more than labeling bins and throwing things away. Check out this gallery for everything you need to know about one woman's key to happiness.

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Visualize your destination - The KonMari method might be universally applicable for a more harmonious home, but it’s always individually fueled by personal motivation. Before throwing anything away, visualize and fully understand where you want to be at the end of the process, and why.

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Does it spark joy? - The essential step in the KonMari method is putting your hands on everything you own and asking yourself if it "sparks joy." It's quite a physical process, and has nothing to do with whether the item is practical or whether you "should" keep it.

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Tackle categories, not rooms -

It might seem logical to go room to room in your decluttering journey, but Kondo’s first rule is to tidy by category. She advises starting with clothing, then moving on to books, documents, miscellany, and, lastly, old photographs and mementos.

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Subcategories - Each category can also be divided into subcategories, like sorting through shirts one day and pants the next.

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Respect your home - Taking the time to greet and thank your house might sound weird to you, but Kondo pays her respects to every house she is decluttering, thanking it for what it has given the owner.

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Thank your belongings - Kondo also encourages people to thank each item for its service, particularly the ones you are letting go of, which will make the process much easier. You'll also appreciate what you have and learn to treat each item you own with respect.

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Get imaginative - Have you ever considered your clothings' feelings? Kondo encourages people to think about whether their clothes are happy being squashed, crowded, or balled up.

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Avoid nostalgia like the plague - It's essential to stay in the moment and think about what makes you happy in the present as opposed to what once made you happy. Kondo says you should go through mementos last, so that by the time you get to them you'll have refined your sense of what really brings you joy.

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Take inventory of what you have - Dumping everything in one spot is essential for really comprehending how much you own, and it’s a very fast way to realize that you can't possibly need all of it, which makes it easier to give things away.

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Messes can be productive - Following the KonMari method, things have to get messier before they get clean. So if you’re worried about how messy your place is, you’re actually closer to getting organized!

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Don't focus on getting rid of things - Instead of deciding what to get rid of, Kondo says the focus should be on what you want to keep.

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You have permission to let go of anything not serving you - This focus on joy gives you permission to let go of anything that you've outgrown, that has faded, that clings uncomfortably, and that you don't actually enjoy anymore.

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Good karma - Give your old belongings to a charity thrift store, because the things that didn’t give you joy might work for someone else. Plus, you'll reduce your fashion footprint!

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Fold and place vertically - Only after you’ve sorted through everything should you decide where the remaining items should be kept. Kondo believes a lot of our clothing would be better off (or, as she'd say, happier) folded in a dresser.

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The KonMari folding technique - Kondo’s vertical folding technique makes everything easy to spot and retrieve without messing up anything else. Everything from T-shirts to stockings can be first made into a long rectangle, then folded up from the bottom into a neat little package. Kondo also suggests using shoe-box type drawer dividers.

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Fall in love with your closet - No wrestling with racks, and no crumpled up shirts, which means getting dressed in the morning will actually be a pleasure.

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Rediscover your style - When you keep accumulating clothes and simultaneously running through the same rotation of outfits, you can easily lose sight of your style. The KonMari method is a way to find it again.

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Get rid of those pesky papers - Everyone has a drawer or an accordion file filled with old bills and documents that are all probably digitized now anyway. They are the epitome of useless clutter.

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Stay focused on your own things - When you live with other people it can be hard to deal with their clutter, but Kondo doesn't recommend interfering with their stuff. Instead, you should set an example by concentrating on your own things and being a role model for everyone else.

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Stay away from stacking -

Everything from documents to clothes and even your fridge contents can and should be arranged vertically, so that everything is visible, accessible, and easy to grab. Shelves are your friends!

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Keep change in your wallet - Kondo doesn’t understand why people keep change in jars or drawers around their homes, rendering the money useless (when was the last time you turned your change into bills?), so she suggests putting loose coins into your wallet when you find them lying around so that you can actually spend them.

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Make your bed every morning - Your bed is the main focus of your room, so your room won't feel organized if your bed isn't made.

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Don't clutter sink space - In the name of not doing anything contrary to that which will bring you joy, Kondo says you shouldn't put items around the sink because they can get wet and they make it harder to clean. At the very least, keep places that need more frequent cleaning free of clutter.

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High-traffic areas should be kept clear - Label baskets in hallways so that everyone knows where things should go, and so that high-traffic routes in your home are kept clear.

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Everything has a place - Make sure there is a specific place for every item in your home, so that you know where to put it back and are able to always find it.

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Clutter affects your psyche - Whether it’s inhibiting yourself from intimacy in the bedroom, hindering your self-expression in the living room, or blunting your subconscious intuition by clogging your basement, there’s a negative effect of clutter for every room.

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Do it all at once - The process won't work if you do it bit by bit. But don't worry: Kondo gives you six months to do it all!

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Don't force yourself to get rid of things if you don't want to - Unlike some minimalists, Kondo doesn’t suggest that each person should only have one drawer for their clothes or just seven T-shirts. The KonMari method can be adapted for a wide range of possessions.

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It's not about the stuff -

Kondo believes that wellness and mindfulness are about understanding what sparks joy in your life and makes you feel the most happy. And once you achieve this understanding, you can apply it to food, relationships, your career, and so much more.

See also: Seven signs that you are in a happy relationship

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