Often, cleaning is associated with something very unpleasant and tedious since childhood. An obligation, a monster devouring free time that could be spent on walking with friends, playing games or reading interesting books. For some – a good way to relieve stress, killing two birds with one stone: calms and restores cleanliness. But this is not for long. Often the problem is not that we are too lazy to clean, but that we get too many unnecessary things, which are then a pity to throw away. After all, did you buy it for something? And at the time of purchase, they seemed to be in their right mind and bright memory, so it definitely should come in handy! But it doesn’t come in handy. Dusting in a closet or on a shelf, taking up space not only in space, but also in the head.
Marie Kondo is a house cleaning specialist, consultant, and author of The Magic Cleaning. The Japanese art of tidying up home and in life, “developed a unique KonMari cleaning method. She was interested in this as a child. At the age of five, she began to read books on organizing space and magazines on home economics, and put her knowledge into practice at home and at school. Its method is based on long-standing Japanese traditions, the art of getting rid of the superfluous (art of discarding), which was popular in Japan back in the 90s of the 20th century. Marie brought him to perfection.
If you look at photos of Japanese apartments in those days, you can see very strange things in our opinion – old cassettes, CDs, books or toys. They may not be of any practical use, it is not entirely clear why they can be used, and some are already hopelessly outdated (cassettes). These things are united by one thing – warm, joyful memories that connect them with the owner. The purpose of the KonMari method is not just to get rid of trash, but to make the space cozy and comfortable.
For Marie, cleaning is putting things in order both in the house and in thoughts, in the soul. She considers this process in two planes – spiritual and practical. Practical – cleanliness and order in the apartment. Spiritual – order in thoughts and peace of mind. Kondo believes all things are alive. And like any living thing, they need care and their place. Getting rid of simply unnecessary things, we free up space for loved ones and often used ones. Then it will be convenient for everyone, and the atmosphere of comfort and peace will reign in the house.
Cleaning Rules of Marie Condo
Rule number 1. First of all, choose what you want to save, and not what you want to get rid of. Cleaning with Marie does not mean that you need to throw away all the old things. It may be completely new, but unnecessary things. The main rule is to leave your favorite things with which we have pleasant memories. That is, if a favorite sweater that has caught dinosaurs lies in a closet lying in the closet, you can safely leave it.
Rule number 2. Create an inspirational image in your head. Mentally imagine how you would like your apartment or room to look. The main thing is not to free up as much space as possible, but to make it comfortable and cozy for life.
Rule number 3. Clean by category. Do not take it all at once. Schedule a cleaning plan not in the categories “rooms – kitchen – bathroom”, but “clothes – books – documents – dishes”.
Rule number 4. Do not buy new containers for storage and fill boxes by 90%. You can always use what is already in the house: small boxes of cookies and large boxes of shoes, boxes, jars and other types of packaging that can be folded into something, and which are already in the house. As for filling boxes – try to put things upright and fold your clothes like origami.
Rule number 5. Make a decision immediately and alone. It’s better to put things in order without witnesses. Your relatives and friends may have a slightly different view of what should be left and what should be thrown away. Since the main goal is not just to get rid of the old, but to leave your favorite and pleasant things, the result may not coincide with your real desires.
Rule number 6. Lay out and hang clothes from light to dark. Marie believes that things that look the same should hang or lie side by side. As we are comfortable with people who are like us, so things will be nicer in the company of related things. You need to hang from left to right from light to dark.
Rule number 7. Storage and use of things should not cause additional inconvenience. This means that things need to be stacked not where we think it will be convenient to store them, but where it will be convenient to get them from. Imagine that you put all the jars of spices and spices, the bottles of sauces and oils into, in a perfect top cabinet. Now try to start cooking something more complicated than mashed potatoes. Each time you have to reach for a shelf or climb on a chair to get the right thing. Yes, you can immediately get what you need, and then put it back in place. But you still have to perform uncomfortable actions. It is better to think over places in advance.
Rule number 8. Do not leave things “just in case.” Leaving a thing to wear at home is a great temptation. Marie believes that even in the apartment you need to wear clothes in which it will not be embarrassing to open the door to neighbors or quickly go to the next store. Hesitation means that you can not decide on the importance of this thing. If you get into such a situation, stop and think carefully about what emotions and memories are associated with it.
Rule number 9. Get rid of the past. This item deals with the problem of throwing things that are dear to the heart, but take up too much space. It is often very difficult to decide which thing you like more. There can be a lot of them, and each can be a connection not only with places, but also with people. If it’s very difficult, but you understand that the time has come to let go, spend some time with her, sorting through the memories that are associated with her. Take a picture of it and describe it in order to remember, but at the same time make room for something new. It’s like a farewell to a person with whom he binds a lot, but your paths have already diverged. Release and move on.
Rule number 10. Use things meaningfully. Always put things in place, thank you for taking advantage of them, and take care of them. Marie believes that in this way after cleaning you will become clear the meaning and purpose of each thing. You will begin to truly appreciate and use them consciously.
Perhaps this philosophy is not entirely suitable for people with a Western way of thinking, but we can take basic postulates from there and put things in order not only in cabinets, but also in our heads.
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