Away with it! How Marie Kondo taught me order – and I became a freak

i hate clutter Unfortunately for me it was still mostly messy. Then a friend recommended Marie Kondo’s book to me – and I became an order freak.

by Franziska Steinberg

Yes, it was often messy with me. Before visitors came, I still planned time for tidying up and cleaning. Now not really chaotic, messi-like, dirty. Not that one. But stuff was just lying around everywhere. Constant. It was a mystery to me how I managed to do it so quickly again and again. Cleaning up was a real feat that cost a lot of time and motivation. However, the orderly condition never lasted long. After only a few days there was stuff lying around again. But then Marie Kondo came with her konmari method and changed my life – really now! So I suddenly dragged garbage bags full of stuff out of my booth – a real liberation. Usually it is not the problem of order, but a problem of “too much stuff”. The brainwashing with Marie Kondo lasted for several weeks. Now I live in a permanent apartment – and my friends think I’m a freak. But what happened? I had to clean up – really.

Marie Kondo Rule #1: Keep things organized by category!

Marie Kondo doesn’t do her decluttering (and the book is only about decluttering) by room, but by category: clothes, books, papers, odds and ends, memorabilia, and I strongly recommend following this order. It made perfect sense. Example: Books no longer belong in the bedroom (current reading), study (bookshelf), living room (decor shelf) AND in the kitchen (cookbooks), but they all found their place on the bookshelf. Logical. So the ones that are left. The books with value, with beautiful memories, classics, specialist literature – in short: books that make me happy to look at were allowed to stay. Books that I have read once or never have been thrown out. This also applies to clothes and paperwork, towels, bed linen etc. Everything has its own place!

Marie Kondo Rule #2: Maybe never comes – so get rid of it!

Who doesn’t know it: Maybe I’ll fit in there again. Maybe there’s a themed party. Maybe I’ll read this book soon. Maybe we’re repainting the apartment and I need this old shirt to do it. Maybe one of my friends could use this. As soon as I hear my head thinking this sentence, Marie Kondo stands in front of me and preaches: “Maybe never comes. Throw it away immediately!” In order to be really clear about this, it is super important when cleaning out to throw all the things in one category on the floor. So get everything out of the cupboards and onto the floor! There are two reasons for this: First, I realized how much clothes (books, papers, cosmetics) I actually own – it can be really frightening. Second, I picked up each piece and thought about what it means to me. You haven’t worn this sweater for three years now, you’ve never missed it, it doesn’t trigger a feeling in you: Get rid of it!

Marie Kondo Rule #3: What Makes You Happy!

What have I already discussed: “But a mob doesn’t make you happy either, but you still need it!”, the classic Marie Kondo counterargument. Honestly? I had two mop mobs at home that sucked. One was broken, the other didn’t serve its purpose. Both really didn’t make me happy. What is the solution? Buy a new one that makes you happy. A bit of research is required: I knew that it shouldn’t break so quickly and I knew that it shouldn’t leave ugly streaks on the floorboards. So I googled my sore fingers until I found the right copy for me. That costs time and also a few euros more. But now I actually like wiping – the result makes me happy. And he’s holding up great. The principle is that simple.

Marie Kondo Rule #4: Memories are in your head!

First of all: My graduation shirt is still in the closet. I don’t do it 100 percent either – that’s the little rebel in me. It’s really hard to part with memorabilia. Or gifts that you found somehow sweet and dear, but with which you couldn’t do anything. I can now live with saying goodbye to things Marie Kondo-style and saying thank you: “Thank you very much, you nice plane ticket to the USA – I had a great trip that you made possible for me. But I don’t need you anymore to remind me. Bye!”

Marie Kondo Rule #5: Get rid of the little shit!

Marie Kondo caught me so cold with that little shit. She was just so right: cable after cable (which I don’t even know what they are for), old mobile phone boxes or boxes of other electronic devices, perfume and other cosmetic samples, small change lying around everywhere, magazines and brochures, bags, old small electronic devices Devices (digital cameras, iPods, etc.), old fashioned jewelry, bobby pins, hand creams in each room. Awful! This was ultimately the stuff that made my apartment look so messy. Small change now goes directly into the purse and the rest is gone. I now have exactly one hand cream, my absolute favorite hand cream, and it has a permanent place – with the other cosmetics in the bedroom.

Marie Kondo Rule #6: Everything at a Glance!

The absolute tidying professionals are total hamsters – they collect everything. I now smile at people who buy boxes and other great things (eg hangers for towels) to organize their stuff and present a tidy apartment. My new mantra: If I have to buy something new to sort and organize my things, something has to go and not something more. Creating storage space is the enemy. I don’t want to have to store anything. I want to open a closet and be able to see everything inside at a glance. And not finding another dress in the back corner after three years that I haven’t worn in ages.

Thanks Marie Kondo, I’m a total freak now!

So I finally have the order I always wanted. My husband thinks it’s great too! It’s just that he’s driving me crazy because of course he didn’t understand the principle. I couldn’t convince him to read the book. He’s constantly putting things away where they don’t belong. Stacks stuff in the attic we’ll never need again, instead of throwing it outright. I also offend my friends when they shouldn’t give me anything for my birthday. Afterwards, I own something that doesn’t make me happy and I throw it straight in the trash. So I’m ungrateful. I also don’t buy anything that doesn’t make me happy. As a result, I find it very difficult to bring myself to buy something: Do I really want THAT in my life? do i need this As a result, a mop purchase becomes a science and not just a purchase for a mop. In addition, friends and family are no longer safe from smartass tips. I would love to tidy up the apartment with all my friends, really clean it out, help them to free them from unnecessary ballast – whether they like it or not. I can no longer stand to watch people unthinkingly pile on more things and buy, buy, buy. Or refrain from commenting when friends move into larger apartments because they no longer have space in the old one. I haven’t offered myself as a relocation helper for a long time. Thanks Marie Kondo, I’m neat, but it seems I’ve become really antisocial.

barbara

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