cleaning out
This one error torpedoes all our cleanup attempts
© Africa Studio/shutterstock
So much can be revealed: It’s a family problem. No, the genes have exceptionally nothing to do with it.
THE expert when it comes to tidying up is Maria Kondo. She is not only a star in her native Japan. Her books “Magic Cleaning: How Proper Tidying Up Changes Your Life” and “Magic Cleaning: How to Keep Your Home and Soul Tidy” are selling like miracle cleaning products around the world. After all, untidy apartments are a global phenomenon.
And Maria Kondo has badassly identified the enemy of the tidy closet. If you want to clean up successfully, you need the nerves of a samurai. And should stay away from family.
Your golden rule:
Don’t show your family what you cleaned up!
What does this mean? You have given so much thought to what to keep and what to part with. And these are decisions that are often not easy to make. So when your sister takes on the pile of clothes you just sorted out, things can get tricky: T-shirts are then unpacked that you’ve spent the best summers in. And nostalgia shakes the decision to part with something. And hey presto, the T-shirt ends up back in the closet.
Of course, we should not part with everything lightly. Especially when it comes to heirlooms that we have grown fond of and that cannot simply be replaced. But we also have to part with other things. After all, we don’t want to fill our lives with objects, but with memories. And there is always enough space for them!
And what actually helps with decluttering?
- Set a goal! This should be positive and as specific as possible. Example: Create more space in the living room.
- Motivate yourself! Imagine how nice it is when you have created more space in the living room.
- Set yourself a deadline! By when do you want to have reached your goal? A specific time frame (e.g. in the next 24 hours, on weekends, by the end of the month) will help you not lose sight of your goal.
- Get crates! Everything you want to clear out can be sorted into the right boxes and boxes. One for the trash, one for the flea market, one for gifts, and a box for anything you want to keep but don’t need all the time.
- Think of a reward! To increase motivation, think of a reward. “When I’m done cleaning up, then….”