#konmari method

[imawitchywitch]

Hey guys, if you’re needing something to do this weekend, maybe declutter and clean!

[sanwichsays]

Do any of you use the KonMari method of folding your clothes? It really is life changing!

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Every time I open my drawers, it brings such delight.

Bonus: My cat causing trouble...

[dedicatedfollower467]

i've said it before but i'll say it again:

as an adhder, the hard part about the konmari method is not the "don't keep things that don't spark joy" bit, it's the "put things away when you're done with them" bit.

[in-sufficientdata]

Why the Konmari method is pretty useless for people with genuine problems with hoarding and OCD, or OCD tendencies, at least without some caveats and definitions:

Hoarding is defined by a persistent emotional attachment to inanimate objects. Clutterers and hoarders often have an unconscious need to save items, whether for an imagined future ideal use, or just because otherwise they would end up in the landfill.

People with these issues often have difficulty discerning the difference between a truly useful item and something that should be given or thrown away because of their emotional attachment to the item.

They see themselves as the best curator of the items, which may range from useful items like craft supplies, display items, sentimental items, and stuff that is truly just junk.

"Sunk costs" is a term from economics that means that a cost that has already been incurred and cannot be recovered. Although the original term refers to finances, the sunk costs of the time and effort someone has put into an item can influence their decision to keep the item.

Therefore, another factor in this attachment is the sunk costs of money, effort, and time that a person has put into an item. A person may no longer be personally attached to an item, but will keep it because they have always meant to use it or simply because it's not yet ruined.

This is also a reason those with fewer economic advantage tend to be hoarders more than those with a comfortable financial situation. Someone like this realizing they've obtained two of an item will take on the responsibility of curating both instead of getting rid of one.

Because of all these factors, the expression that was translated as "sparks joy" in the English version is too easy for a clutterer to confuse or redefine in their own mind as they work to sort through their items.

In my case, for example, I had a situation where the basement, which was full of our excess saved items, needed to be cleared so the cracked foundation could be repaired. I had to decide what to save in the limited storage space we still had, and what to throw out or donate.

If Konmari had been in vogue at the time (this was in 2004) I'm certain I would have kept far more items than I should have. This language is too easy for a clutterer to massage and redefine in their own mind based on what the item is.

First, clutterers need to be clear-eyed about the fact that they suffer from excess emotional attachment to objects. Flylady's declutter method was in vogue at the time I engaged in this declutter session, and she has a whole checklist of questions to ask oneself about an object:

Do I love this item?

Have I used it in the past year?

Is it really garbage?

Do I have another one that is better?

Should I really keep two?

Does it have sentimental value that causes me to love it?

Or does it give me guilt and make me sad when I see the item?

This may seem needlessly complex to someone who is not a hoarder or clutterer but this addresses many of the reasons that a sufferer would keep an item that they shouldn't.

Another factor is that they are perfectionists. This seems at odds with the idea that they may have a huge mess in their home, but what happens is they often can't deal with their persistent need to have a perfectly clean home that matches their vision.

Because of this they put off starting on the project until it can be done perfectly.

This is why methods like Flylady and Unfuck Your Habitat (which is really just Flylady without the cutesy rhetoric) help these people so much, because people with differences such as ADHD become clutterers because they don't know how to regulate their own time or how to organize.

The emotional attachment to their possessions is, incidentally, why decluttering on behalf of your hoarder friend is a very bad idea. The person will need to work through this process on their own, in order for it to stick.

Getting rid of these items can be intensely emotional and difficult for someone with these tendencies.

Time limits, routines, consistency, and persistence are the best tools for someone who needs to declutter. Don't try to do this all in an afternoon. Not only is it a difficult process, it should become a consistent habit.

For resources and further reading please check out Squalor Survivors (archive.org link).

[ittybittyave]

Overwhelming Mess? Declutter Without Losing Your Mind

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Have you ever walked into a room, taken one look at the chaos, and felt instantly overwhelmed? Or maybe your garage has started to resemble the lair of a suburban dragon that hordes long forgotten treasures. We’ve all been there before. When the clutter has slowly crept up on us, turning what was once a minor mess into a full-on disaster zone. But fear not, my friend! Tidying up doesn’t have to…

Overwhelming Mess? Declutter Without Losing Your Mind

[knittedbond]

thinking about marie kondo and her kiccoro tshirt

text:

Being surrounded by things that spark joy makes you happy

Everyone has things that they love, things that they cannot imagine parting with, even though other people shake their heads in disbelief when they see them. I see the things that other people find precious every day, and you would be amazed at the strange and incomprehensible articles that capture people's hearts-- a set of ten finger puppets each with one eye only and every eye different, a broken alarm clock shaped like the Morinaga Noobow character, a driftwood collection that looks more like a heap of scrap wood. But the immediate response to my hesitant, "Does this... um, really spark joy?" is an emphatic "Yes!" There is no arguing with their confident gaze and shining eyes because I, too, have one such item: my Kiccoro T-shirt.

Kiccoro ("Forest Child") was one of two official mascots for Aichi Expo 2005, which promoted love for the earth and renewable, eco-friendly technology. The larger mascot, Morizo, is perhaps better known. Kiccoro is Morizo's sidekick, a little, lime green, roly-poly character, and my T-shirt shows only Kiccoro's face. I wear it around the bouse all the time. It is one thing that I just cannot bring myself to part with, even if people were to ridicule me, saying, "How can you keep this? Aren't you embarrassed? How can you wear that? You should throw it away."

Let me be clear. The clothes I wear at home are generally cute and pretty. I usually wear girly things, such as camisoles with layers of pink frills and flower-print cotton ensembles, around the house. The only exception is my Kiccoro T-shirt. It is quite a curious article, shocking green in color with just Kiccoro's eyes and half-open, full-lipped mouth, and the tag clearly indicates that it's a children's size. As the Expo was held in 2005, I've been wearing it for many years even though I have no sentimental memories from the event itself. Just reading what I've written here makes me feel embarrassed to be hanging on to such a thing, yet whenever I see it, I can't bring myself to throw it away. My heart starts beating faster as soon as I see Kiccoro's lovely round eyes.

The contents of my drawers are organized so that I can see at a glance what's there. This T-shirt sticks out like a sore thumb among all my graceful, feminine clothes, yet that just makes it more endearing. It's so old now, you would think that it would be stretched out of shape or stained, but it's not, so I can't find any excuse in that area for discarding it. The fact that the tag declares it was made in some other country even though it was it a Japanese expo could have ruined its appeal for me, yet I still can't throw it away.

These are the types of things you should boldly hang on to. If you can say without a doubt, "I really like this!" no matter what anyone else says, and if you like yourself for having it, then ignore what other people thing. To tell the truth, I would not want anyone else to see me wearing my Kiccoro T-shirt. But I keep it for the little joys it gives me, the giggle I get when I take it out and look at it all on my own, the contentment I feel when Kiccoro and I are sweating together as we clean and wondering what to tackle next.

I can think of no greater happiness in life than to be surrounded only by the things I love. How about you? All you need to do is to get rid of anything that doesn't touch your heart. There is no simpler way to contentment. What else could this be called but "the magic of tidying"?

and kiccoro himself :]

[frivolous-pastel]

The reason I've never attempted to fully commit to the konmari method is that I can't get past the first step, which most people seem to gloss over to start finding what sparks joy and folding stuff

The first step is to take a long hard look at yourself and decide what you want your life to be like, and every step afterwards is intended to contribute to that vision of your ideal self and/or life

And I just can't figure out what that looks like

[senadimell]

Okay, sometimes it’s hard to trust Marie Kondo but then I look at the enamel broach I bought at a second-hand store and a grin breaks out on my face every time I see it, and I remember that I bought it without a specific purpose but because I couldn’t resist its beauty and intellectually thought I was being stupid but I was right, and deep down I knew it.