Our interior designer is sharing her ideas for tidying up in the new year, inspired by Marie Kondo!

A few years ago, Marie Kondo became a household name due to her wildly successful book, The Life Changing Magic of Tidying up: The Japanese Art of Decluttering and Organizing.

“We should be choosing what we want to keep, not what we want to get rid of,” Marie Kondo shares in the book.

Watch one episode; you’ll be itching to start your own tidying up journey! Here are some of Marie's tips.

8 Steps to Tidying Up:

COMMIT YOURSELF to tidying up all at once; this is not a daily chore.

• IMAGINE your ideal lifestyle to prevent relapse.
• DISCARD BY CATEGORY, not by room.
• GATHER EVERYTHING to see how much of that category you really have.
• HOLD EACH ITEM and ask yourself, “Does this spark joy?”
• FINISH DISCARDING before moving on. Neat does not equal declutter.
• GO IN ORDER – clothes, books, papers, miscellaneous, sentimental.
• GIVE THANKS for what your belongings provide to you.

If you don’t have Netflix, you can check out Marie's website for more tips https://konmari.com/.

Many of us have a hard time organizing and keeping things neat, but with this new mindset your home can now become what you've always envisioned for it! This has created a peace within me that I’m excited to share with others.

For me, Marie’s most useful tip was her method for storing clothes. Folding clothes and standing them upright is GENIUS versus stacking them. This illustration can help get the kids involved and serve as a reminder for yourself:

Kondo’s method of tidying rings true to one a quote by William Morris, “Have nothing in your house that you do not know to be useful, or believe to be beautiful.”

It’s the perfect time to start a new year off with a clutter-free home!

Ready to build a brand-new home for a fresh start? Make your  New Home Tour with Betenbough Homes today!