Coronavirus concerns have got a lot of us spending more time at home nowadays. With self-isolation in full swing, many of us are working from home and as a result, we’ve got a lot more time on our hands. Instead of sitting in and inhabiting our own filth, it’s time we get out act together and use this extra time a little bit more productively and work on cleaning up the house.
We spoke about other creative ways to spend your time at home on this episode of It’s Been A Big Day For…
If you’re not the biggest cleaner and are desperate for a tip or two, don’t worry we’ve got you. We’ve collated the best five tips we could gather out of the wisdom of Marie Kondo, the cleaning icon who loves mess. Honestly, we can’t wait for more tips to come out of season two of ‘Tidying Up with Marie Kondo’, which will drop in the near future. Anyway, we digress, let’s begin.
1 The KonMari Method
Popularised in her 2015 book ‘The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up’, the KonMari Method is Marie Kondo’s must-follow rules. According to Kondo, there are six basic rules for tidying: commit yourself to tidying-up, imagine your ideal lifestyle, finish discarding first, tidy-up by category and not by location, follow the right order and ask yourself if it “sparks joy”. If you follow these rules, you’ll have a spotless home in no time!
2. Be Smart About Storage
There are a few ways that Marie Kondo likes to store things. Firstly, it’s important that you organise items by size. This way, nothing gets lost and you’ll always be able to find everything that you own. Also, it’s important to organise your storage based on how frequently you use items. For example, do not store everyday cups and cutlery in hard-to-reach places, save those cupboards for seasonal things. Lastly, Marie Kondo advises you to use clear boxes when putting things in storage. This way, you’ll be able to see what’s in certain boxes from afar. So simple, yet so effective.
3. Pile Things Up
When tidying-up, it’s apparently very important for you to pile it all up. Yep, you heard correctly. So, if you’re organising all your shirts, pants, accessories or anything, you need to pile all of them on top of each other before you start to put them away. Even though it looks like you’re making more mess, it’s definitely worth it. By piling everything on top of each other, you realise how much of a certain item you have, don’t have or are missing. Also, it’ll help you let go of things that you don’t need but probably won’t admit to not needing.
4. Get Vertical
Aside from the “sparking joy” phenomenon, Marie Kondo is known for her folding techniques. She likes to fold things vertically. This means for clothes, you should roll them, fold them into thirds and store them up-right so that you’re not constantly ruining the pile of clothes to get something out. But, this doesn’t just apply to clothes. Keep everything the right-side-up.
5. Get Mindful
Cleaning up can be quite a mindful ritual for many people. Decluttering usually involves throwing away items that were once sentimental. Hence, Marie Kondo recommends that you get mindful when cleaning. Firstly, you should thank your home for protecting you – it sounds a little strange but ultimately, it creates a calm and positive aura before you start cleaning up. Also, get rid of things that don’t “spark joy.” If you’re hoarding items that carry negative connotations, it’s time to get rid of them. Even if they once had positive connotations, you should thank it for its service and then discard it. Also, give every item a home. Anything you bring into your house should have a home, especially sentimental items.
Happy cleaning!
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