Minimalism in March (how to de-clutter your life)

How does one go about about de-cluttering or becoming a minimalist? Lets begin with defining what exactly minimalism is; it is where you remove the superficial and keep the significant (in a nutshell).

Now, we aren't suggesting for one second, you rid yourself of absolutely everything in your life/house, but maybe it's time to re-evaluate.....and take a leaf out of the minimalism book in how we can de-cluttering our lives.

Let's tackle the clutter in your life by adopting the #KonMari method. Ok, so we are totally riding the Marie Kondo train (allll aboard) – but given she's been a “tidier” since the tender age of five, I'm guessing she knows a thing or two about the subject. 

Here are a few tips you can adopt in your resolution to de-clutter your life;

Tidy all at once - tidying a bit at a time never works, things will get messy again….and quickly (pretty simple so far...let's keep going, shall we?).

Tidy by category, not by room - if you are tackling clothing, then you must get ALL your clothes out of every wardrobe and every single drawer in EVERY room (eeekkk)…start with tops, then work your way down. Kondo also has a technique in the art of folding - which frees up an enormous amount of wardrobe space (so you can buy more clothes....kidding).

Tidy in the right order – apparently there is an order in the way you need to tidy (seems you can't be all willy-nilly in the way you de-clutter). Start with clothes, then books, papers, and so on, until you get to your Komono (Japanese for miscellaneous items....so your knick knacks).

The KonMari Method also teaches you how to store all items of the same type in the same place so that things don’t become scattered and lead to more accumulation (mind blown...why did we not think of this before?).

Determine what items “sparks joy” - do this by taking each item in your hand and asking yourself “does this spark joy?” If yes, then it stays. If it does not spark joy, then throw it out (this can be easier said than done). If you have been holding on to things for emotional reasons, then the KonMari Method is perfect for you because it calls for you to rely on your intuition and honours how you feel about your belongings.

The great thing about the KonMari Method is that you don’t have to follow rules that don’t suit you, and at the end of the process, you are left (hopefully) with only the things that you love.

Side note; getting rid of your “things” and donating to Op shops, charity organisations, or recycling does not mean you are throwing away the memories you may have – you are keeping those memories with you, you are just no longer keeping the actual gift.....and this in itself, can be quite a liberating and freeing feeling.

So, what do you say? Ready to give it a try?  I'm game if you are?