Obsessed with the Netflix Show 'Tidying Up with Marie Kondo'? Imbibe these 9 Life Changing Tips from Her Show to See the Real Difference at Your Home!

Marie Kondo, also popular by the name Konmari, has become a T.V. sensation with her hit show on Netflix, called Tidying up with Marie Kondo. She is a professional organising consultant and bestselling author, hailing from Japan. She has authored four books, all based on organising, which have collectively sold more than a million copies. All of these books have been translated in various languages like Chinese, Indonesian, Korean, Spanish, Swedish, German, Catalan, French, Portuguese, and English.

Furthermore, her book titled The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up, which was published in the year 2011, has been launched in more than 30 countries now. After being a bestseller in Japan as well as in Europe, this book was later published in the United States in the year 2014. To add a feather to the cap of her laurels, she was also listed in the “100 most influential people in the world” by Time magazine in the year 2015. The 34-year-old professional organizer is now known across the world for her famous “Konmari” method of organizing, and she helps people tidy up their spaces with her unique approach.

The KonMari method is said to be Marie’s discovery which she made during her childhood. According to her, if you follow the KonMari method of organizing, you would want to keep only those of your belongings that “spark joy” in your life. You should start by gathering all of your belongings in one place and then segregating them into several categories. It’s totally opposite to what most people do. Generally, we tend to organize our possessions with respect to the locations they were kept in, or belong to.

This method suggests you follow an order of organization, by beginning with the category of clothes, and moving on to books, papers and other items. You should arrange sentimental items at the last. Kondo suggests that one should keep only those things which actually speak to our heart, and spark joy. She believes in being grateful to the objects that no longer spark joy in your life and letting them go, forever. This method is deemed as being highly introspective, forward-looking and effective.

Marie Kondo met with huge fame after her KonMari method took the world of organizing by storm. No one ever thought of things really sparking joy or having a sentimental connection with materialistic objects These kinds of thoughts were often comprehended to be negative and showing that a person was greedy, selfish and materialistic. But these feelings were true and existed in all of us! We just weren’t accepting them with a positive outlook.

The way she taught people to be thankful to the objects that they possessed, be grateful for their service and subtly let them go if they weren’t swirling your heart; was something that people needed. By watching her show Tidying up with Marie Kondo, people get to learn and imbibe some essential rules and to-dos related to better organization skills and better efficiency. So don’t wait for her to knock your door, start yourself by watching her on Netflix and generate your own after and before!

On her show, Kondo follows the route of embracing changes with open arms and making things happen to clean up clutter of years. She remains calm and unfazed by situations which could be enough to stimulate an anxiety attack in others. In fact, her happy and positive attitude makes the changes to be made in the house or room easier and doable, whether that's throwing away stuff or taking tough decisions on throwing away items. Her infectious energy transforms even the most apprehensive participants on the show, to learn and understand the essentials of organization at the end.

This is a great lesson to take home. In our day to day lives, we encounter numerous situations where change is the only solution. Even in matters related to cleaning, we need to accept the changes needed in our behaviour and decision-making. As wise people rightly point out, the only change is constant in our lives. Why not embrace it?

We never think this way, but according to the Kondo, clutter in your house can have a direct impact on the kinds of relationships that you’re into. It can pour out both negativity as well as positivity, depending upon how you handle the situations. For example in the first episode, father Kevin admits the fact that by stressing over the mess, his family was seeing his wrath which was not what he wanted voluntarily. Therefore, it is important to stay organized in the space of your home at least. Clear the clutter in and around your house, accomplish having the "dream house" that you can be proud of, and let the positive vibes take over you. Don't let the mess in your home become the reason for the mess between you and your close ones.

As social beings, we tend to associate feelings and emotions with the things we own. You might not know it but there are some things, which when touched bring a gush of joy running through your veins. These are the things that really spark joy in your life! Kondo, in her KonMari method, explains that we hog onto a lot of things that we don’t necessarily need in life but when we start cleaning, it is hard to understand which things should we do away with?

She suggests that we should only keep those possessions which spark joy in our life, which make us feel happy and gives out positive vibes.

When we start tidying up, we put aside a pile of junk, pack it hurriedly in trash bags and throw it away as soon as possible. But that is not the right way according to Marie. If you follow her advice, she'll insist on being grateful for each and everything that you own, even when you're getting rid of it. While you start categorizing things that you want to keep and the things that you don't, pick each one of them in your hands and feel whether it brings joy to your life or not.

If it does, then keep it in one place and if it doesn't then thank the object for its great services in your life and let it go. Kondo appreciates gratitude towards your possessions. She believes that our prosperity is something that we should be thankful for and not take it for granted at any given time in life.

We’ve all heard it an infinite number of times from people around us or through organization gurus, that attaching sentiments to our possessions is the worst thing that we can do. They say it makes people prone to accumulating more and more items in their homes which are not worth it. But, for Kondo, it is alright to associate sentiments with the things you own. It should not be judged. In her show, she takes special care when dealing with sentimental objects and dedicates a complete episode on tidying things that are close to one's heart. She says there is only one rule to holding on to sentimental objects- does it bring you joy or not?

We have all experienced that moment when we’re getting ready for an occasion but just can’t find the perfect clothes and scream “I don’t have enough clothes” out loud! But, from Marie Kondo’s show, it is quite clear that even if we might feel that we don’t own enough clothing, we actually hold on to too many items in our wardrobes. Therefore she suggests that the first thing that you should do to sort out clothes, is to gather them all up in a huge pile and understand how much you were keeping all over the house.

In episode 2 of her show, the lady participant in it doesn’t even acknowledge the heaps and piles of clothes that she actually has in her house. Kondo suggests on buying the clothes which actually make you feel awesome, and are not a part of some impulsive buying decisions. She believes in sustainable fashion, more than the trends.

Following a conventional way of arranging things in the house, most people arrange things on the basis of their locations and not on the basis of the category that they represent. Kondo on the other hands feels that tidying up things should start with categorizing the things that you own based on their uses. For example, the first category to work on should be clothes. The second can be books, and the third can be papers and so on. Start with arranging and sorting one particular category, by holding each item in your hands and searching for things that spark joy.

Since our childhood, our parents have always told us to neatly fold the clothes that we have, and place them in the cupboard in stacks. But, with an increasing culture of walk-in closets and decreasing interests in putting the time in keeping the clothes stacked, we’ve all picked up the habit of hanging our clothes one after the other. Kondo, realizing the wisdom in her Asian teachings, stresses folding the clothes rather than hanging them.

When you fold your clothes neatly and tidily, it not only saves you a lot of space in the closet but, also shows how much respect and care you have for your belongings. Kondo also believes that by having folded stacks of clothing, one can easily see the full spectrum of clothes available for use.

If you make it through all the episodes of Kondo’s show on Netflix, you’ll realize that organising things is much more than just having a tidy house. You’ll see participants evolve, their relationships strengthen, better development of understanding and healing their wounds with compassion towards each other. You’ll witness people’s hearts changing and plain houses transforming into happy homes!

But that’s what happens on TV! It isn’t something that will come necessarily if you start tidying up your house. You might just end up with a huge pile of stuff that you’ve gathered, to throw out and a sock drawer neatly arranged after following the KonMari method. It is not mandatory to achieve great results or life-changing transformations after every time you’ve learnt something new. Here, the result does not matter as much as the process and the lessons do. That’s what makes it all worth! So begin your journey of finding things that spark joy for you!