Marie Kondo’s best-selling book, The Life-Changing Method of Tidying Up, should be a staple for anyone looking to reduce the stress of clutter, materialism, and disorganization. But for college girls having to haul basically everything they own from their family home to the dorm they will live in for 8-9 months out of the year there could not be a better guide for reducing the load! The Konmari method helps us to examine which things really matter to us for the sake of our own sanity. Plus, there are so many benefits of being able to find an outfit without digging through your drawers. Not to mention, you can create space for the stuff that you actually want. Less stuff means more money and concentration on the things that actually make us happy, and no more clutter bogging down our mental state. There is something so freeing about owning less and living more!
So what is Kondo’s main principle? Which things around you spark joy and which do not? According to her, unless you profoundly love something, it has no place in your room. In other words, it is better to be surrounded by fewer things you love over many things you kinda like. At the end of the day, it is our emotions and memories that we hang onto, not the actual item. So while these things may have once brought us happiness, they are no longer serving us or helping us to live up to our potential. Here are some of the main points to get you on your way!
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Go in this order and declutter them one at a time: clothes, books, papers, miscellaneous, sentimental
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Take everything out from that category and put it onto the floor (not just in that room, but in all the rooms) i.e. collect ALL clothing and place it in a pile to be sorted
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Hold each item and ask yourself: does this spark joy? Kondo also emphasizes decluttering in silence. When deciding, remember to remain in the here-and-now, not the past. Does it spark joy for the lifestyle you are living NOW?
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With clothes, ask yourself how it makes you feel, not how it makes you look!
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Finish discarding before moving on to a different category. Put everything back that you are keeping and prepare the discard piles for donation or trash.
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Check out this video for tips on folding clothes and organizing drawers so you can see all your outfit options:
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Check out this video for helpful tips and overview:
This is a great project to tackle during school breaks. That way, you can declutter and organize your room at home and translate it to your dorm. Before heading off to school, remember to bring only things that spark joy! Fill your room with things that make you happy so that they can spark joy in you and help you to be your greatest version while off at college!!!