La magia del orden:  aprendiendo a arreglar su casa y su vida con Marie Kondo

The magic of order: learning to tidy up your home and your life with Marie Kondo

The transformative magic of order:

Having been born in Colombia, where women are traditionally taught to do chores from a very early age, I have always been proud of my organizational skills. At least in my house we had to tidy up the bedroom, the closet, and one of the other rooms in the house (or else there would be no bike lane on Sundays). I know that many of you had to do this, and the younger generations do too.

I had always thought that Colombian women's skills in cleaning and tidying were unbeatable. But I have news for my fellow countrymen: Marie Kondo beats us. At 36 years old, this Japanese woman has published four books on organizational techniques and is currently a consultant "for order" both in homes and companies, in addition to having a television program on the same subject.

Today I am going to share with you some of the principles that Marie Kondo, also known as KonMari, recommends in her book The Magic of Order to keep in mind when tidying up your house, or better yet, your mind ; not only to tidy up your house, but to drastically transform your life. For my part, I will try to “tidy up” my room this week.

By putting your house in order, you also put your affairs and your past in order.

According to Marie Kondo, this procedure allows you to better see what you need in your life and what you don't; what you should do and what you shouldn't. It seems easy to move things from one place to another, but why does it soon become cluttered again? The cause does not seem to lie in a lack of skills, but in the mind. In other words, you need to be aware when applying the right technique. A person's awareness and perspective on their own lifestyle (a kind of visualization of how they want their lifestyle to be) is much more important than any ability to classify, store or whatever. Order depends a lot on personal values ​​regarding how one wants to live.

No matter how hard we try to clean, tidy and organize, if we don't have a purpose and method, we will inevitably return to chaos.

The principles of the method

  • Organize once, but do it right . Although some magazines advise you to organize a little each day, this advice is never achieved. If you have not been able to be organized until now, it will be almost impossible for you to acquire the habit of organizing little by little. People do not change their habits if they do not first change their way of thinking.

  • Make organization a “special event.” There are two types of organization: the “daily” one, which consists of using something and putting it back, sweeping certain places, dusting and washing dishes that will always be there as long as we need to wear clothes, eat, read, etc. And the “special event” that begins by developing the ability to discard.

  • The art of discarding. Yes, the drastic act of organizing all at once requires the strength to get rid of things that are not really needed. This skill requires us to control and resist putting away our stuff until we have finished identifying what we really want and need to keep. But don't panic: Marie Kondo's method takes you through several levels so that when you get to the delicate "non-disposable objects" you will have enough sense to arrange whether something stays or goes. The principle of discarding actually involves two tasks: eliminating things and, for those that stay, deciding where to store them. There are only two: elimination comes first and until this is finished, you should not start with the second.

  • Visualize your destiny . Why do you want your house to be organized? Why do you want to live like this? What is the lifestyle you dream of? Before you throw things away, take the time to think this through carefully. If you skip this step, you will only delay the process and even if you do a great “clean-up,” you will most likely return to the mess. If you find this difficult, you can look at decorating magazines for inspiration. Ask yourself why you want to live like this so that you can find your own answers. However, to save you some time thinking, I will tell you that the ultimate meaning of throwing away as well as keeping things is to be happy and feel in harmony with what is left.
  • Elimination criteria:

Some of the items we have stored at home are easier to “redistribute” than others. This method suggests that you start with the easiest, that is, what is already damaged, and then continue with the other criteria. The sequence will be as follows:

  1. When something no longer works or has lost one of its parts.
  2. When something has gone out of fashion (such as clothing or objects related to a past event).
  3. Take the object in your hand and ask yourself: Does this make me happy? If so, keep it. If not, throw it away. This is the simplest and most accurate criterion for judging.

  • Organize by category, not by location. We tend to keep the same type of items in more than one place. By organizing each place separately, we find that we end up doing the same job in multiple places, creating a vicious organizational cycle. Instead of organizing one particular room, set goals like “books today, towels tomorrow.” That way, when it’s time for towels, you’ll be referring to ALL the towels in the house, allowing you to know how many you have and reserve ONE spot for them.

  • Start well . Beginners don't want to start with things that bring back memories like photos. Things in this category can exist in greater volume than anything else and can present great difficulties in deciding whether to keep them or not.

WARNING: Three dangerous factors add value to belongings: function, information, and emotional attachment. When you add the element of rarity, the difficulty in choosing what to get rid of multiplies. People have a hard time getting rid of things that they “might still use” (functional value) – an old radio, for example. Things that contain useful information (informational value) – like college texts saved for years to be reread and never happen. Or an object with sentimental ties (emotional value) – like a first communion memento, a birthday card, or a photo.

  • The best sequence to start sorting by category: clothes, books, papers, miscellaneous objects ( Komono ) and finally, sentimental objects and mementos. Sticking to this sequence sharpens our intuition regarding the objects that spark joy within us.

WARNING: The organizing marathon can produce a lot of waste. At this stage, according to Marie Kondo, the only disaster that can cause more chaos than an earthquake is the intrusion of a recycling expert operating under the alias “Mom.”

There is nothing wrong with throwing things away. However, parents and grandparents are a bit worried about this process precisely because of the attachment to things that “may be fixed one day”, books that they plan to “read one day”, toys, clothes, as well as mementos from the past.

Step by step in images to make the organization:

Once you've gotten past the decluttering phase, the following images show how to organize the items left in closets and drawers, as this is also done with technique. The bonus is that you wouldn't need new furniture or accessories to do it, as one of Marie Kondo's favorite storage items are shoe boxes since they are the ideal size to create sorting spaces inside the same drawers and closets.

Kon Marie by Nati Malagrins

Some thoughts to consider

Clutter is not a personality type, there is no such thing . Rather, people who can't stay organized can only be classified into three types: the "I can't get rid of stuff," the "I can't put things back," and the "a combination of the above." 90% of the population falls into the third category. In conclusion, organization must begin with the elimination of stuff, regardless of personality.

What you don't need, your family or friends don't necessarily want . If you want to give away something you no longer use, don't pressure people to accept it. Find out what they like first, and only if you find something that fits the bill, show it to them. You can also offer it to them as long as they assure you it would be something they would pay for.

Parents' house is not a souvenir shop . According to Marie Kondo, a keepsake is just that, a reminder of a time when it gave us joy and no matter how wonderful things were, we can't live in the past. The joy and excitement we feel here and now is more important.

Sending the things and memories we are unable to get rid of to our parents' house is not the solution. This does not resolve the attitude we should take towards the present because when we take a sentimental object and decide what to discard, we are processing the past. If we just put those things in another box and send it to the closet, that past will continue to weigh us down, holding us back and preventing us from living in the here and now. Putting things in order is also equivalent to putting the past in order, settling accounts in order to move forward.

When you come across something you can't let go of , this is the time to think carefully about the purpose you have for your life. Chances are you own a lot of things that have already served their purpose. By acknowledging their contribution and letting them go with gratitude, you will finally be able to put the things you own - and your life - in true order!

Appreciate your possessions . First, when you buy something, immediately remove the labels. The clothes in the store are a product and the clothes in the house are already personal possessions that have your energy.

Second, thank your things for accompanying you and serving you when you use them. My husband and I have a habit of saying goodbye to the house when we leave or greeting it when we arrive. Or of thanking our car for having taken us there and back without any problems. It may sound a bit animistic, but I confess it because Marie Kondo dedicates a section of her book to it and, although I am not sure that manufactured objects have a spirit, many people feel that by treating their things with respect, in some way, they will always respond by working efficiently and impeccably.

How the magic of organization can dramatically transform your life

Get your house in order and discover what you really want to do. Ultimately, this is the tactic that allows people who use Marie Kondo's method to organize their home and more. By confronting things from the past where there is the possibility of throwing them away or giving them a new life in your present, you can go back to what made you truly happy, such as childhood memories of playing nurse or owning a shop, for example. It is this process that has brought about radical changes in the lives of some people who have taken courses with Mrs. Kondo, to the point of making them change their profession, change their lifestyle and take decisive steps for their future.

Humans can only appreciate a limited number of things at a time. Marie Kondo's message is to make people value the things they love properly, and that's why she insists on organizing, but doing it quickly. In this way, she takes that burden off our shoulders, because organizing is not the purpose of life. If you spend your whole life organizing every day, you'll spend your whole life doing it. It's better to put your time and passion into what gives you the most joy, because that's your life's mission!

Bonus: The best video for folding socks

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