In 2011 The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up was first published by Japanese tidying expert Marie Kondo.

The book quickly rose to the top of bestseller lists. Its promise was to make decluttering and organizing magically easy and life-changing. While Kondo presents a unique perspective on the subject, some of the advice she offers may not suit everyone.

Kondo states: “If you tidy up in one shot, rather than little by little, you can dramatically change your mindset.”

Kondo came to this conclusion as a child while tidying her own bedroom. Organizing can certainly help you feel good about your space. And a ‘one shot’ process can work for a single room or even a small apartment. However, trying to organize a large house or estate at once is too overwhelming. It may cause you to abandon your efforts. While we may have a team approach, the size of your home and the volume of your contents will often require several days and a tiered approach.

Kondo states: “I discovered that there is no point whatsoever in changing your [tidying] approach to suit your personality. When it comes to tidying, the majority of people are lazy.”

The descriptor ‘lazy’ seem a bit extreme. And it does not consider those people who are enduring or recovering from an illness or people with time constraints such as parents who work several jobs while raising children. There is no “one-size fits all” method. Each person is different so their approach to decluttering and organizing will also be different. We work with each client to determine the way they function and how they think. Then we create organizing solutions that work best for them. One of our clients said, “I especially appreciated how exceptionally thoughtful and thorough [Linda and her team] were when customizing the experience to my lifestyle and preferences.”

Kondo states: “Because we should be choosing what we want to keep, not what we want to get rid of. [We should] take each item in one’s hand and ask: ‘Does this spark joy?'”

Does this mean people who feel that every item sparks joy should keep everything and people for whom nothing sparks joy should toss everything? If you are trying to liquidate a large estate, holding each item in your hand one by one is too time-consuming. Also, there are documents like tax archives that don’t spark joy but must be kept according to CRA requirements. There needs to be other keep or toss criteria for those who do not resonate with Kondo’s method.

Kondo states: “Tear printed film off packages that you don’t want to see, such as deodorizers and detergents. By eliminating excess visual information that doesn’t inspire joy you can make your space much more peaceful and comfortable.”

The printed film on deodorizers and detergents may contain valuable safety and product usage information. Removing that information just because it doesn’t “spark joy” could be putting you and your family members at risk. If you find it overwhelming to see all that printed information, consider storing your products in a closed cupboard or in a plain box or basket.

Books, theories, and methods for decluttering and organizing come in and out of fashion but staying true to how you think, feel, and work with your possessions in your space is the best way to move Out of Chaos. For a customized approach to organizing your home or office, contact our team today.