Create a Clean Space in your Home & Head with Marie Kondo

If you’re living in a cluttered house, it’s likely that this clutter is stopping you from thinking clearly. A cluttered house equates to a cluttered mind. If your mind is cluttered, you won’t be able to operate as your best self. Your thinking may be impaired, and you may be distracted. We’re willing to bet you don’t want to feel this way.

It’s time to have some self accountability and work on cultivating a clean space. We’ll teach you a unique way to do this, and it involves asking yourself the question, “Does it spark joy?"

Ask Yourself, "Does it Spark Joy?"

Marie Kondo took the world by a storm when her Netflix show came out. People were inspired to take her advice and clean up in a new way. Rather than relying simply on how infrequently you use certain items or when the last time you used them was, Kondo relies on the question, “Does it spark joy?” This is a key principle in Marie Kondo’s KonMari Method. 

The method suggests picking up your items one by one and asking yourself for each item, “Does it spark joy?” If the answer is yes, keep it. If the answer is no, throw it out or donate it. The ideal clean space will not include items that spark negativity instead of joy. Going through your items one at a time will really help you revisit everything you own and determine if it is positive or negative. 

You’ll find that by using this method to clean up, you will be able to get rid of belongings that hold no meaning that you’ve been holding onto, allowing for tidy cleaning to reveal a fresher, less cluttered house. You may be surprised at how many items you have that do not spark joy for you. 

This process certainly requires some self accountability, but you can do it! The process may feel difficult at first, but it will get more comfortable as you go on and move from room to room in your home.

Is Your Cluttered House Affecting Your Mood?

Ask yourself the following questions to determine if your cluttered house may be affecting your mood. 

• Do you feel more stressed than relaxed at home?
• Do you feel uneasy in your living spaces and bedroom?
• Do you feel your mood shift in a negative way when you enter your home or certain rooms in your home?

If you’re nodding your head along with reading these questions, your cluttered house is definitely affecting your mood, and it’s a sign that you need to clean up and create a clean space. 

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Clean Up Your Space to Clean Up Your Subconscious

Aside from a cluttered home affecting your mood, it might be affecting your subconscious, without you even realizing it. We get so accustomed to living in a cluttered, busy space that we don’t even understand the effect that it could be having on our mood and our subconscious mind. 

There has been scientific research done on this. One study, for example, showed that too many visual stimuli (i.e. clutter) result in “neural competition.” The more that’s in your field of vision, the more “competitive interaction” there will be. So basically, put simply, all of the things that you see in your field of vision are competing for your attention, leaving you with less mental space to focus on whatever is the most important task at hand.

Therefore, if you clean up your space, you will in turn clean up your subconscious. You might even experience other added benefits, like a better mood, less anxiety, and motivation to put forth other healthy habits. 

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Here are some other tips for having a clean space from the KonMari Method principles: 

1. Commit Yourself to Tidying Up
2. Imagine Your Ideal Lifestyle
3. Finish Discarding First
4. Tidy by Category, Not by Location
5. Follow the Right Order
6. Ask Yourself "Does it Spark Joy?"

With some self accountability, hard work, and dedication, you will be able to clean up and have a clean space. Always remember the “why” behind the cleaning, and continue to ask yourself, “Does it spark joy?” You’ll be on the road to a clean space in no time. 

Change Your Life and Closet with KonMari Folding

We can’t finish this blog post without mentioning the famous KonMari folding method. This is one of the best tips for tidy cleaning your closet and drawers. When you are trying to create a clean space for your clothing, a great folding technique is necessary to clean up and organize your belongings. When your clothing is neatly folded, you’ll create more space, and not to mention, be able to find things much easier than if your stuff is all just thrown in a pile on the floor or stuffed into a dresser haphazardly.

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The KonMari folding method has a little bit of a learning curve, and it might take you some time to get the hang of it, but we promise, it’s so worth it. To learn the KonMari folding method, watch this video on Marie Kondo’s YouTube channel.

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To sum it all up, self accountability and tidy cleaning can really make a difference in your life. The hardest part is starting, so set a date and commit yourself to making a change.

Looking to reset your life in other areas? Take our 5-day challenge to reset your life and have the best week ever. In 5 days, you can change your life and put in place powerful, simple habits for the best week (and life) ever. You can also take our course to shift your life by rebuilding your life from the inside out.