The other day I went to see a client who successfully completed going through all his belongings in true KonMari-fashion at the beginning of this year. In January, February and March, over multiple sessions, we went through all his belongings, category by category. We whipped his place in shape and assigned a place to each and every item that he decided to keep. We even cleared out a storage unit together in upstate New York and made a trip to his childhood home to tidy up his belongings there.
This client was what I would call an “A-level student” in the art of tidying: very serious, driven and mindful to accomplish his vision of clutter-free living environment that would allow him to strive both professionally and personally.
Relapse?
This very client is moving soon and asked me if I can help him downsize and organize the move. I took on the project and booked a first meeting at his place for a downsizing session. On the day of our appointment, he texted me in the morning: “I want to warn you my apt is a mess (…)”.
Do you think he “relapsed” and returned his apartment into a cluttered state? I didn’t. I knew that the “mess” he was talking about was probably just “temporary clutter”. And I was right. He had a couple of challenging weeks behind him and keeping up a tidy home was not a priority during this time.
When I arrived, we took about 45 minutes to return things back to their home and went through some stacks of papers that had accumulated. We also determined a few bad buys that went into a box for donation. After this was done, we moved on to planning the move.
Temporary vs. Actual Clutter
This example beautifully demonstrates “temporary clutter”. That is, items that are currently not living in their assigned homes. Oftentimes, people mistake temporary clutter for actual clutter. I define “actual clutter” as things that live in someone’s home but don’t bring them joy.
If you experience “temporary clutter”, don’t fret! You have not relapsed, you’re just living your life! The KonMari Method™ still works. You just need to take a couple of minutes on a regular basis to implement it. That is, surround yourself only with joyful things and return them to their assigned homes once you’re done using them. That’s all.
Are you dealing with actual or temporary clutter? Or have you mistaken the one for the other all the time? Let me know in the comments below!
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