This post is part of the KonMari Series in which I document my journey to becoming a certified KonMari organizing consultant. Start from the beginning here and/or see all posts of the series here.
I’m summarizing my notes of part of Marie Kondo’s first book “The Life-Changing Magic Of Tidying Up.” Since I took a looot of notes, I’m dividing my writing about this book into three posts (find the first post here). In today’s (second) post, I am writing about the different categories Kondo subdivides belongings into and her suggestions on how to tackle them.
Please note that this should not serve as a complete summary of the book. However, it is merely a roundup of points that stood out to me and that I found important. I also add my personal reflections to some aspects.
Categories And Category Order
Kondo divides belongings to sort into five categories. As mentioned previously, she also recommends a certain sequence in which to go about them. The order is determined by how easy people can make keeping/discarding decisions. It is recommended to start with the easiest category first and progress accordingly. The categories are the following:
- Clothing
- Books
- Papers
- Komono (miscellaneous items)
- Mementos (items with sentimental value)
I think that it’s highly individual which categories one has a harder or easier time with deciding what items to keep. Personally, clothing is not the “easiest” category for me. On the other hand, I don’t really care about books so much and only own a few since I borrow most of the books I read from my library.
The main point here is that you should progress from easy to more difficult categories in order to not get stuck right in the beginning. You learn how to make discarding decisions and get comfortable with the whole process. This “learning period” benefits you later on with the more difficult items.
In the following sub-chapters I go into the different categories in more detail.
1) Clothing
In order to work as efficiently as possible, Kondo suggests to divide clothing items into the following sub-categories:
- Tops
- Bottoms
- Clothes that should be hung
- Socks/tights
- Underwear
- Bags
- Accessories
- Special event clothing (e.g., swimwear, uniforms)
- Shoes
The very first step is to gather every item you own in one spot on the floor. You need to make sure to retrieve everything from all the different locations you might store your clothes. It is recommended to start with off-season clothing as you’re not currently using them and thus can make a more objective decision on whether they spark joy for you. Also, it is highly discouraged to downgrade items to “loungewear.”
Folding is the preferred method for storing clothes. This is for two reasons:
- You fit more into your closet.
- You have to deal with each item with your hands and thus are able to make a better decision whether to keep or discard.
The goal should be to organize the contents so that you can see where every item is at a glance, just as you can see the spines of the books on your bookshelves. The key is to store things standing up rather than laid flat.
Kondo recommends folding items into rectangles that can stand up. I won’t go into details here about her recommendations on folding and storing because she treats this topic in her second book extensively (separate posts will follow).
Clothes that need to be hung (e.g., outerwear, dresses) should be arranged according to their heaviness, color and length. That means that you should hang heavier, darker and longer items at the right and less heavy, lighter and shorter items at the left of your closet. Arrange them as best as possible following these principles so that they (appear to) rise from left to right.
Socks and tights should never be tied or balled up. Remember that all your clothes need to be able to rest in your drawer/closet. Thus, you should also neatly fold your socks and store them upright in a drawer.
Many people store off-season clothes in a different location and make a switch when the seasons change. Marie Kondo suggests to stop doing this if you can and I couldn’t agree with her more. First of all, you often need and wear items regardless of the season (I certainly do). You might have some cold summer days when you need a sweater or even a jacket at night. Or you might be traveling to a tropical area at a time where it’s winter in your home country. Let’s not forget about the time you save by keeping all your clothes in one easy reachable spot all the year round.
2) Books
As with clothing, you should start by gathering all the books you own and putting them on the floor. By doing that, Kondo says you make them “conscious.” It’s easier to make a deliberate decision about a book if it’s out in the open and in your hands as opposed to standing on a shelf amidst other books/items.
Kondo suggests to divide books into the following sub-categories:
- General books (you read them for pleasure)
- Practical books (e.g., cookbooks)
- Visual books (e.g., coffeetable books)
- Magazines
You should simply take each book in your hands and ask yourself if it sparks joy. Kondo strongly discourages you from starting to read the book in question as it can obscure your ability to judge.
If you come across unread books and you tell yourself that you might read them sometime, Kondo recommends to discard it. In her experience, sometimes means usually never and if you’re all being honest to yourselves, she’s right. After all, there’s no relevance to books that you don’t read and are only taking up space on your shelf. Also, if you find yourself discarding a book you may later find you want to read, you can (almost) always re-buy it.
3) Papers
The simple rule of thumb here is to discard everything. Yes, Marie Kondo doesn’t like all things paper very much.
However, as much as you would like to follow her simple rule, it’s not quite so easy. Nevertheless, Kondo divides all papers into three simple categories. The first category are papers that need to be dealt with (e.g., letters that require a reply, magazines that need to be read). Kondo recommends to keep these papers in one place and to deal with them as soon as possible. Ideally, these papers are few or – even better – non-existent.
The second category is comprised of papers that need to be kept for a limited period of time and are used on a more frequent basis. A good example for this are study papers. These papers should be stored and organized in a way that makes them easily accessible and usable. Again, make sure to keep them in one spot.
The third and last category consists of papers that you need to store for an indefinite time, such as leases or insurance policies. Since you have to access those basically never, you can store them in one folder without putting too much thought into organizing them. I slightly disagree with Kondo here. Depending on the amount of papers you have in this particular category it might make sense to put a little organizing system in place. That way you can find something easily without having to sort through a huge folder of different papers.
One word on seminar/study paper. Kondo suggests to get rid of these as soon as the seminar or course you took is over. In her opinion, these papers are useless if you don’t put the information you acquired to use immediately. The value lies in attending the course and not in the papers accompanying the course. If you don’t apply the knowledge you acquired, papers won’t save you and you might end up taking the seminar again. Generally, I agree with her here. However, you have to determine for yourself how strictly you can adhere to her guidelines. For instance, as a college student you might need your seminar papers several semesters later in order to prepare for your exit exam.
4) Komono (Miscellaneous)
“Komono” is the Japanese word for accessories or small items. However, Kondo puts all miscellaneous items into this category (that don’t fit into any of the other four). She further sub-divides them and suggests the following order for tackling them:
- CDs, DVDs
- Skincare products
- MakeUp
- Accessories
- Valuables
- Electrical items
- Household equipment
- Household supplies
- Kitchen goods/food supplies
- Other (e.g., spare change)
You can add one or more sub-categories if you’re pursuing a certain hobby (or hobbies) that has you own several items related to that particular activity.
This specific order is suggested because it goes from more personal items (easy) to items that all the people in a household commonly use (less easy). The latter categories are more difficult to make decisions about since it’s not only you who uses (or not uses) them. Thus, it may be more difficult to discard them depending on whether your family members are on board with your KonMari efforts or not.
You might come across gifts that you have no use for. You might have guessed it, Kondo recommends discarding them if they don’t spark joy for you. Even if you feel guilty discarding them. Remember that these gifts have already fulfilled their role in the moment you received them. If they don’t spark joy for you now, they have fulfilled their function of conveying the gift bearer’s appreciation and can be discarded.
Also, get rid of empty electronics packages and spare buttons since you will never need them.
5) Mementos (Sentimental Items)
“Mementos” means keepsakes or souvenirs and Kondo puts all the items that hold sentimental value in this category. In general, her motto is that the memories you have in your mind and heart are more important than the physical items you keep. Only because you let go of things doesn’t mean that you also let go of your happy memories and past experiences.
Kondo recommends, as usual, to take each item in your hands and ask yourself if they spark joy. She recommends the same method with photos in your albums. Take them out and go through them one by one. Only keep those photos and other sentimental items that truly spark joy for you.
Keep In Mind
Kondo is convinced that during the entire tidying process you will reach a point “where something clicks.” You just need to reduce until you reach this point and after that you will for sure never rebound.
However, Kondo repeatedly points out that it is highly individual how much you discard and how much you keep. Some people get rid of a lot of things and some people don’t. Always keep in mind that it’s not the discarding part that is important but the part about keeping the items that spark joy for you. If you follow your intuition and true feelings you will make the right decisions.
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In the next part of the KonMari series I will cover storage solutions for the items you decided to keep. I will also touch on how the whole process of tidying your belongings can transform your whole life.
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