Marie Kondo is the First Lady of decluttering, but she’s certainly not the last word. The Japanese organising expert shot to fame in the last decade with her KonMari Method, urging people to empty out their cupboards, keep only items that sparked joy, and dedicate storage to it all. She wrote four books on the subject, including the bestselling The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up (2011), and starred in a Netflix show about it in 2019 too.
Most of us, meanwhile, are still saving empty mithai boxes from Diwali, hoping to repurpose them. We don’t care if items spark joy — we’ve lived through blackouts, bandhs and lockdowns; we value stocking up.
Like people around the world, we often end up accumulating more junk than we like or can manage. Rohini Rajagopalan, who runs the four-year-old decluttering service Organise With Ease, says she is booked well into mid-January. “My clients used to be apologetic about hiring a professional organiser. They’d say ‘Don’t tell anyone’.” Now most of her business comes through referral; Indians are getting vocal about decluttering.
Most homes she’s called into, Rajagopalan says, seem fine, but need assistance in one or two areas, like an overstocked wardrobe or a cluttered kitchen. See how cultures around the world manage their mess. Perhaps the ideas might help you do it yourself, and spark more joy than Kondo’s methods.
Swedish Death Cleaning: It sounds morbid, but the idea is to declutter your home and have your affairs in order while you’re alive, so that in the event of your death, no one else is saddled with your mess. The term was popularised by Margareta Magnusson in her 2017 book The Gentle Art of Swedish Death Cleaning: How to Free Yourself and Your Family from a Lifetime of Clutter. Look objectively through your home, your finances, even your inbox, as a loved one would have to. You’ll find yourself getting rid of rubbish, simplifying storage, identifying what’s really worth keeping, and living a lighter life.
The Four-Box Method: Sort clutter into four categories: Give Away, Throw Away, Put Away and Leave Undecided. The viral YouTube trend eases Kondo’s strict “love it or leave it” rule. It lets one defer some items for later. “Don’t feel guilty about keeping what you love,” says Rajagopalan. “Your decluttering style should work for you and you alone.”
The Reverse Hanger: Made popular by Oprah Winfrey, it gets you to hang up your clothes with all hangers facing the same way, when you begin. As a garment is used, cleaned and returned to the cupboard, turn the hanger so it faces in the opposite direction. Check the hangers at the end of the month to see know exactly which items you don’t wear, which is a good starting point for streamlining your wardrobe.
DanShaRi: The term stems from the Japanese words for Refuse, Dispose and Separate, and refers to a process invented by author Hideko Yamashita. Start by rejecting clutter at its source, before it enters your life and home. In addition, routinely clear out both mental and material junk in your world (the emotional and actual baggage). And finally, cultivate a sense of detachment from physical objects, to keep the cycle going. Rajagopalan says most serious hoarding is a result of grief, loss or abandonment. It might need the help of a therapist rather than a home organiser.
One In, One Out: Rajagopalan has worked with clients who hoarded mints. Another had sanitary napkins stowed in various pockets, bags, nooks and corners because “you can never find one when you need it”. If you tend to over-buy a few specific things, set a rule for yourself. For every new item you bring home, you must give away a similar that one you already own. New sunglasses for old, a perfume only once you’ve finished the bottle you have, a smartwatch when you sell or donate your current model.
The Minimalist Month: Ryan Nicodemus and Joshua Fields Millburn are American simple-living experts whose method gamifies decluttering. Participants start on the first of any month, by getting rid of one item. The next day, they get rid of two, and so on, using the #minsgame hashtag on social media to chart and share their progress. Few make it to the end of the month — it can be hard to find 496 items part with, and dispose of responsibly. But it’s a good challenge if you need to ease into decluttering or stay motivated. Rajagopalan has a simple tip for those who still struggle: “Ask yourself if you’d buy a particular item again. If you would, keep it.”
Hacks to help you declutter
* Consider setting time aside every few weeks to take stock of what’s piled up, what’s in the way, what needs fixing and what’s past its lifespan. Mark out this time in your calendar so it actually gets done.
* Consider how you use your living space. Do you tend to drop your bags as you enter and need storage space by the door? Do you find that you have to move back and forth between two spaces to complete one task? Are ghosts of hobbies past still around? You’ll know what needs to change immediately.
* Start small. Pick a set of items to clear out (accessories, cosmetics, kitchen tools, pet gear). Or pick a zone and group things by type: stationery in a single drawer, separate scissors for the kitchen and a box cutter at the main door for when deliveries arrive.
* Organise better. Don’t twist past rarely-used items to get to everyday essentials. Set or hang kids’ items where they can reach them. Stow spares just within view and seasonal items furthest away. See-through shelving and containers mean less of a mess when rummaging. Opaque jars are more useful when labelled. And two stacked trays or boxes often hold more items than one deep one.
* When sorting, look at an item and ask if it’s worth the space it’s taking up. Spare chargers, unused electronics, empty boxes… junk is never worth the real-estate.
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