6 Ways The KonMari Method Has Improved My Life For Years

Through weekly video essays, "Making It Work" showcases how *real* people have upgraded their personal or financial lives in some meaningful way. Making your life work for you doesn't mean getting rich just for the sake of it. It means making the most of what you have to build a life you love, both in your present and in your future. And while managing money is a crucial life skill for everyone, there's no one "right way" to go about it — you have to figure out what works best for *you,* full stop.

Video by Grace Lee

Video narration by Kimberly Spera

[teamene]

PSA for everyone - decluttering doesn't mean sending to landfill! Please donate and recycle everything you can!!

[LouiseT]

After reading Marie Kondo in 2015, it was like a door opened to minimalism, zero waste, making more intentional life choices, frugality and healthy eating. My life changed for the better.

[crazykenna]

Marie Kondo doesn’t suggest any number of books or any other item, only keep what sparks joy. The ‘30 books’ number is based on how many she has personally, it’s not prescriptive.

[Annietheapple]

It's important to note that many charity shops are now bombarded with too many things. Our passion for fast fashion and consumerism has meant that cheap/low-quality products often are just thrown away once they are donated. We need to make sure that we are sustainable and careful in our purchases as donating everything to the charity shop every year when we do a massive purge is not sustainable

[pirhan]

I was amazed how less anxious and stressed I was after doing this. I don't have a cluttered place, but it was disorganized. I also had lots of things that did not spark joy, but I felt guilty getting rid of. Her book taught me so much about letting go of things which did translate into emotional/mental release as well. (Which she says so right in her book.)

Life changing and highly recommend.

[sophiegabrielle]

PSA please donate responsibly and do not donate your trash. No one wants your old underwear! Think before you unload your burden on charities that will then have to get rid of your stuff. I have had to go through clothing donations and I was surprised by the number of people who donated old underwear and dirty, ripped and stained clothing. I think there may be organizations that could use clothing like this as rags but most would just throw it out.

[LeahElizabeth]

I live by this method!!! It has changed my whole outlook to life. I am a bookworm as well and it was hard to get rid of my books but at the end of the day you're right - if you want to re-read the book then you can always go pick up that book from your local library!

[TheEmzies]

The 30 books is a meme, not actually mentioned in the book. Marie personally thinks 30 is what she wants but it's not a rule.

[jasonbaker]

I would disagree with giving away everything instead of selling some of it. If the item genuinely has no value or would be more of a pain to sell than it is worth, absolutely donate it. If it still has value, sell it. Having deal with the hassle and pain of selling it will make you be even pickier about what you buy in the future. It will help drive home the fact that the vast majority of the items you buy become worthless the second you buy them. Use the money from selling stuff to help offset your past poor purchases.

[Phlimbob]

I'm a naturally neat and tidy person so I haven't gotten the pleasure of doing one of these purges, but whenever I suggest these kinds of tips for my sister who also has anxiety and seriously cluttered house, she shuts down.

[Norimarisu]

Do this with your social media as well. Get out of those FB groups that have you arguing every time you log in... do the same for toxic online friends and subreddits. It feels pretty good after the guilt is gone.

[cherlopes]

I used the konmari method and everything changed for me too in the exact same way. I gave way more than a hundred books and kept some that I like..but I think I'll donate the rest next January.

I don't buy books, clothes or kitchen items unless I plan for them and will use them. My life and my home are cleaner and tidier. And my anxiety decrease a lot.

[kakashixisxlove]

For donations, don't just bring to Goodwill. Look and see what your local homeless shelters might need! Clothes, toys, and unused toiletries are crucial for them!!

As for the unusable, stained or torn clothing, look into textile recycling. I didn't have any local organizations that did this near me, so I brought to H&M. They take cloth in any condition to supposedly recycle it.

[MissVasques]

For me the biggest changes KM created was
1. Letting go of things even if they were given to me years ago and the gifter have even prob forgotten about it.
2. I am not a messy person, But had used organization styles that wasn’t fit for how my mind works. Piling things or putting things behind something that shields it from view is for eg things I refrain from now.
3. No more boxes upon boxes of years of paper clutter. I combined KM with using mobile PDF scanner to keep things digital instead of physical form collecting dust. The things I Do need to keep is now in a collapsable file folder easy to flip through but takes up very little space.

[ThisGirlReviews]

I agree with the library one, I only keep books I will read again. I use the library at a lot.

[laralikesmascara]

Loved the video except came down to the comments to say that donating your clothing/stuff isn't necessarily the best thing to do - but then was pleased to see that others had already pointed that out! So much of what we donate goes to landfill or exported to developing countries - which just creates issues for their fashion industries - and this isn't discussed enough. People think that if they donate their clothing they've done something great and it may be true but not necessarily. I honestly think that selling your stuff - or putting it on free apps etc - may be the best way to go because then you know that the item is going somewhere it is going to be used. TLDR: research where ya stuff goes after it's left your possession!

[RambleMaven]

PSA- ThredUp is a store ( and app ) that will pick up your cloths for you sell them and/ or recycle so if you still want a better change of your cloths finding a new home that’s a great option

[musikhamster]

I too, find peace with a rather minimalist approach to life. But I sell the things that I don't need anymore (if that is possible). When it comes to books, I know that I own too many but I need them for my degree and honestly, they spark more joy in me than most of the things I own and therefore I keep my 100+ books :)

[wolfofdubai]

It makes you more free in life.

At least mentally.

[victoriamather]

Minimalism has been one if the best things that has ever happened to me.