If you’re not living under a rock lately – or aren’t still picking up the pieces of the holidays trying to remember what day it is and what you do for a living – then chances are, you’ve seen or heard about Tidying Up With Marie Kondo.
Here at DeLeon Sheffield, we don’t want to come off as conspiracy theorists or anything but we suspect that it’s no small coincidence that Netflix decided to air the series immediately following the holidays. Why? Allow us to submit the following into evidence.
Exhibit A: We are all struggling to accommodate the seemingly endless stuff we received the month prior.
Exhibit B: The phenomenon known as ‘spring cleaning’ is nearly upon us – a time when most of us begin to get antsy and anxious about the sheer volume of stuff that has slowly seeped into our lives.
See? There are no coincidences.
For the uninitiated, Tidying Up features Marie Kondo of KonMari Method™ fame, which ‘ … encourages tidying by category – not by location – beginning with clothes, then moving on to books, papers, komono (miscellaneous items), and, finally, sentimental items. Keep only those things that speak to the heart, and discard items that no longer spark joy.’
And it starts by completely emptying the contents of each closet onto a bed so that you can pore over every single item, one by one, to determine if it ‘sparks joy.’
*Excuse us while we go breathe into a paper bag at the thought*
But if you think you lack the emotional, psychological and mental fortitude to withstand such an aggressive – but oh-so-alluring – spring cleaning mode, here are some entry-level tidying up suggestions so you can dip your toe into the waters before you run to the Container Store and give them all your money.
To begin, make sure you have the right tools ready and available. Have cleaning supplies ready, including rags, sponges and garbage bags, and grab different sizes of storage bins and containers.
PRO TIP: The Dollar Tree has so many containers in so many different sizes and shapes for $1. AMAZING.
- Define ‘Clean’
What you consider ‘clean’ and what Marie Kondo considers ‘clean’ may be worlds apart – and that’s OK. Define what ‘clean’ means to you and use that as the standard to which you will hold all future cleaning.
- Make A Checklist
There’s nothing like checking a task off a list after you finish it. Add the items that are important to you and feel to modify it as you go, crossing off tasks you don’t care about and adding tasks you do care about.
- Purge, Purge … and Purge Some More
Before you can even begin to clean, you need to purge. Take a couple hours – or days – to go through your home room-by-room. Donate, sell or throw away anything you haven’t used on a regular basis.
PRO TIP: Closets are often the most offending areas requiring purge. Be prepared to focus extra time there.
- Inspect What You Expect
In the end, your checklists may overlook some of your problem areas so when you think you’re done, walk through your home jot down any areas that require additional attention so you can address them.
- Maintain
Cleaning and purging are all for naught if you don’t maintain it once you’re done so keep your home clean, tidy and clutter-free with a weekly cleaning schedule where you assign small cleaning tasks to each weekday.
See? That wasn’t so bad – and how much better do you feel? After just a little tidying, we can totally understand why people are willing to dump their worldly possessions onto a bed for scrutinizing – though we’re just not quite ready to it ourselves.
At DeLeon Sheffield, we don’t like to paint ourselves into a one-trick pony corner of real estate. For us, being your real estate partner is more than helping you buy or sell a home. It means partnering with you for the long haul, making sure that you can call each and every property home, from the brick-and-mortar to the soup-to-nuts details inside.
Because at DeLeon Sheffield Company, ‘We’re More Than Realty; We’re Family.’
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