Pull everything out, putting it into catagories as you do. You can see how many tees or jeans or long-sleeved buttonups you have at a glance and it's easier to get rid of unjoyful jeans when you have ten others. Much better than my previous system, which was grabbing a random armful all mixed up with tops and bottoms.

Hello everyone,

I have a lot of pictures & general memorabilia that I want to store because keeping it in my house is too emotionally triggering, but the thought of getting rid of it is equally upsetting. Also there are other people in my life who would be hurt if I tried getting rid of it any of it, at least not right now. It's personal journals, letters, kids drawings, photos, etc. not large physical objects.

A storage unit seems a bit overkill, is there alternative places to store things like this?

I right now have it in a back closet, but even that feels too much, it makes that part of my house feel kind of sad and haunted (metaphorically).

If I have to get a storage unit, I guess I could put more things in there, but I have heard that they are a money pit and the raise the price for the unit as time goes on. Is there some kind of in-between?

I’ve been on a journey recently on bettering myself and getting rid of things that no longer hold value.

The only issue?

I struggle with getting rid of photos. I have at the moment 20k photos and videos on my phone and I just don’t know what I should keep, etc.

So I did my major, life-changing decluttering a few years ago, and since then it’s just been the occasional upkeep, maybe every six months or so. One issue I frequently run into is with clothes, and only with clothes (which is where most of my mess lies). I’m an only child, and even though I’m an adult, my parents still love getting me the occasional shirt, jacket, etc. Sometimes, they’re amazing—my mom got me an outfit a month ago that I absolutely adore and plan on keeping for a very long time. Sometimes, it’s a funny t-shirt my dad got off of Amazon—I still find use for them, they’re funny and comfortable, and I needed some tops to lounge around it anyway.

And other times they’re….eh. I am usually good about telling them what to return, but sometimes they look so happy I can’t get myself to say it. So it ends up in the deep, dark, depths of my drawer, or awkwardly hanging in my closet. It is so hard for me to get rid of them. I want to, so badly, but I remember how happy and excited they were, and a few were expensive. For me, it’s a representation of the fact that people love and care about me when I’ve had more than a few bad days. I also know they’d be sad if they found out I’d donated those items.

I also have clothes I personally adored when I got them (I got a few after my first Konmari session). I no longer feel that way, but I feel a sense of guilt toward my past self, if that makes any sense at all.

Does anyone have any tips as to how I should get past this roadblock? I know Marie says to express gratitude and toss them, but it’s much harder said than done.

Edit: Spelling

I have a bunch of clearview Sterilite boxes. The labels I've been using are not adhesive enough: they stick to the box for a while, and after a few days (and if lucky months) they don't stick anymore. Any recommendation for cheap and good labels for these sort of boxes? The boxes will be stored in the attic (high temperature variance) and garage (higher humidity).

I'd rather not use these label printers (I don't want to buy yet another piece of equipment).

I've been slowly working my way through KonMari and have been working on komono. Today I got through most of my figures and collectible toys, and I know that I would get so much more joy out of my really prized items if they were on display instead of in a storage box under my bed. But I'm allergic to dust and can't afford nice display cabinets/cases right now to help mitigate the buildup (and I'm not sure where I'd put them if I could!). They're back in the box for now for safe keeping, but I'm wondering if anyone has any suggestions?

P.S. I do dust regularly and we have an air filter.

I know it’s stupid but my favorite sweater got a bleach stain and I genuinely felt like crying.

I think I’ll try to embroider over the stains and use it as home sweater. I know marie kondo is against delegating clothes to “home clothes” but idc. I like the stuff I badly embroider even if I’m too embarrassed to wear it outside.

in a way i'm kinda both. I splurge on nicer quality things I know I will love. I buy less junk or disposal/temporary items.

I was having difficulty determining whether something really sparked joy or not because I have depression and, well, not a lot sparks joy. But I realized I clench my jaw when I come across something that is emotionally complicated and likely something I should discard. I was wondering if anyone else had tips like this for people who are doing this process with clinical depression.

I'm going through a house move and could use any advice for sentimental items.

My name is Erin, I'm 23 y.o., and I've just begun my KonMari journey. I am a trans woman, and am having an exceptionally difficult time going through a lot of my belongings from before my transition.

Funnily enough, i found discarding unwanted clothes to be easy, but the situation with books has proven itself to be much more challenging. I keep on finding old textbooks or notes from the previous era in my life. Very few of them spark joy within me today, but I know there was a point in my life where I clung so desperately to such things in order to give myself a sense of stability in a time where it felt like every waking moment was consumed by emotional chaos. These books have been sitting at the bottom of my bookshelf, untouched for years, because I could not bring myself to make a decision on whether I wanted to keep them or not.

Today I finally pulled the trigger and set aside the books that do not spark joy, even if I have complicated emotions about them. There is a part of me that is relieved, but there is also another, almost louder part of me that is incredibly sad to see them go. The rest of my day has been pretty gloomy because of it.

All of this has led me to almost rethink the decision to get rid of them, even though I know they do not spark joy. Is it normal to have a mourning period like this, or should the process be easier than what I'm making it? I'd love to hear your thoughts.

So, I live in a rental apartament and I have a high closet with no shelves. I really don't know how to organize it and how to use that space efficiently. Obviously, I can't add shelves or anything that could do damage to the closet. Any ideas?

Thankies.

Hi. We have these deep shelves in a new wardrobe for our 11 year old. We need to maximise the space but it also needs be practical for a not especially tidy child. Any ideas very welcome. Thanks

These always seem to get separated in the laundry and then a mess when they’re in a drawer, even if initially they were placed together.

Since I was a child I shared clothes with my mum and I still do as an adult since we're about a similar height.

So the lines of what belongs to me and what is hers are blurry and she might not wear something that she bought but I still feel like I shouldnt throw it away even though only I wore it for years. It slowly became mine so I feel responsible but also not like I have the right to decide.

Since she grew up very poor and has a scarcity mindset she will keep anything even if it's completely torn apart and wear it at home. But Marie Kondo said that even at home you should wear clothes that feel good and I don't wanna burden my mum with clothes she never missed or clothes that simply look bad. Marie Kondo also had a chapter on not telling your parents but I still feel incredibly bad because I know my mum will keep anything even if it's just collecting dust.

Also she keeps buying duplicates to hoard them and I have a collection of unopened leggins that don't suit my tastes anymore. And I have to keep ugly clothes that I don't want wear at all or don't fit because they were gifts from relatives or expensive etc. I feel like this relationship to clothes is unhealthy.

Also I always had my clothes in my parents bedroom since they have two big closets and my clothes are completely split up. Most are in their room and only a few ones in my room. I dont have space for a closet because I have to store a living room cabinet in my room after moving places and there is nowhere to put it in the living room and my dad is also the type to keep stuff because he feels too bad to throw it away, even furniture.

This is all really messy I've realised and I have to go against my parents to make it out. Maybe create a whole new wardrobe and break the bank.

Do you have any tips or experiences?

I have inherited a deceased friend's physical belongings and don't know what to do with it all, nor do I need most of it personally. If I don't take it, his family will throw it all away since they don't know what to do with it but they're giving it to me to do whatever with as long as I can clear the space for them and set up the funeral process. I have set up the funeral and space for burial service while reaching a great amount from gofundme donation and need a bit more to cover the costs.

I was thinking of first offering items to closest friends of the deceased person before putting the rest for auction. We are very fortunate to have a large local group of close to semi-close friends we all saw frequently, almost weekly for friend gatherings, food outings, social events, music festivals, etc. After closest friends of the deceased person claim items to remember them by I think the next step would be to sell the rest or donate. I would love to keep it all but its too much for me, maybe auctioning off some stuff once I feel it is okay to part with. I notice many donate items or trash in these situations but trashing isn't a preferred option for me. Any advice is greatly appreciated since this is all new to me. I will update post with more details if needed depending on if comments question something I missed.

I have two keyboards and a melodica- I presume you should simply go by touching them rather than playing them to decide if they should be kept but I’d just like clarification…

I’m new to the KonMari method of have a question about the functional category.

I’m struggling with the ‘does it spark joy’ prompt. For example, I’m looking at my entertaining space. In that I have drinks, glasses, etc. and for this example drinking straws.

Drinking straws are never going to spark joy. They’re practical and come in packs of like 100. Why would I throw out straws when I’m inevitably going to need one the next time I entertain?

Am I overthinking this?

I have always had a lot of bad habits, like eating poorly or not exercising. I realized today that konmari is one of the few things that has stuck as a permanent habit - I always fold all of my clothes now, for example. It got me thinking of if there is a way to extend this method to other parts of my life? I think it has something to do with respecting yourself and putting in effort for yourself but I can't make the connection. Wondering if anyone has suggestions.

Besides all the cleaning methods, a big part of her books seems to be finding yourself. She says to think about how you want to live and a lot of self evaluation as you clean but most posts here seem to be about cleaning methods.

Idk I’m just wondering if you did this step or mainly focused on the practical cleaning side. Tbh I’ve just focused on the cleaning side.

Hi,

I am tidying my new room up following the konmari method. I have moved to a new place and am sharing, so the process can only focus on my room.

I am sorting through my clothes and I have realised that there is nothing I want to keep, with the exception of an apron, a shirt and one pajama.

It is a somewhat intense moment: looking at all my clothes lying on my bed, I see that almost all of them are gifts. I have kept them because it felt wasteful to add new stuff to what I have, and yet I feel like this is a lense through which I now see my life too. So much of the stuff I do feels like I am preserving something that I didn't actively pick.

I don't know what to make of this, but it certainly is quite intense.

I followed the konmari method for clothing and books which are in easily contained spaces, and then got stuck on papers. They were everywhere. Same with miscellany. I’ve found that I can’t gather all of one type of item because I have so much stuff I don’t know what I have and where.

Recently been working with an organizer to declutter and organize room by room, and that’s working for me. I can see that after I go room by room, I’ll be able to come back to the konmari method because I’ll know where all the scotch tape is or where all the cleaning supplies are because I’ll be more in tune with each room of the house.

So I guess my adaptation is that I am am doing a culling of what to get rid of before I can go through with intention and decide what sparks joy in each category.

What methods of decluttering and organizing work for you?

It's tempting to apply this method to your whole life; I want to know if anyone has any horror stories where using this method caused problems.

I'll go first.. I usually ask -

How can I create a capsule wardrobe?

How can I involve kids in the organizing process?

How can I make moving easier or prepare for a move?

What will I do with all my dad's hoarder stuff?

I've had some weight fluctuations over the past few years and so when I started the konmarie method recently I ended up with a fair amount of clothing that sparks joy, but doesn't fit. Are there any suggestions for what to do about this? Right now my plan is to keep and care for them and maybe display a few pieces once I'm done, but otherwise I'm not sure what to do. I've checked the konmarie website's blog articles, but didn't find anything. I feel like I'm in somewhat of a unique situation for the konmarie method, but at the same time I'm probably not the only person who's in this dillema.

Also I know I can alter clothes or get them altered, I'm already making a small pile of pieces to do that with, but most of the clothes are too small and it wouldn't be possible to size them up without dramatically changing them. I'm working on getting back into a fitness routine, so I have some hope I might fit some of the pieces again, but what do I do with them in the mean time?

does anyone know if the konmari folding method is better than just rolling my t shirts? i fold my t shirts the konmari way but instead of folding them into thirds for a rectangle, i just roll it up. do you guys think i would save more closet space? currently redoing my closet and i realize i have so much clothes but no room to put them

I have five types of clothes:

• Clothes that I'm wearing right now.
• Fresh clothes that have never been worn.
• Clothes that are worn but not completely dirty / ready for wash.
• Clothes that are dirty / ready to go in the washing machine.
• Clothes that are wet / in the washing machine ready to be dried.

When sorting through your clothes, are you supposed to keep these in separate piles and then return them to where they need to go? How do you handle the clothes that are in your laundry system? How do you handle the clothes that you are wearing?

I'm just a little confused by this process.

I was really worried about this happening after reading section six of part 2…

I’m a college student using the Konmari method as best I can for the tidying aspect while we’re cleaning out - and painting - the house I currently live in on my families property, but we don’t have time to do the full six months before school starts for me There’s also a house we have dedicated as a guest house and another house where my parents live. It’s a pretty expansive property…

More to the point however I’ve gotten to books and my mom wanted to look through the kids books in order to pass on to my cousins who are having a new baby soon…I did my best to accommodate her wishes but I was really worried that she might end up keeping a few that I chose to discard, and I was right in my suspicions. She chose to keep my Calvin and Hobbes and Astrex collections because my dad who passed away several years back bought them for me, loved them a whole lot, and they both “enjoyed the comics before I was born”. Though I have not confronted her about this yet he also brought over a copy of an old book all the way from Michigan once which she decided to keep as well that I honestly don’t think she’s ever going to read.

She wants to keep them in the guest house where other people who are staying over might read them if I won’t (which I think is a little different then what Kondo describes in “Don’t let your family see” as she’s not entirely hoarding them for herself), but I still really think I messed up this process by letting her see the books and I don’t know how to remedy this as she’s made it pretty clear she’s not going to argue with me about it…I didn’t discuss this part of the Konmari method with her for obvious reasons but I think I may have backed myself into a corner by not sticking to my guns and giving into her demands.

But what do you think I should do?