Self-love special: Decluttering the pain way
Minimalistic life, minimalistic love life. Eliminating waste, managing workspaces, regulating priorities, or simply decluttering has grown in popularity over the past few months. Yet there’s more to the famous KonMari Method than just learning to fold.
If you don’t know what to do with the mountains of school papers and all the other used-up supplies (and people) in your life, the KonMari Method by Japanese tidying guru Marie Kondo might just be for you. The KonMari Method isn’t the typical effortless cleaning where items like roses and chocolates are thrown away, nor is it really about minimalism. The KonMari Method aims to build a pavement for maintaining a lifestyle of joy through simplicity amidst the noise. Because with our society’s growing need for consumerism (and relationships), less is more.
Where to start?
One of the most difficult phases in decluttering is the beginning, where one questions how and where to start. One should deal with the place where we spend our times the most. No not with inner demons, silly, but with one’s own personal workspaces and rooms.
- Now is not the time to be sentimental. Remove everything that isn’t in its rightful place and put it in a bin for sorting out later. Although quite simple and basic, this should clear up your study table and result to a more productive and clutter-free work space.
- WHAT TO AVOID KEEPING: Letters from exes, rotting used movie tickets, wilted flowers.
Letting go–the wholesome way
- Albeit one occasionally taking time to “save” items for future use even if they have no real purpose anymore, the KonMari Method is rigid as it entails a shift in philosophy and perspective—even with the once-important material items. Those who have issues with hoarding (items and feelings) will definitely have a hard time complying with this step as it is ideally done in one binge, as Kondo mentioned that it is the way to never return to the previous cluttered ways of living.
- Does it still spark joy? That is the question Kondo asks as a special way of knowing which things to keep and which are better off in the bin. In retrospect, it’s not more of seeing things in an objective useful manner, but in a way that it is truly personal and purposeful to you.
Where can it go?
- Sometimes we don’t know how many items (or emotional baggage) we have until we air them out in the open. A way to make sure one’s extra items is not just throwing them away, but opting to donate for those in need.
- Donation options for pre-loved clothes and items:
Needing space
- Workspaces aren’t just for procrastinating, having a neat and ready workspace for studying can boost one’s productivity more than a last-minute 11:59 PM deadline.
- You can have a checklist of what you want to get, get rid off, and get done during this cleanup. Include: rest of heart and peace of mind.
- Clean your workplace. Clearing your study table might help you think equally clear. But it isn’t always the case for everyone. Hush now, you can keep your succulents, posters, and other decor you put for Instagram.
- Practice keeping organizers and binders. This is so you can sustain the cleanliness you’ve started. You probably don’t have other free time than the Valentine’s day to clean again this faithfully. In this item: boundaries, consistency, faithfulness.
Online endeavors
- (No, we don’t mean dating apps)
- We spent as much time online than we do in real life, so it only makes sense to take a look at how we tidy up our online selves. Are your apps cleanly laid out in folders or haphazardly laid out? Is your camera roll organized or do pictures of you and your ex still take up 90%? You’d be surprised by how easier life can get when apps are tidied up together.
- Reward yourself the joy of a clean email account. Those 1,507 unread messages you’ve accumulated won’t cover up your loneliness. Mark them as read, and keep the habit of doing so then on. Organizing emails by label such as “personal”, “acads”, “freelance”, etc are also a surefire way to keep your email organized. Other IRL labels are entirely optional.
- Organize your desktop. It’s true that it’s convenient dumping your files in there, but through time the mess you’re making will not make a nice collage. Delete unneeded files and organize the ones you do need in separate folders. Change your desktop background to a color scheme you’ve grown a liking to, not because it’s an old photo of you and your ex (because who does that?), but just because it feels refreshing.
Decluttering one’s surroundings is far easier than decluttering one’s mind and heart, but it doesn’t hurt to tidy up and even give back this Valentine’s Day. For what it’s worth, this is self-love in a different form. It may just be what you need—the joy that sparks from within.
