3 Tips for Organization that “Sparks Joy”
Though move-in day has come and gone, the organizing for school and home never really ends. Personally, I enjoy organizing, but I’m sure the same cannot be said for all students. School is stressful enough and no one wants to come home from a long day of classes just to be even more stressed about keeping their room clean. But it may surprise you to know that if you just take a little time out of your day to effectively organize your belongings, it no longer has to be stressful and is easy to maintain.
I have put together some tips from my own experience and from Marie Kondo – who you may know as the creator of the KonMari method, author of The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up and star of the Netflix show “Tidying Up”. To start, Kondo says that the best and most effective way of decluttering is to organize by category. She says that categorizing allows you to actually see just how much of that type of item you own, (which may prompt you to donate a few things) and once things are organized together it is easier to find them and to put them back away in a tidy way.
1. Folding
When placing clothing in drawers, Kondo recommends folding and storing them in vertical piles so they are visible and easy to access. This prevents the drawers from getting messy, makes it easy to see everything when you are looking for a specific item and can reveal hidden space. I find that keeping my clothes organized like this also encourages me to keep up with being neat because it looks so satisfying when my clothes are all rolled and visible. While this tip is primarily related to clothing, it can apply to other things like blankets and sheets. In a way, this tip is more about ease of access. Even toiletry products can be organized more effectively by simply making them easy to see and reach.
2. Sorting
Organize your items based on categories so that everything has a home and items are easy to find. When it comes to clothing, organize by style so you can easily find what you want when you want it. For example, organize t-shirts into three categories – solid colour, patterned and long-sleeved – and organize jeans from light to dark. You may also want to organize by frequency of use so the things you grab for more often are easy to access. I feel that this keeps my clothes neat because I don’t have to dig through piles to find what I need. Kondo also says that organizing similar sized items helps to keep everything in its place. Keep your writing tools together, keep your books together, keep your shoes together. This may seem straightforward, but it can help a lot in the long run.
3. Containing
Use organizing tools like bins and dividers. Organizing bins help to keep your items contained to one space and can also help to make better use of space by combining multiple items into one space while keeping them separate. For clothes, bins in drawers can be used to keep socks together but separate from underwear, for example. Hanging organizers can create extra space in closets too. Beyond clothing, organizing tools can be very helpful. Containing items to a certain space not only keeps them tidy but encourages the habit. Make-up storage containers come in all shapes and sizes, mugs can transform into brush or pencil holders, small containers can turn a junk drawer into an organized masterpiece. There are plenty of options out there for whatever space you need to organize.
In one way or another, many of us likely have something at home we could organize more effectively. Maybe, you have toiletries spilling out of cupboards, books piled up, wires in a tangled mess or a fridge with seemingly no more room. Whatever the case, these three tips just might help you to transform a mess into a masterpiece and do so with joy!