Martha Stewart’s website promises that its ultimate spring-cleaning checklist will give your home a total refresh.
Why not! Martha is having another moment (she made the cover of the Sports Illustrated swimsuit issue at age 81), and traditional spring cleaning does spruce up the house – to a degree, that is, and for a while.
The problem with thinking of spring cleaning as a cure-all for a cluttered home is baked right into the name of the annual ritual – “cleaning.”
Most spring cleaning prescriptives focus on the cleaning aspect and suggest a room-by-room approach.
The house does get cleaner, and perhaps tidier to some degree, but devotees of the KonMari Method of tidying and decluttering pioneered by Marie Kondo know that it gets tidier in a way not likely to last.
One reason is human nature. During spring cleaning, the voluminous clutter that’s undermining your living spaces and dragging down your lifestyle doesn’t get effectively addressed. Instead, it tends to get spruced up, rearranged, and likely relocated as rooms get cleaned.
Here’s a telltale outcome we see (and some of us have done): Messy living rooms and family rooms may become sleek and sparkly but in the process the home office or the spare bedroom, for example, become a dumping ground for clutter we promise to address later.
Spring cleaning success? Perhaps by the accepted societal parameters.
True and lasting transformation? Not even close.
The successful way to address the same issues that suggest it’s time for spring clearing is the KonMari Method, which involves a category-by-category “journey” in which you confront and assess the true value of everything spilling out of your closets, kitchen cabinets, bathroom drawers, and everywhere else in the house.
Whatever “sparks joy” for the life and lifestyle you aspire to have – and that’s our inspiration – gets to stay and reside neatly in its designated “home” within the house. Whatever you have that isn’t essential gets thanked for its service and sent on its way.
The result is a liberating, clutter free house that’s now ready for some springtime “cleaning.”
KonMari is a rigorous process and often an emotional one, too. As a Certified Platinum KonMari Consultant, I’m here to help. Feel free to email me at [email protected] or call (203) 772-8883 to discuss your situation—or visit my Packages & Rates page.
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