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Home guru Marie Kondo has been redefining the way organize our homes for way over a decade. From motivational books to TV series that are jam-packed with handy hints, Kondo’s methods have proved to be a Her first book, “The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up,” was published in the U.S. in 2014 and has been translated in more than 30 countries. In 2019, she released the Netflix reality series “Tidying Up With Marie Kondo“, showing viewers how to live a clutter-free life.
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Her latest book release “Marie Kondo’s Kurashi at Home” is inspired by the Japanese concept of kurashi — which translates to “way of life”— and features over 100 photographs, prompts, and reflections to help readers organize with ease and live their ideal lives.
Here, check out five tips from the new read that are sure to spark joy and change the way you organize your life.
1. Ask yourself a few important questions
Before you begin to tidy, Kondo suggests that you have a conversation with yourself. Include questions such as “were you good at tidying as a child?”, “what kind of work do you do?” and “how do you spend your days off?”
While these questions may seem irrelevant, there is a method to the self Q&A. Kondo says that a block in tidying can correspond with a block in someone’s personal life, whether it be work or relationships. Our day-to-day can impact the tidying process, so it’s important to identify if you’re a naturally good organizer and how much time you spend at home.
2. Set a deadline for your tidying up
If you’re the type of person that can’t work effectively without set deadlines, make sure you’re factoring this in to your home organization. Giving yourself a time frame for your tidying up can stop any excessive procrastination. Additionally, if you find it hard to stay motivated, be sure to tell a friend or family member and keep yourself accountable.
3. Visualize your ideal home
What does your ideal home look like? Kondo suggests visualizing your perfect space, one room at a time. Doing this will help you become ruthless with giving your belongings a dedicated spot and getting rid of items that no longer spark joy.
4. Teach kids to clean as part of play time
Develop good habits in little ones and incorporate chores and tidying up as part of their play time. Make it routine to tidy away after playing with toys or each activity before moving onto the next.
5. Remember that it takes time to develop a new habit
Kondo notes that it takes just ten days to begin to develop a new habit. It may seem like a long time, but after less than two weeks you can develop a steady rhythm of cleaning and organizing — whether that be a full room or a smaller area. A great place to start is wiping down countertops every morning or organizing your fridge after the last meal of the day, making sure everything is in its dedicated place.
“First, it’s far easier to motivate yourself and stick with something if you set an initial goal of just ten days instead of telling yourself to do something daily forever from now on,” she writes. “Second, if you start by developing a habit of doing something every three days, you’ll then have to exert more energy to start doing it daily. Dividing the process into two stages is simply a waste of effort.”
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The first time I had a baby, “childproof” was a new word to me — it sounded like the title of an action movie. Now, I can look around any house and see a danger factory brimming with risk and potential hospital visits in every direction.
I babyproofed my house for my first child and was able to mostly keep it intact. Yet, over time, I have let my guard down. As he has aged, cleaning supplies have been more easily accessible and the child locks that used to keep the cabinet doors secure have been removed. The safety plugs have been removed from the sockets, and the coffee table my mom suggested we get rid of in the living room has found its way back into place.
Being a parent is petrifying as is, and babyproofing a home is one way to exorcise the things that keep a new parent awake at night (besides a crying baby). Now that baby number two is on the way, I’ll be returning to some of the above mentioned tricks and adding some oldies but goodies back in.
With kid one, I installed baby gates pretty early on, and I was glad I did. Though babyproofing comes with an inherent set of hassles and slows down the day-to-day motions of adults, they protect the little ones, which is the priority. I went with those classic tan-colored metal gates which aren’t pretty, but they do keep a child who is at the learning to walk stage from tumbling down the stairs like a bowling ball. Knowing my child would have a barrier to keep him from sleep walking us all into a potential ER visit helped me sleep better at night.
Strict In-Home Shoes-Off Policy
I see the disgusting things people leave on the ground, which is why I insist people take off their shoes when they come into the house. I consider this a form of kid-proofing because it means I have to vacuum, mop, and scrub to keep the home safe for my kids that much less. But I went one step further and got a cute shoe rack where people can both place their shoes and comfortably sit to take their shoes off and put them back on. It helps immediately get the message across when someone steps into my home that this is a shoe-free zone, and makes it easier for them to comply. Plus, as I mentioned, it’s cute.
My husband has this interesting “everything must go” policy, whereas I’m a person who keeps things to get use out of them. But when you live in a tiny one-bedroom apartment in Manhattan, these two concepts have to meet somewhere in the middle. Sadly, we did get rid of this play area after baby one outgrew it, and we will be bringing it back. It’s flexible, so you can form it into a circle or square, and even use it outside in the grass. I lined the bottom with blankets to make it cozy for him to play in, and sometimes even climbed in there with him and took a nap, knowing he was safe while I snoozed nearby.
I take a daily prenatal vitamin and a daily vitamin C, and when my first was younger, I got into the habit of using a “childproof” pill box. The seller made a good point when advertising the box that “no box is 100 percent child-proof,” and this is an important piece of parenting 101: You think you’re doing it the way you’re supposed to, but children are like little genius robots, and they pick things up and figure them out in incredible (and incredibly frustrating) and sometimes dangerous ways. This isn’t a new one, but a reminder to adopt this item in your life if you have a baby coming.
Some cannabis companies have jumped on the bandwagon and even started selling locking boxes for cannabis products — another great idea if you keep any kind of recreational drugs in your home. It’s a cheap no-brainer.
Cabinet and Door Handle Lockers
In addition to those little plastic doodads that make opening cabinet doors harder, I also implemented knob covers that wouldn’t let my little trouble-seeker open up our closet or the bathroom and bedroom doors. These were great for gaining privacy in the bathroom, and for keeping cleaning supplies and freshly folded towels out of reach, which would be a complete delight for him to rifle through and toss around, much to my chagrin.
Foam Padding On Everything
When my firstborn was on his way, my mom recommended I remove a table from the living room. I did, but as my son got a little older and a bit more self-aware, I opted to return it because I kept kicking my drinks over. To compromise, I covered the edges with a peel-and-stick foam padding strip. I put it on anything that was pokey or potentially forehead-smack inducing. It was super easy to use and inexpensive — a terrific combo. Plus, it comes in a rainbow of colors to match all the furniture.
Other Things I Don’t Even Know About… Just Yet
One awesome thing about parenting is that with every month, year, generation, we get smarter and figure out answers to potential problems and hazards in advance. In just a few years, there are new, stylish solutions that will make parenting easier for anyone having a baby this year (including me).
It’s one of those things you expect everyone to understand. When it comes to writing out an apartment address, most people were taught how to properly do so in elementary school… or so you thought. In contrast to what you may believe, there’s actually a lot of confusion out there. In fact, search engines are overflowing with questions from people trying to determine the best way to ensure their packages and mail arrive on time and intact. Here’s a breakdown of the correct wait to address mail when you’re sending it to an apartment.
It’s easiest to write out an apartment address when you’re mailing an envelope. After all, there’s no confusing boxes to fill in like when you’re shopping online. A good rule of thumb is to use the three-line system that requires your legal name to be written on the first line. On the second line, write the street address and unit designator. That should be followed by the city, state, and zip code on the third line. It’s not that your mail won’t arrive at its destination if you put the unit number on its own line. In fact, it will probably be fine. However, this is not the specific way the United States Postal Service prefers it to be written.
Whether it’s a piece of mail or a larger package, it’s absolutely vital that you use a unit designator. These unit designators are the specific abbreviations that make it clear where inside the street address a piece of mail should end up. According to the United States Postal Service, the most common ones are “APT” for an apartment, “BLDG” for a building, and “FL” for floor. Those are followed by “STE” for suite, “RM” for room, and “DEPT” for department. For something that’s just referred to as a unit, the designator is just “unit.” Easy enough.
While many of us use just the pound sign to signify the number of a unit, the USPS specifically says it should not be used as a secondary unit designator if you have another option. While your mail will probably get to the correct destination if you use the pound sign, there must be a space between the pound sign and the secondary number.
If you’re trying to address something that’s being sent internationally, things get a bit more complicated. That’s because each country tends to have rules that are slightly different. Stick to the previously-mentioned system for the first two lines, using the name followed by the street address and unit designator. However, things change a bit when you get to the third line. Depending on where your mail is going, the third line should have the city and postal code. Follow that up on the fourth line with the country, ideally in capitalized letters.
There are always additional specifics that should be considered when you’re addressing mail. For instance, if you’re sending something to a friend who lives in an apartment with several roommates or works in a busy office building, you may want to write “Attn” before their name to specify attention. When you follow the tips and tricks the postal service specifies, you have a greater chance of having your mail land in its intended place.
Megan Johnson is a reporter in Boston. She got her start at the Boston Herald, where commenters would leave sweet messages like “Megan Johnson is just awful.” Now, she’s a contributor to publications like People Magazine, Trulia and Architectural Digest.
For many people, laundry is a dreaded household chore. Even after you’ve finished washing and drying your clothes, you still have to fold them and put them away — it’s seemingly never ending. But according to Patric Richardson (aka the Laundry Evangelist) of the Discovery+ series “The Laundry Guy,” it doesn’t have to be. Instead, he says these small tweaks to your washing routine can actually make laundry day your favorite day of the week!
According to Richardson, sometimes you just need a change of perspective to get over your laundry day dread. “Ultimately, I believe we don’t have to do laundry, we get to do laundry,” he says. “If you see the act of washing clothes as taking care of your loved ones (including yourself) it is so much nicer.”
If that’s not enough, he recommends trying to turn laundry day into an opportunity to relax. “Enjoy the process, add a few niceties like a drink and something to listen to, and maybe it won’t be your favorite chore, but it will be much easier,” he says. “You know, someone out there loves going to the dentist, so you can love laundry.”
Make your laundry room a fun space.
Instagram is full of photos of farm-style laundry rooms that favor light colors and minimalist decor, but Richardson says a distraction (and a dose of fun) might be exactly what your washroom needs in order to become a space you’ll enjoy going to. “Hang a disco ball in your laundry room, add something to listen to, and take a beverage,” he says. “If you tell everyone you are going to do laundry, they will leave you alone … I promise.”
No laundry room? No problem.
Don’t worry, you can still take advantage of Richardson’s tips even if you don’t have a laundry space of your own. “To customize a shared space, take some headphones, a snack, a big comfy throw or hoodie, and a killer book (“Laundry Love” for example),” he says, adding that the key is to make yourself comfy while you are waiting on the washer and dryer. “Many laundry spaces now have Wi-Fi, which makes things easier for sure, but you can always download your favorite laundry music or podcasts.”
Richardson’s other favorite trick for those who rely on a laundromat to get their clothes clean: Turn it into an opportunity to socialize. Invite a friend so that you can catch up while you wait for your wash to get clean, or plan a call with a long-distance friend.
Tackle it all in one day.
Okay, maybe Richardson’s tricks won’t make you love doing laundry, but they can certainly help improve the process. And if you follow just one tip, make it be this one: Get it all done in a single sitting. That means washing, drying, folding, and putting away all of your laundry on the same day. If you’ve turned your laundry space into a place you enjoy, doing it this way will really lighten your load (pun intended).
Lauren Wellbank is a freelance writer with more than a decade of experience in the mortgage industry. Her writing has also appeared on HuffPost, Washington Post, Martha Stewart Living, and more. When she’s not writing she can be found spending time with her growing family in the Lehigh Valley area of Pennsylvania.
With five children, Shifrah is learning a thing or two about how to keep a fairly organized and pretty clean house with a grateful heart in a way that leaves plenty of time for the people who matter most. Shifrah grew up in San Francisco, but has come to appreciate smaller town life in Tallahassee, Florida, which she now calls home. She’s been writing professionally for twenty years and she loves lifestyle photography, memory keeping, gardening, reading, and going to the beach with her husband and children.
