Tidy Without Overwhelm.
Congratulations! Thank you for coming to my site to learn about organizing your life and how I can help you get there. My goal is to inspire you to seek ways you can respark the joy in your life and personal space, and the following steps outlined below are how I approach decluttering with a peaceful heart.
For those like me with ADHD or ADHD-like symptoms, when I am just thinking about starting a big task like tidying, I can quickly become overwhelmed. My biggest source of worry is my perfectionism and all-or-nothing thinking. When I am dealing with perfectionism, I picture an ideal state that is like a photo shoot of a magazine; my all-or-nothing mindset then creates an expectation that my end goal has to be just like that or it’s crap. Because of these mental models, I have found it difficult to get started; but over time, I have learned some coping mechanisms by breaking it down into little baby obstacles. Follow along through some exercises that help me calm the mental jitters blocking me from starting to tidy.
Step 1: CELEBRATE.
Before we dive in, let’s celebrate your wins now. Yes! Now! I want to take a quick pause and reflect on the fact you’ve already come so far. You have
✅ acknowledged your inner wisdom to explore tidying
✅ braved the interwebs’ distractions
✅ clicked on this blog learn about tidying the KonMari way
✅ still here, baby!
The methodology I teach is the KonMari method, founded by Marie Kondo, the bestselling author of “The Life Changing Magic of Tidying Up” who has sold 14 million copies of her books around the world.
KonMari started with four words: Does it spark joy? You are not choosing what to discard but rather choosing to keep only the items that speak to your heart. Through tidying, you can reset and respark joy in your life, spending time surrounded by the people and things that you love the most.
If you have more questions about the KonMari method, stay tuned for more explanation below and check out my FAQ.
Step 2: CHECK IN.
Way to keep plugging along! Before you can make a path from point A to point B, it’s literally impossible to do without defining these two points: your origin and your end points. In this step, your task is to clearly define where you are right now in your tidying situation. I recommend a quick breathing exercise such as “box breathing” to calm that beautiful hyperactive mind down a bit. Then ask yourself these questions and jot down your answers.
Why do you want to tidy now?
What forces in your life is sparking energy to explore this?
Are those forces internal or external? Significance?
How would you rate the current state of your space you want to tidy?
What emotions come up? Use the Feelings Wheel (insert linked photo below) if needed. Do you feel any physical sensations?
Having an emotional reaction is normal when trying to make any changes, big or small. Self-compassion and emotional awareness will buoy you like a life raft through the ups and downs.
Step 3: GOALS.
Amazing job checking-in with yourself! Now you can think about how to get to Point B. Achieving your goals consist of two factors, the WAY and the WHY (see the Mel Robbins podcast on goals for a deep dive)
The WAY is the process of of the KonMari Method (link her info here from your FAQ) during which your belongings are sorted by category, not by room, in this order: clothing -> books -> papers -> komono (miscellaneous) -> sentimental. With each item you simply hold it in your hands and ask, “does it spark joy?” If yes, then keep the object in your life; if not, then set it aside for later discarding.
Next, comes the WHY, which is your internal motivations and reasoning, and to get especially clear on your why, it helps to ask at least 3 times or more until you get to the core beliefs and thought patterns.
Why are you considering a tidying festival?
Great answer! And why?
Way to get deeper with that! And why?
Step 4: VISUALIZE.
You’re kicking some butt getting to this far! The next big step of Marie Kondo’s tidying festival is to picture your ideal lifestyle during which I encourage you to spend a decent amount of time in deep thought. Again, take some slow breaths to ground yourself and to let your daydreams loose. Remember this ideal lifestyle visualization is specific to you, and not about what would look good to an external observer.
Tap into into senses, describe what’s around you:
visual: sights, colors
olfactory: smells, scents
auditory: sounds, music
tactile: touch, movement
gustatory: taste, flavors
Open your heart to feel your emotions, describe them in detail, using the Feelings Wheel if needed.
Draw a picture of some things that you see. Doodle a shape that expresses a feeling. Add colors that inspire you.
Step 5: PLEDGE.
How beautiful and joyful was the ideal lifestyle that you just visualized? I want that for you too! To help yourself get to that state, write down this personal pledge to yourself and post it somewhere visible. Research has shown that writing down your commitments increases the likelihood of following through.
Write down in your personal pledge:
My Why: “I am committing to tidying my space because …”
“I commit to the process of tidying my space by following the KonMari method.”
“I commit to myself by being honest and gentle with my thoughts and emotions during the tidying festival, while thoughtfully dedicating my time and focus to the tasks.”
Optional: Specify a future date that you would like to complete the tidying festival, add dates in between for the categories. “I commit to decluttering my clothing category by June 30th, thirty days from now”
Add your own unique spin!
Sign and Date at the bottom
Step 6: ACTION.
You. Are. Incredible! Can you feel the energy building up inside of you? Let’s transform your intention into action by taking baby steps to start. List three tiny little tasks that you can do right now, and then go do them!
1️⃣ …
2️⃣ …
3️⃣ …
Conclusion:
Do you feel empowered to take on the tidying project now? I hope you feel accomplished already because you’ve already traveled into your deep consciousness to prepare yourself for the journey ahead.
Celebrate More Wins!
✅ checked in with myself
✅ uncovered my whys
✅ visualized my ideal lifestyle
✅ wrote and signed my personal pledge
✅ listed three action items I know that I can do now
Additional Resources:
If you enjoyed this blog post and would like to download the accompanying workbook, check out my services page to get an instant download for filling out digitally or printing out. My site will be regularly updated with new digital products to purchase, such as inspirational printable and folding guides.
I also offer a free 30 minute phone or video call for anyone that wants to discover how a tidying coach could be of service. Click on my scheduling link for options.
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About the Author:
Joy Lee
I’m a wife and mom of 2 young humans, plus a one-eyed cat and five chickens.
My previous life before this career change was in corporate and small-business settings as the do-everything-gal, who loved to take on projects that improved efficiency of the workplace. Most of all, I loved developing my colleagues and team members by validating their ideas and building on their strengths.
My hobbies include gardening and re-wilding my property into a food forest paradise.
As a KonMari Consultant-In-Training, I have attended live classes with Marie Kondo’s team to learn how to transform your life through tidying and organization - beyond what you can even imagine. My fellow consultants and I work with purpose and an incredible amount of hands-on experience, using joy to help you life your best life!
