Kondo vs. Morgenstern
I haven’t read Marie Kondo’s book or watched her show because her method would not work for me. I’ve written in the past about how decluttering brings out my inner Gollum. I cannot consider whether or not something sparks joy because I am too busy trying to silence my brain from screaming, “Mine!”
But I recently discovered Julie Morgenstern, who marries time management and decluttering into one mindset, and THAT is a philosophy I can get behind.
Return stuff to the same place every single time and you’ll never waste time searching the house for it. Put your important items, the items that always travel with you out of the house, in a single space, so you can grab and go. Think of it as extra time you get added to your day.
Don’t think of decluttering as the same thing as organizing. You declutter one category at a time, such as all of your books or all of your clothes. You organize one space at a time, such as a drawer or a closet or a room. You can’t really declutter and organize at the same time.
Don’t have more items on your to-do list than can be completed in the time that you have, even if all of those things really need to get done. (1) They probably don’t. (2) Even if they do, you’re not getting to all of them. So place them in different days and tackle just the ones on today’s list. Everything will actually get done rather than haphazardly leaving one or two things behind on the list every day.
And give people undivided attention in fifteen minute bursts. Better to spend fifteen minutes with all devices closed, focused on the person in front of you, than to spend an hour one day and nothing the next. Consistently giving small amounts of undivided attention is better than giving huge amounts of attention unevenly.
And that’s just what I was able to glean from the beginning of this article. My plan is to dive into one of her books next week.
10 comments
Oh man, when I saw the title, I was hoping you meant S. Morgenstern. I wonder what his productivity recommendations would be.
The one place where Kondo and Morgenstern agree? Rodents of Unusual Size. They don’t spark joy. Chuck them out.
Lol, nicoleandmaggie! His tips would probably rhyme (“Spark joy and I mean it! Anybody want a peanut?)
We organize and declutter room by room throughout the year in the rooms and areas that need it (kids bathroom, linen closet, our closets). I see these two things as a constant process, and part of living.
We have key organization processes in place (esp in kitchen) that just need to be maintained and kept up.
This seems pretty easy, and I have been shaking my head at the Marie Kondo moment that is clearing gripping the nation. But I have always had a strong urge to keep things minimal and pretty, so I am more motivated to do this work, I guess.
I actually think you’d like Kondo more then you think. You seem the kind of person that understands thanking a think for serving you well!
Mijk
Have to laugh over the comments.
My purging method is simple, though admittedly stressful: move 4 time, at least once cross country. The advance version involves not hiring movers and using moving pods. I still have items we need to part with, but they are easy to identify as they are still in boxes.
I will have to look into some of Morgenstern’s books; I’m not familiar with them or with her philosophy. (At first I thought I was, but I was thinking of Laura Vanderkam, who annoyed me in the one book of hers that I read.) Suggestions on which book would be a good start?
The first time I read The Life Changing Magic of Tidying Up, I found the idea of doing the KonMari method on all of my belongings intriguing but ultimately unworkable and overwhelming for my stage of life (full-time work-outside-the-home mother of toddlers then). However, I have since done some of the steps in the KonMari method, and I will say that it resonates with me on some level. Unlike you, asking if each item sparks joy for me makes me MORE likely to give up items that don’t, not less.
To each her own, I suppose. If there were one perfect method that worked for everyone, these books wouldn’t become bestsellers.
I haven’t read any of the KonMari books, but coincidentally, last night I watched the first two of her TV shows, and immediately wanted to declutter my clothes!
I failed dismally at my attempt to declutter 2018 things in 2018, and I haven’t started on my 2019 target, though intend to soon! I do like the idea of throwing all my clothes on the bed though, because otherwise it’s too easy to go through a drawer and say, “those can stay” without seeing them in a wider context.
Also, in that article they said “the average person loses an hour a day looking for misplaced items …” Seriously? Not me. Though equally, I might be that someone who puts off looking for something in case I can’t find it! lol And there was a photo of a cluttered office that miraculously made me feel so much better about my own cluttered office.
I’m not sure about the difference between decluttering and organising. To me the two are the same. I couldn’t declutter without simoultaneously reorganising. I did this to my linen cupboard a few years ago. It is still a joy (and perfectly organised) some years later.
I have “Shed your stuff, Change your life” by Morgenstein (I won it in a blog give-away one time, years ago) and it did really resonate with me. For me, the whole decluttering/organizing thing just can’t be forced…every once in a while I just get a “bee in my bonnet” or whatever and feel compelled to get rid of stuff and re-organize things in our home, and other times…I don’t care. I used to try to make goals of doing “one room monthly” or planning a weekend to do the house, but it never happened as planned, just when the mood struck me.
Lol. You have hilarious commenters. And I was thinking you meant Rhoda Morgenstern.
I think I could get into this Morgenstern’s methods. I like the thing about 15 min of focused attentions.
I think I actually had one of Julie Morgenstern’s books at one time. In fact, I had quite a collection of books on organizing, decluttering & housekeeping. Perhaps ironically 😉 most of them went to the Salvation Army in one of the 60+ cartons of books I had to shed when we moved. (Cristy is right, moving is excellent incentive to purge your belongings, albeit rather stressful!) Even so, 4 IKEA Billy bookcases (completely filled)(plus a couple of plastic storage bins full) remain. Obviously, Marie Kondo & I do NOT agree on the subject of books!! lol 😉 (Although I must admit, there is something appealing about those piles of neatly folded shirts & socks…)