The craze surrounding Marie Kondo’s minimalist approach to living in an organized and decluttered space makes a lot of sense. Whether you hold onto too many sentimental things or have just accumulated items over the years, cluttered spaces are overwhelming. Marie asks people to hold onto items and determine whether they spark enough joy to hold onto or recommends they part ways with the item. Here are some friendly beginner tips for people looking to create a more organized home:
1. Set a schedule: Not everyone has the time in the day to really go through every item in their home. If it isn’t already overwhelming to take on this task, it can be once you jump in. Try moving from room to room or corner to corner in a room to really assess each item’s worth and not burn yourself out in the process!
2. Recycle or give away items that can serve someone else: 
Whether dropping off at a local recycling or donation center, your used furniture, books or clothing can spark joy with something else. It’s always better to reduce overall waste, but this doesn’t mean that you can’t size down in an environmentally conscious and useful way!
3. Sustain your momentum: Rome wasn’t built in a day, and that stack of magazines in your living room likely won’t be gone in just one either. With a schedule in mind, remind yourself of why you started and continue to push forward because a clean space is a happy one.
4. Adopt a new mindset about 
acquiring items in the future: It’s one thing to declutter in the winter or spring season, and it’s another to make this process easier by only purchasing or gaining items you know will serve a purpose. Decluttering and organizing doesn’t mean you have to lose out on the things you find exciting or fun, but should mean that unnecessary items don’t make their way into a pile in the corner of your room.
It’s never easy to part with items that you’ve had for any period of time. Whether you’ll definitely wear that shirt at a super-specific event even though it still has the tag on it, or read that book a second time, really consider the importance of the items that fill up your life. There’s no shame in making someone else’s day, month, or year with the same item that once brought you joy. So try to implement these small steps to move towards a happier and less cluttered future for yourself.
