Spring Clean and Spark Joy – part one – the declutter
Without wanting to jinx it, it certainly feels as though spring might *almost* be in sight. Snowdrops blooming, the evenings getting a little lighter, and the days brighter than they are grey. Which means that it’s time to start thinking about that all-important spring clean. If you’re anything like us at One World you’re ready to get rid of some of that winter bulk and refresh our homes in time for a brand new season. And we have plenty of tips and ideas to help you on your way. This is the first part in our Spring Clean and Spark Joy series...
If you’re not yet familiar with Marie Kondo, her life changing magic of tidying up and the art form that is ‘sparking joy’, then we suggest you grab a copy of her book and sit back with a cuppa before embarking on your mass clean. If you’ve read it or you just want the cliff notes then we feel it can be best summed up in this quote by William Morris.
“Have nothing in your house that you do not know to be useful, or believe to be beautiful”
Essentially, everything in your home (according to the KonMarie method) should spark joy. And whilst her book focuses on the art of tidying as opposed to cleaning, we think that they eventually go hand in hand.
Here are a few of the KonMarie tips and methods to help you get a start on the decluttering ahead of your spring clean.
Be committed
With any good decluttering session or spring clean you need to be committed. If you’re not then you won’t be able to finish the task or do it justice. So make sure you set some time aside in your diary to really commit to the cause. Your home will thank you for it in the long run.
Think category NOT location
Marie Kondo’s rule is to work by category and not location – so you don’t pick a room you focus on a category such as all the clothes in your house or all the paperwork.
Discard and let go
It can be really hard to part with items and some people find it much harder than others. But living with a lot of clutter is proven to add stress and indecisiveness in your life – mess causes stress. Be ruthless, be thorough and ask yourself Kondo’s most vital question ‘Does it spark joy?’. If the answer is ‘no’ then chances are you won’t wear it again, read it again, look at it with love again!
Find a new home
Once you start to put things back in their place you may find that a new place is required – new shelves, new cabinets, new storage. Kondo writes “Clutter is caused by a failure to return things to where they belong. Therefore, storage should reduce the effort needed to put things away, not the effort to get them out.” So having the right storage is vital.
If you find yourself looking for a little extra storage or fancy updating your current storage systems than why not have a look at some of our gorgeous pieces!
Next week we’ll be sharing more life changing magic and spring cleaning tips!
