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Marie Kondo House Cleaning with Konmari Komono

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There are five main steps in the Konmari cleaning method. Probably the largest is the Marie Kondo house tidying up phase they refer to as Komono. Komono includes everything not included in one of the other steps.

Konmari Cleaning Method

There are five steps in the KonMari cleaning method, if you are just finding this article start with step 1. The Marie Kondo cleaning really should be done in order to get maximum results.

  1. Clothing
  2. Books
  3. Papers
  4. Komono
  5. Sentimental items

Marie Kondo House Cleaning Tips

Throughout the show Tidying Up on Netflix we gets lots of little tips on how to clean more efficiently. Here are a few of my favorites.

  • Store Seasonal items in storage bins
  • Put Seasonal items for maintenance of your property together. For example, your summer stuff such as lawnmower and hedge trimmers should be stored together. While your snow shovel and salt pails in a different area.
  • Get rid of duplicate items. Such as appliances, tools, etc.
  • Find ways to organize your items, so they are easy to find. This often means finding alternative solutions so you can see everything you have. We tend to store everything in a big bin and then you don’t remember what is in the container.

Gratitude

One of the biggest lessons you will learn if you follow the Marie Kondo house cleaning method is gratitude. Every show starts with Marie Kondo blessing and thanking the home she’s about to be part of. Even as you clean up and discard things, she asks homeowners to express thankfulness for that item.

Being thankful for what an item has done for you lets you let go of that item with less guilt. Even if you never got to use something, you should be grateful you had that item to show you that your interests were somewhere else. This is a great life lesson for everyone to use.

Marie Kondo Organizing Paper

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Are you a super organized person? I can’t say that anyone would say I’m super organized. I am good at time management, but cleaning or organization not so much. Marie Kondo paper

I recently started watching Tidying Up with Marie Kondo where she talks about the Konmari cleaning method. The third step of this process is organizing paper.

Konmari Cleaning Method

There are five steps in the KonMari cleaning method

  1. Clothing
  2. Books
  3. Papers
  4. Komono
  5. Sentimental items

Marie Kondo Paper Tips

  • Have a designated area in the house to deal with paper. This could be a desk, a box, or a drawer.
  • First deal with pending documents. These are things that are waiting for you to do something such as letters and bills. When you are ready to tidy up your paper, then you should pay your bills and respond or file messages. Have a plan in place and stick to a schedule.
  • Second is essential documents such as things you need to keep permanently like insurance and tax items. You should set up a filing system or have a permanent location to put them.
  • Miscellaneous documents you have like cut-outs of magazines or things you want to go back and read should have their separate box or place. This allows you easy access and keeps them organized.

Marie Kondo Books

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The Konmari cleaning method is explained in detail in our post titled Marie Kondo Cleaning Tips. Start with that post, so you don’t skip any steps. In this article, we are discussing the second step of the Marie Kondo cleaning method by talking about books.

There are five steps in the KonMari cleaning method

  1. Clothing
  2. Books
  3. Papers
  4. Komono
  5. Sentimental items

How to start dealing with books

The first step of the Marie Kondo books category is to take all of your books and put them into a big pile. Next, you will take every book into your hands and see if it sparks joy for you. With books, you also want to ask yourself if having that book will be beneficial for your life going forward.

  • Will you use the book again?
  • Are you going to Reference the book in the future?
  • In the future will you reread the book?

Books should give you some sort of emotional reaction. If they don’t then you should show gratitude towards them and let them go.

Other Marie Kondo Books tips

  • You should try to limit your book collection to 20-30 books at any given time.
  • If books have been stored for a long time you need to wake them up.
  • Don’t confuse joy with guilt for letting something go.

Marie Kondo Cleaning Tips

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Lately, I started to hear about the Marie Kondo Cleaning phenomenon and decided I needed to watch this show on Netflix for myself. So I settled in for a comfy Saturday on the couch and thought to myself “I sure hope I can learn some Marie Kondo tips to help me.”

If you know me at all, you would realize I HATE cleaning. I don’t just dislike it; I full out hate it. Now I know it needs to be done, but it’s never been an enjoyable thing for me. Maybe learning some new cleaning tips will help energize me to finally tackle some of those unpacked boxes we have lying around the house.

Marie Kondo Tips

Clean in Categories

The very first of the Marie Kondo tips is to clean by category, not by location. Cleaning by category helps to establish a start and end to tidying. She believes you need to clean by this category order:

Tips for Tidying

Hold each item to see if it brings you joy. If you hold each thing and it doesn’t bring you joy then you should let it go or get rid of it. I have heard of something similar before by looking at something and deciding if it falls into one of three categories.

  • Do you need it to make money?
  • Do you need it because you use it every day?
  • Or do you need it because you genuinely love it?

If an item doesn’t fall into one of these categories, then you get rid of it. Marie Kondo believes that if you concentrate on the subject, you will decide if you need it and if you don’t you can then get rid of it.

Other Marie Kondo Tips

While watching several episodes of Tidying Up with Marie Kondo on Netflix here are some cleaning tips I have picked up.

  • Keep like sized items together
  • Use tiny boxes to keep things organized
  • Fold clothes into small squares
  • Store things so you can see what you have
  • When you have a lot of something put it in a big pile so you can see everything you have and make a better decision on if you need it all.
  • Store decorations in boxes not in plastic bags.

Frugal Living: 25 Genius Ways to Save Money Everyday

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Everyone wants to save money and many of us strive for a frugal living! I don’t know a single person who has so much money they don’t enjoy a good deal. (Now I’m sure these people exist, I just don’t know any.)

Frugal Living Tips

Household / Vehicle Tips

  1. Watch less TV – This will help you be subjected to less ads, and you can cut down on subscription costs too!
  2. Clean out closets and sell things you are no longer using! Check out our Spring Cleaning : A 20 Day Cleaning Challenge
  3. Turn off your lights and if you can’t turn them off make sure you are using LED’s. Check out 5 useful ways to save money on utilities
  4. Keep your tires inflated. For every 2 PSI of air pressure your tires are under the recommended level costs you about 1% on your gas mileague.
  5. Use Surge Protectors – Not only will this help so they don’t get blown up in a storm, but you can easily turn them off to help save on electrical bills.

Holiday Items

  1. Make Gifts this holiday season! There are plenty of gift ideas on Pinterest just waiting for you!
  2. Only purchase holiday decorations after the holiday is past. Getting them when they are on sale for 70-90% off only makes sense.

Groceries / Food Tips

  1. Don’t go grocery shopping without a list!
  2. Plan your grocery shopping based on local store sales.
  3. Pack food for road trips. Just because you have to travel doesn’t mean you have to eat at fast food restaurants.
  4. Compare grocery store prices so you always get the best deal.
  5. Try generic brands. Many of the things you love are perfectly awesome in generic form.
  6. Drink more water!
  7. Pack your lunches for work.

Budget Tips

  1. Use a budget
  2. WASH your hands. This helps keep the medical bills low and the sickies away!
  3. Restrict online shopping
  4. Set Goals or use a Vision Board – This helps you realize what you are working for!

Other / Misc Frugal Living Tips

  1. Sign UP for Rewards Programs – these can help you save money on purchass you are already planning on making. Check out Rapid Rewards Shopping tips.
  2. Wait 30 Days – to make any purchase over $50. You may not need that purchase as much as you thought if you have to wait for it.
  3. Use library borrowing services. You can watch money movies and read books through your library share programs.
  4. Quit using credit cards if you can’t pay them off every month.
  5. Cancel unused memberships. If you aren’t using that gym membership, stop paying for it.
  6. Buy used. There are lots of perfectly good used items at consignment shops just waiting for you!
  7. Ask for fees to be waived. This won’t always work but it doesn’t hurt you anything to ask. This includes when signing up for services.

Hopefully you have enjoyed our tips on how you can live a more frugal life!