Seven guides through the Marie Kondo method, from its founding principles to each single category
I wrote these guides over the years, piece by piece, out of the questions clients asked me in their own homes. Everything here you can do on your own, at your own pace.
We move through the categories in the same order every time: Clothes, Books, Papers, Komono (miscellaneous items) and Sentimental items. That order is not arbitrary — we begin with what is easiest to decide about and end with what carries the most memory, so that by the time you get there you have already built a feel for what sparks joy.
If the method is new to you, start with the complete guide below. If you know what you are looking for, go straight to your category.
The longest text on this page and the best place to begin. The six basic rules of tidying, what it means for an object to spark joy, what a KonMari festival looks like, and what sets this method apart from every other one you have tried.
Five steps from the pile on the bed to a drawer where you see everything at once, with the KonMari folding technique. Plus the questions that keep coming back: hang or fold, does folding crease, and the right way to store socks.
Bags, scarves, hats, glasses, hair accessories and jewellery, and shoes last. One way of storing each that is easy to keep up — bag inside bag, compartment boxes, and hats that do the work of wall art.
No two closets are alike, so these are principles rather than a recipe: what belongs on top, what at the bottom, how to divide the space when two people share it, and why the inside of a closet deserves the same care as a room.
Books are happiest when they are being read. How to decide which one stays beside you and which can go on sharing the knowledge it holds — and why a book you have finished has already done its work.
Papers end up everywhere, at home and at the office. Four steps to a system where you keep only what genuinely matters — and in today’s digital world that is less than you expect.
Komono (miscellaneous items) is the widest category of all: from CDs and stationery to skincare, medicines and the kitchen. A list of subcategories in the order that is easiest to work through, with the kitchen and bathroom deliberately left for last.
Once a home is in order, the next question is usually what comes into it in the first place. That is what I write about in the zero waste articles — kitchen swaps, cleaning products and soaps you can make yourself.
Everything in one place sits on the Resources page.
That is the most common place for people to get stuck. Book a free 20-minute call and we will look together at where it makes most sense to begin in your home.
