The Morgan

Spark joy this year with a tidy home. The words “tidying” and “organizing” often summon images of a well-kept residence with a spotless kitchen and neatly curated bookshelves. But committing to getting more organized isn’t just about tidying physical spaces — it can bring you a sense of wellbeing in every aspect of your life. Organization not only supports self-care, it is self-care.

The KonMari Method is a simple but effective tidying method, ensuring you will never again relapse to clutter. It uses a unique selection criterion – choosing what sparks joy! You are not choosing what to discard but rather choosing to keep only the items that speak to your heart. Through tidying, you can spend your time surrounded by the people and things that you love the most.

“Your home is your sanctuary – it houses your spark-joy objects and supports you by keeping you safe. Dedicating time to express gratitude for your home is a powerful act that will heighten your sensitivity to joy and remove energy and objects that no longer serve you.” – Marie Kondo

Take a page from Marie Kondo’s book and discover the six basic rules of tidying:

Rule 1: Commit Yourself to Tidying Up. Setting the intention to seriously tidy up – and resolving to put in the time and effort required – is the first rule of tidying. When you approach your tidying festival with a clear vision and a can-do attitude, you’ll find the energy and motivation you need to tidy all of your belongings in one go. The effort will be worth it in the end.  Not only will you experience the joy of living with objects you love, but you’ll also be on the path to establishing your ideal lifestyle.

Rule 2: Imagine Your Ideal Lifestyle. Marie’s tidying process is not about decluttering your home or making it look neat on the spur of the moment for visitors. It’s about tidying up in a way that will spark joy in your life and change it forever. Think about what kind of house you want to live in and how you want to live in it.  In other words, describe your ideal lifestyle. The tidying process represents a turning point – so seriously consider the ideal lifestyle to which you aspire.

Rule 3: Finish Discarding First. As you embark on your tidying adventure using the KonMari Method, remember to focus on what you want to keep. Cherish the items that bring you joy and let go of the rest with gratitude. If you let go of a belonging you never used, it taught that you have no purpose for something like it in your life.  Thinking deeply about each item you discard will affect how you live and acquire new things moving forward. On a practical level, discarding first also allows you to have an accurate grasp of how much actually needs to be stored. Only after you’ve discarded can you turn your full energy and attention to that which brings you joy.

Rule 4: Tidy by Category, Not by Location. It might seem logical to tackle one shelf, closet or room at a time. In order to tidy up completely – and change your life forever – you must tidy by category, not by location. People often store the same type of item in more than one place. When you tidy each place separately, you’re repeating the same work in many locations.

Rule 5: Follow the Right Order. The order in which you tidy is crucial. Tidying your belongings in this order – clothes, books, papers, komono and sentimental items – has proven to be the most efficient and effective.

By starting with clothes (relatively easy) and ending with sentimental items (challenging), you hone your decision-making skills as you go; by the end, choosing what to keep seems simple. There’s another reason clothes come first: Completing that category provides tangible proof of your efforts.  Being greeted by your favorite clothes in a tidied closet each morning is motivation to keep going!

As you move through each category, your energy and enthusiasm increases; you may be physically tired but getting rid of unnecessary clutter acts as an invigorating pick-me-up. Throughout the process, you gain a deeper understanding of the method – and of yourself.

Rule 6: Ask Yourself If It Sparks Joy. Only you can know what kind of environment makes you happy – this is the underlying principle of the KonMari Method. In the KonMari Method, your feelings are the standard for decision making – specifically, knowing what sparks joy. To determine this when tidying, the key is to pick up each object one at a time, and ask yourself quietly, “Does this spark joy?”  Pay attention to how your body responds. Joy is personal, so everyone will experience it differently; Marie describes it as “…a little thrill, as if the cells in your body are slowly rising.” Through the process of selecting only those things that inspire joy, you can identify precisely what you love – and what you need.

Marie says, “Once you have experienced what your house feels like when it is completely tidy in the true sense of the term, you will never want to return to clutter, and the strength of that feeling will empower you to keep it tidy.”

People around the world have been drawn to this philosophy not only due to its effectiveness, but also because it places great importance on being mindful, introspective, and forward-looking. Marie Kondo your Morgan space and tidy up!

Expansive, light-filled spaces, abundant amenities and intimate courtyard retreats are ready to welcome you home to The Morgan in San Mateo’s Bay Meadows neighborhood. Schedule your personal tour and find your joy at The Morgan.