Marie Kondo is a Japanese lifestyle celebrity in Japan. She's known for helping people decrease clutter and straighten up their homes for good. And she's developed a fan base so huge, her followers are flooding Instagram with photos of their "kondo-ed" homes.
She also has clients in Japan that seek her out to help them tidy their homes. She encourages them to clean everything in one fell swoop and only keep the objects and clothes that they truly love.
"There is an order to follow: 1. clothes, 2. books, 3. documents, 4. miscellaneous items, 5. mementos," Kondo told Business Insider about her method. "Working in this order, you can improve your judgement and determine which items spark joy."
She told BI that you can tell when something sparks joy when you "feel your body go upward." If something doesn't make you happy when you touch it, Kondo said you should "thank it for its service" and get rid of it.
Advertisement
"When you choose things based on your real feeling, you can choose the right amount of items to totally fit [in you home]," Kondo said. "That is surprising for everyone — this is part of the magic of tidying up."
Bellow you'll see inspiring images of so-called "kondoed" homes that people posted on Instagram. You might even want to start "kondo-ing" yourself.
Advertisement
This might be what your bedroom currently looks like right now. To start "kondo-ing," put all of your clothes in one spot and sort them by what to keep and what to throw away.
A photo posted by Kaitlin Patterson (@kaitlinshawn) on Jul 7, 2015 at 9:10pm PDT
Advertisement
The point of kondo-ing your home is to surround yourself with things that you love. Kondo recommends only keeping things that "spark joy," or that make you feel lighter when you touch them. She says you'll recognize the feeling immediately.
A photo posted by Stacey D. Atkinson (@staceydatkinson) on Jul 12, 2015 at 12:14pm PDT
Advertisement
The organizing expert has a specific way of folding shirts so they can stand on their sides. She said it allows you to see what you own better than if you stacked your clothes.
A photo posted by Hege Wiik haukeland (@hegewhauk) on Apr 3, 2015 at 5:17am PDT
Advertisement
After you're done organizing, you'll realize you have a lot more room for storage than you previously thought. Your home, Kondo says, will feel much lighter.
A photo posted by Lindsay Norman (@lindsaypnorman) on Jun 19, 2015 at 12:29pm PDT
Advertisement
She said some of her clients' acne cleared up while others lost weight. "Your self perception is improved by living in a clean and neat room," Kondo told Business Insider. "This can change lifestyle and in turn appearance."