why your room is a MESS | clean with the Japanese KonMori method
Have you ever walked into your room and instantly felt overwhelmed by the mess and chaos? If you're an introvert like me, who doesn't have a lot of visitors, the messiness might be even worse.
Many people struggle to keep their rooms tidy. Why is that so? This week, I'll share some insights on why we struggle with messiness and how we can use a simple Japanese method to declutter our rooms and lives.
If you want to see how I actually clean my room, watch this video here
The Psychology of Messiness
First, let's delve into the mindset that perpetuates messiness. If your room is continuously chaotic, it's likely that messiness has seeped into your lifestyle. For some, like programmers who code for days or artists seeking inspiration, a messy environment might be beneficial.
However, for most students and young professionals, the root cause of messiness is often shifting from a parental home to living independently. Without anyone to clean up after us, we tend to shirk this responsibility. Living alone or with a messy roommate can exacerbate this issue, making it easy for laziness to set in and our rooms to descend into disarray.
A study at the Princeton University Neuroscience Institute found that our brains prefer order, and that constant visual reminders of disorganization drain our cognitive resources and reduce our ability to focus. They found that when participants cleared clutter from their work environment, they were better able to focus, process information, and increase productivity.
The Power of Cleaning
Jordan Peterson, a renowned psychologist, suggests that if your room is messy, it reflects chaos in your state of mind. He argues that organizing your physical environment can be a concrete way to begin organizing your psyche. By tidying up your surroundings, you can positively impact your overall experience and take control of your life.
Are you organizing your room, or are you organizing your existence?
—Jordan Peterson
The KonMari Method
If the above discussion has inspired you to tidy your room, let's explore a method to get started. The most popular cleaning expert in the world is probably Marie Kondo, with her KonMari approach. Her method involves tidying up everything in one shot quickly by category, not location. This provides a full view of what you own and makes the process less overwhelming.
Marie Kondo emphasizes that her method aims to transform one's mindset about tidying up and helps discover how you want to live through examining your possessions. She encourages you to examine how you want to live by the side that you tidy your room with.
Using the KonMari method to clean
View tidying as a fresh start:** Cleaning your room sets your mind to be mentally prepared for what's coming, essentially starting a new part of your life.
Declutter as the first step:** Start with discarding stuff to declutter yourself. Ask yourself if you really need a particular item; if the answer is 'no', toss it in a trash bag.
Start by category, not location:** Instead of starting with the kitchen, the bathroom, or the bedroom, start with clothes, books, digital devices, and other miscellaneous items.
Explore your lifestyle through organization:** Identify the most important place you want to organize in your room. For many students, this would be the workspace. Put the items that you really need on your bookshelf or desk.
Start simple:** If you're unsure about your lifestyle or roles, minimalism and matching colors are the easiest design systems to make your room stand out.
Enjoy
Remember, it's okay not to be clean all the time, but don't let messiness define your lifestyle. The more efforts you put into tidying up your room, the more likely you are to maintain that standard in the long run. The act of cleaning can release endorphins, acting as a pain reliever, stress reliever, and overall enhancement of our well-being.
So, start today. Declutter your room, organize your life, and enjoy the transformative power of a tidy environment.
Love you, as always.
Ky Nam
