Here’s ‘The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up’ in six simple steps

If you thought 2015 was the year of magical tidying and fastidious de-cluttering thanks to author Marie Kondo and her book The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up, then 2016 is taking it to the next level with the release of the cleaner-extraordinaire’s newest work, Spark Joy: An Illustrated Guide to the Japanese Art of Tidying. The Telegraph published an excerpt from this second edition of Kondo’s iconic practices, and it has everything we need to live a happy, organized life in only six steps.

The first? Commit yourself to tidying up, which is arguably the hardest part of the whole thing. It’s much easier to stare at your dirty dishes from the couch rather than get up and actually deal with them, but making up your mind to make a change opens the doors for so many possibilities.

To take full advantage of your cleaning gusto, the KonMari method asks you why you’re tidying. Figuring out your ideal lifestyle makes the process of cleaning that much easier.

Once you’ve discarded all of the possessions you no longer need (the third step in your cleaning journey), clean up your space by category rather than location, following the order of clothes, books, papers, miscellaneous, and sentimental items when you’re deciding what to keep and what to throw out.

But the most important aspect of the KonMari method is the phrase we’ve come to know all too well: does it spark joy? Filling your life with only the things that make you happy and eliminating what doesn’t is key to creating a clean and organized space, as well as comfortable life. Read up on even more tips when the companion book hits shelves on January 5th, or pre-order here.

(Image via Ten Speed Press)