Marie Kondo’s 8 Best Tips for Organizing Your Bedroom

1. Greet your room

The KonMari Method is grounded in gratitude and spiritual inquiry. She starts each show with greeting and thanking the homes she enters. She says that tidying is our opportunity to express our appreciation to our house and for all it does for us. By respecting the house and all its contents, tidying up will not seem like a chore but simply an “act of restoring balance among people, their possessions, and the house they live in”.

Tip: Greeting one’s own home is the first homework she gives her clients. Why don’t you try it out for yourself. Greet your bedroom after you come home from a long day at work. Sit on your bed and remind yourself how grateful you are to have a cozy space to rest.

2. Only keep the items that spark joy

Perhaps one of the hardest things to do when it comes to de- cluttering is letting go of a lot of our things, especially the ones that hold a lot of memories. However, The KonMari Method asks us to think about it a different way. We should evaluate our belongings on whether or not is serves us any purpose and if it still sparks joy. If it does, then make space for it in your home. If it doesn’t, then choose to let it go. This way, you can truly cherish what’s important to you and peacefully throw away the rest. "In the end, all that will remain are all the things you really treasure"

Tip: If you are having trouble deciding whether to keep it or to it let go, ask yourself this question, “Does it spark joy?” Be honest with yourself. If it does not spark joy in your life or if it does not serve any purpose then give it thanks before letting it go so you can save space for the things that are necessary in your life.

3. Always Make your bed

This simple, yet effective tip is very underrated. In fact, the National Sleep Foundation studied the relationship between bedroom environment and sound slumber. The results revealed that that people who made their beds in the morning are 19% likely to get a good night’s sleep

Aside from this, a survey conducted by Psychology today, shows that an overwhelming 71% of people who make their bed can say that they are happy with their lives. As for the pope who don’t make their beds, a disturbing 62% of them admitted to being unhappy.

Tip: When it comes to bedrooms, the bed is the focus. Make it a habit of making up your bed when you first wake up so your room will look clean and organised. Plus, by conquering this first task in the morning, you can feel more at ease and relaxed. It can also set you up for a more productive morning. Try it out for yourself and see how it makes you feel.

4. Wash your sheets regularly

Marie Kondo explains that a clean room is a happy room. Since we sleep in your bed each evening, our sheets and pillowcases will inevitably get dirty. With this in mind, we should make a habit out of washing our sheets and pillowcases every week. Washing and sanitising sheets once a week can help reduce dirt build up and unwanted bacterial elements. It’s even worth mentioning that washing your sheets regularly can reduce stress and even promote good mood.

Tip: Use a cold, gentle cycle with mild liquid detergent when washing your sheets. Aside from weekly washing, it’s also a good idea to air-dry your sheets. However, if you are using a dryer, remember to tumble dry on a gentle cycle. Make sure to remove your sheets immediately after to avoid wrinkles.

5. Organize your things by category

When it comes to organising, we have a tendency to store the same item in different places. So it’s more effective to start with categories than it is to start organising by room. For the purpose of organising in your bedroom, you can at least start with clothes then when the time comes, branch out to books, before going to the sentimental items like photos and letters. She even gets more granular with her process, suggesting to start with all your shirts before your pants, your pants before your socks, and so on.

Tip: Try organising your things by category. As Marie Kondo says, set goals like “clothes today, books tomorrow”. You can make it easier on yourself with this downloadable and printable KonMari Checklist from Apartmentlist.com.

6. Arrange your belongings by colour

Colour organisation is pleasing to the eye, calming to the mind, and looks beautiful and neat at the same time. Arranging your clothes in a gradation of colour, specifically from light to dark, can also help you stay tidy, Kondo suggests. This simple change can make getting dressed in the morning more fun, your closet more beautiful, and your routine, more efficient

Tip: Place your lighter coloured clothes on the top drawer, while your darker clothes at the bottom drawers. It will make it easier for you to retrieve what you need, whenever you may need them. You may even find that this technique is not only functional, but it also makes your closet look great!

7. Get the lighting right

Your bedroom is a place to unplug, wind down, and rejuvenate yourself. That’s why it helps that if the lighting is soft and dim. You can transform your bedroom into your personal spa-like sanctuary. Kondo also suggests that you should think about incorporating scents, from natural candles, for example, that make you feel happy and peaceful. It also helps when you keep your room dark. Research suggests that a quiet and dark room can promote sleep. By setting the ambiance right, you may find that it is easier to doze off.

Tip: Consider adding a dimmer to your light switch,burning a soft candle before bed, or swapping out the bright overhead light for a nice lamp. It also helps when you keep blue light from screens away before sleeping.

8. Work on your own space then tidy up with the family

If you want to change your home life and live well, the responsibility can’t just fall on one person. Everyone should contribute in tidying up and maintaining the cleanliness in the home. If you share your bedroom with a partner, don’t combine clothes and other personal belongings in one closet or drawer. This way, each person can be responsible for his/her own space so it lessens tensions and increases a sense of trust and bonding.

Keeping your things separate does not mean that tidying up needs to be done alone. On the contrary, Kondo reflects that the process of tidying up can 'deepen the relationships not only between our things and our home but also between our things and ourselves and between ourselves and our family’

Tip: Make Tidying up a family activity. It's a fun activity that can be shared with others. What’s important is that you respect each person’s process and cooperate on a solution that works with everyone. After all, What sparks joy in you may not spark joy in other — and that’s okay.