Finding the Magic
Part II — Excerpt from URI Magazine, “The Emotional Power of Tidying Up”
Lindemann says there are plenty of misconceptions about her work. The Kondo promise of the “life-changing magic of tidying up” is a pretty tall order. And it’s not easy. “This is hard work, both physically and emotionally,” says Lindemann, who adds that like all work, it can be tedious.
The goal is not to eliminate your possessions and live a minimalist life—and at its core, it’s not really about organizing. “When people ask me what I do, I tell them I help people simplify their lives,” she says. “Isn’t that what most of us want?
“I think we all want to live and work in a space that supports us, that makes our lives easier, better, without spending so much time and energy managing our possessions,” she says. “How much of our time, and our lives, do we want to spend managing our things?
“In the KonMari™ method, we touch everything and we work by category instead of location,” says Lindemann. The five categories are: clothing, books, paper, miscellaneous (a huge category that includes kitchen items, electronics, etc.), and sentimental items. Clients start with clothing, the easiest category, and work their way toward the most challenging: sentimental items. Lindemann says completing the earlier, easier categories—and experiencing that success—can create a powerful momentum.
“What’s important to understand is that I don’t tell my clients what to do, what to keep. They choose. It’s really about discovery. In this process you learn, or relearn, what is important to you.”
According to Lindemann, the magic is the outcome of the process. “Decluttering is the critical first step,” she says. “Once we declutter, we can actually see the things that have meaning for us. That’s when the magic happens. We can be reacquainted with something we love, something that’s been buried under clutter and life’s responsibilities. We can, in some ways, rediscover ourselves. And that can feel like magic.”