What Is the KonMari Method, and Can It Help You Declutter?
Sep 8, 2026 / Liset Marquez
The KonMari Method can help you declutter by asking you to decide what you want to keep before organizing what remains. Created by Marie Kondo, the approach involves imagining your ideal lifestyle, sorting belongings by category and keeping the items that “spark joy” or serve a meaningful purpose in your life.
The method is more structured than an ordinary room-by-room cleanup, and some of its practices may require adjustment. However, its emphasis on seeing everything you own, making intentional decisions and assigning each item a home can improve how a space looks and functions.
What Is the KonMari Method?
Marie Kondo introduced the KonMari Method to a worldwide audience through her book The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up and subsequent television programs.
Instead of decluttering one drawer, room or closet at a time, the method asks you to gather similar belongings from throughout your home and evaluate the complete category at once.
The official category order is:
- Clothes
- Books
- Papers
- Komono, or miscellaneous belongings
- Sentimental items
The order is intended to help people practice making decisions before reaching photographs, keepsakes and other belongings that may be more difficult to evaluate.
What Are the Six Rules of the KonMari Method?
| Rule | What it means |
|---|---|
| Commit to tidying | Treat decluttering as a defined household project |
| Imagine your ideal lifestyle | Decide how you want your home to look and function |
| Finish discarding first | Choose what to keep before buying organizers |
| Tidy by category | Gather similar belongings from every room |
| Follow the recommended order | Begin with clothes and finish with sentimental items |
| Ask whether it sparks joy | Consider how each item fits your life |
“Spark joy” does not have to mean that every household item makes you excited. A can opener may not inspire an emotional reaction, but it can still earn its place by being useful and working properly.
Do You Have to Complete KonMari in One Day?
No. The method encourages people people to complete their tidying project in a concentrated period rather than decluttering indefinitely, but that does not mean every home must be finished in one day.
A full-house cleanout can take several days, weekends or longer, depending on the size of the home and the number of belongings involved. Pulling out an entire category can also create a large temporary mess, so consider your time, energy and available sorting space before beginning.
If gathering every item of clothing at once feels unmanageable, divide the category into smaller groups, such as:
- Shirts
- Pants and skirts
- Dresses
- Shoes
- Coats
- Accessories
Complete one group before moving to the next. This adaptation keeps the category-based principle while making the project easier to fit into an everyday schedule.
What Happened When I Tried the KonMari Method?
When I first encountered the KonMari Method, I was skeptical. I already had my own way of organizing and thought it worked well enough.
Then I took a closer look at my room and home office. Beauty products occupied two drawers and a separate box. Papers had accumulated inside a neglected desk drawer. I was putting belongings away, but I did not have a clear picture of how much I actually owned.
I decided to start with beauty products, even though that meant ignoring the recommended category order.
I placed everything on the floor and immediately saw the problem. Old makeup, clumpy nail polish and products I had forgotten about were mixed with the items I regularly used. Because everything had been stored in different places, I had never evaluated the collection as a whole.
By the end of the session, the discard pile was larger than the group I planned to keep. The remaining beauty products fit neatly into the available drawers and were easier to see.
That experience demonstrated one of the method’s most useful principles: gathering an entire category can reveal duplicates, forgotten purchases and products that are no longer usable.
How Does Decluttering by Category Work?
Begin by selecting one category and collecting its contents from every part of the home.
If you are organizing clothes, check:
- Bedroom closets
- Dressers
- Coat closets
- Laundry areas
- Under-bed containers
- Guest rooms
- Seasonal storage bins
Seeing the entire category together helps you understand its true size. It also reduces the chance of organizing one closet only to discover another group of similar belongings elsewhere.
Evaluate each item and place it into an appropriate group:
- Keep
- Donate
- Sell
- Recycle
- Discard
Do not create a “decide later” pile unless you give yourself a specific deadline. An indefinite decision pile is simply clutter in temporary packaging.
When donating or selling items, establish a removal plan. Put donation bags in the vehicle or schedule a pickup. Give items intended for sale a reasonable listing deadline; if they do not sell, choose another destination.
Why Does the KonMari Method Address Gratitude?
One of the method’s more distinctive practices is thanking belongings before letting them go. At first, expressing gratitude toward makeup, clothing or an old checkbook may feel unusual.
The practice is not required for an item to leave your home. Its practical purpose is to acknowledge why you kept something and make it easier to release guilt associated with discarding it.
For example, an outfit that no longer fits may have helped you understand which colors or styles you prefer. A product you never used may remind you to avoid making a similar purchase.
You can thank the item aloud, acknowledge the lesson silently or skip the ritual entirely. The useful part is making a deliberate decision instead of keeping something automatically.
Does KonMari Require Vertical Storage?
Vertical storage is commonly associated with the KonMari Method, particularly for folded clothing. Instead of stacking shirts in a drawer, clothing is folded so the pieces stand upright and remain visible.
This approach can work well for:
- T-shirts
- Pajamas
- Workout clothes
- Towels
- Small bags
- Beauty products
- Kitchen linens
It is not appropriate for everything. Bulky sweaters, delicate fabrics and structured garments may be better folded flat or placed on hangers. Heavy household items should be stored according to their shape, weight and manufacturer instructions.
The larger principle is visibility. Whether items stand vertically, hang or rest on a shelf, you should be able to find and retrieve them without dismantling the entire storage area.
Should You Buy Organizers Before Decluttering?
Wait until you know what you are keeping. Buying bins, baskets and shelving before decluttering can create attractive containers for items you do not need.
After finishing a category:
- Group the remaining items by use.
- Measure the available drawer, shelf or closet.
- Reuse containers you already own when practical.
- Purchase additional organizers only when they solve a specific problem.
- Label containers if other household members need help returning items.
Storage should make belongings easier to access and return. If a system requires too many steps, it may be difficult to maintain.
Can the KonMari Method Help With Papers and Books?
Yes, although papers may require different decision criteria than clothing or decor.
When I moved from beauty products to papers and books, I found an old checkbook that had been sitting in a drawer for about a decade. I had assumed I was not someone who kept unnecessary paperwork, but the drawer told a different story.
When reviewing papers, separate them into categories such as:
- Action required
- Current household records
- Tax or financial records
- Reference materials
- Shredding
- Recycling
Do not discard legal, tax, business or financial records solely because they do not spark joy. Follow applicable retention requirements and consult a qualified professional when necessary.
Once the excess paper was removed, I was able to clear my desk and create a more functional area for working from home and participating in video conferences.
What Are the Potential Drawbacks of the KonMari Method?
The method may not fit every person, household or season of life.
Possible challenges include:
- Gathering a full category can create an overwhelming pile.
- Some people need to work in short sessions because of time, mobility or energy limitations.
- Shared belongings require input from other household members.
- Useful items do not always create a noticeable feeling of joy.
- Collectors may intentionally own more than the method seems to anticipate.
- Vertical folding may not suit every drawer or type of clothing.
The method should be treated as a framework rather than a test. You can use its most effective principles without following every practice exactly.
How Can You Adapt KonMari to Your Home?
Start by defining what success means for your household. Your goal might be easier mornings, a functional workspace, fewer duplicate purchases or more room for a new activity.
Then adapt the process:
- Work through one manageable subcategory at a time.
- Evaluate utility as well as emotional connection.
- Set time limits for each session.
- Ask household members to make decisions about their own belongings.
- Photograph sentimental items when the memory matters more than the object.
- Stop before fatigue leads to rushed decisions.
- Assign every retained item a practical home.
After the main project is complete, schedule brief maintenance sessions to return misplaced items and address new clutter.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does everything I keep have to spark joy?
No. Practical items may be worth keeping because they are useful, necessary and in working condition. The question is whether an item deserves the space it occupies.
Is KonMari the same as minimalism?
Not exactly. The method does not require owning a specific number of things. It focuses on intentionally choosing what remains.
Should I organize by room or category?
The traditional KonMari Method organizes by category. If a complete category is too large, divide it into smaller subcategories while gathering matching items from around the home.
What should I do with items I no longer want?
Depending on their condition, belongings may be donated, sold, recycled or discarded. Confirm that donation centers accept the category before dropping anything off.
What is komono?
Komono is the miscellaneous category. It can include kitchen tools, office supplies, toiletries, electronics, hobby materials and other household belongings.
Should sentimental items be organized last?
That is the recommended order. Starting with less emotional categories allows you to practice making decisions before reviewing photographs, letters and keepsakes.
Is the KonMari Method still useful?
Yes, especially its principles of decluttering before organizing, evaluating complete categories and assigning each retained item a home. The method works best when adapted to the space, schedule and needs of the person using it.
Trying the KonMari Method did not transform every part of my life, and I did not adopt every rule. It did change how I approached clutter. Instead of moving belongings between drawers, I began looking at what I owned as a whole and making clearer decisions about what deserved to remain.
Sometimes an organizing method does not need to change your life. Helping you create a space that works better may be enough.
