This last category spans into a lot of different things, like the garage, attic, basement, closets that don’t house clothes and drawers that hold other items that may not have another place in your home. It also covers sentimental items unless you find everything in your home to be sentimental.
The guidelines from Marie Kondo’s method remain the same as it did with books and clothes: take everything out to where it’s all visible, start with something that’s an easy decision to make, and ask if it sparks joy. Once you get down to those smaller items (saving the sentimental category for last), use boxes or containers to help divide your stuff into separate piles.
If you find yourself struggling in any way, here are a few more questions to ask yourself here:
1. When’s the last time this item has been used?
2. Can I see myself using this item in the future?
3. Do I have another item like this that serves the same purpose or works better?
4. If I were to see this item in the store, would I buy it again?
I know that for me personally, it was a challenge to let go of those “just in case” items, or those extra storage bins because I thought I’d need them if I find more stuff to put it in. The lesson that I learned here however is that life shouldn’t be about buying and storing items for my future, but to save and make room for where I’m at in the present moment.
In my personal opinion, I feel like being sentimental can either be a good or bad thing depending how you view your stuff. It’s like a double-edged sword in some ways, because while there’s nothing wrong with it in general, there are some things that we should be cautious about when it comes to certain things we have in our lives. An example of this is finding an attachment to something that was given to you, or even something you bought yourself. The process of decluttering in general is not to deprive us of things that may have value, so in saying that, if there are fond memories attached to a certain item, then that’s okay. What I’d be cautious of however is finding justifications to keep an item, like saying “This blanket was passed down to me by my great-grandmother. I’ve never used it, but it’s special.” or “This dress was worn on my wedding day. I haven’t worn it since then, but I don’t know what to do with it.” In cases like that, I think it’d be best to find a charity shop, a local church or homeless shelter, or consignment shops that give to good causes if you don’t know what to do with certain sentimental items.
One last tip I would recommend during the decluttering process is to consider what is sell-able and what is trash. Being sustainable with what’s in your home can be a good thing (to an extent), but in the end, most of what we buy just doesn’t stay intact forever. In the case of hand-me-downs, I can understand that feeling of guilt or sadness that may come with decluttering those items, but ultimately, we have to remember why we started in the first place and stay focused on that goal.
So from my experiences at least with the KonMari method, I’ve found that asking that “spark joy” question wasn’t enough in some cases. It’s good for those who are wanting to get started but don’t know where to start, and in the beginning, I did use that approach. You kind of just have to find what works for you, take what’s most useful and leave the rest.
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