Learn how to use the KonMari method of organizing komono items in your living spaces so you can finally tame the clutter!
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New to this series? I’m decluttering my home once and for all using the KonMari method from The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up! Today, we’re moving on from papers and tackling the fourth category – komono (also known as miscellaneous)!
It’s been a little over a month since posting about our last category, but I can’t believe we’re now on our fourth category! If you’ve been following along and tidying with me, I hope you are as excited as I am about the results you are seeing in your home.
Even though I read The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up almost 3 years ago, I never completed this category. I started off with enthusiasm and fizzled out before I ever reached my komono items.
From what I understand, this isn’t uncommon. At first glance, the komono category (also called miscellaneous) can seem daunting and overwhelming. Once you’ve tackled clothes, books, and papers, this category is essentially the rest of your home (leaving sentimental items for last)! That’s a lot of stuff!
The good news is that any overwhelming task can be broken down into smaller, more manageable pieces. Rather than letting the overwhelm stall me, I broke this larger komono category into smaller subcategories – living spaces, kitchen, bath, and other.
I referenced both The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up as well as the companion book Spark Joy to make sure I didn’t miss anything. For now, let’s focus on organizing komono items in living spaces!
Based on Marie Kondo’s books, the items listed below seemed to fall most logically under living spaces. I tackled them one at a time.
- DVDs/CDs
- Stationary/office supplies
- Electrical komono (electrical cords, memory cards & batteries, etc.)
- Valuables (passports, credit cards, coupons, “money”)
- Sewing Kits
- Hobby Komono (calligraphy, scrapbooking, craft-related items, decor items)
- Collectibles (figurines, themed-items, fan club items)
- Rain gear (umbrellas, etc.)
DVDs/CDs
I had gone through our DVDs/CDs a year or so ago, but there was still work to be done! We don’t have cable and enjoy watching DVDs. I purged our DVDs pretty thoroughly when we purchased the piece of furniture where we store them, so there wasn’t much that needed to go.
CDs are a different story! We don’t even own a CD player in our home and we never use the CD players in our vehicles, so we had a decision to make.
Kevin immediately said we should get rid of all of the CDs. I was very hesitant, even though I couldn’t really determine why. It took me about 24 hours to get on board, but I finally decided that all but 10 or so should go.
I decided to sell them back using my decluttr app. It was fun to take a walk down memory lane as I scanned each one, but I felt good about the decision and haven’t regretted it one bit.
STATIONARY/OFFICE SUPPLIES
I enjoyed going through this subcategory because it had been neglected for quite a while and I knew I had a lot to purge. Pens had begun to take over our drawers! I’m not attached to office supplies so I went through this category pretty quickly.
I kept what I felt like we needed and got rid of a lot of duplicates. One only needs so many staples and red pens! Can you tell I am married to a teacher? Haha!
ELECTRICAL KOMONO
I was excited to tackle our electrical cords because they were in really bad shape. I pulled them all out and Kevin and I went through each one. We discovered that many of the cords went to items that we no longer owned! We consolidated quite a bit and now we only have what we actually need for the items electronics we currently own.
We aren’t big collectors nor do we have big hobbies that require stuff, so the rest of the categories went pretty quickly. This may not be the case for you, but don’t skip it!
Now that I’ve gone through the komono items in my living spaces, here are some tips and tricks that might help you to get started.
Tips & Tricks from the KonMari Method of Organizing Komono
1. Subdivide komono items in your living spaces and tackle each one at a time.
I’ve included a printable below and I’d recommend using it. You could also make your own mini checklist. This will prevent overwhelm and you can tackle each subcategory, one at a time. Since some of these categories are smaller, you can stop and start more easily without feeling like your entire house is in chaos.
2. Pull out ALL the items in your subcategory (ex. DVDs/CDs, stationary, etc.)
As you go through your list one subcategory at a time, pull everything out and put it all in one place. This is an important part of the KonMari Method and you’ve likely heard it before, but it bears repeating here too.
Think about whether these items are stored in different areas around your home, so you don’t forget about any of them. Remember, we only want to tidy once!
3. Re-examine your “spark joy” meter.
Many of the items in the komono category may not “spark joy” in the normal sense, but they are necessary for your home. Scissors don’t “spark joy” like a pretty shirt would, but I am thankful that I have them when I need to use them. They are useful and I appreciate them, therefore I should keep them.
4. Evaluate whether the item is actually needed.
If you haven’t decluttered in a long while, it’s likely that you have items you simply do not need. Perhaps you’ve gotten rid of items but their accessories are still lying around. Or maybe technology has changed in such a way that owning the item is no longer necessary. This is a personal decision, but take the time to evaluate this.
5. Determine a storage solution.
Once you have decided what you are keeping, determine a realistic storage solution. Don’t spend so much time on this that it holds you up from continuing, but each item needs a home. Do your best, but remember that you can tweak your storage solutions down the road too!
I tend to use the small plastic baskets from Walmart or Target. They work well and are affordable.
6. Get rid of the discarded items as quickly as you can.
Try to get rid of the discarded items soon! Part of the fun of this decluttering process is the momentum you are building as you see the results of your efforts.
You may want to sell some items to earn some extra cash, but don’t let that process linger too long. If the items haven’t sold in a couple of week, I encourage you to donate them and move on!
Conclusions
As I continue this decluttering journey, I am learning a lot about myself and my attachment to stuff. I don’t consider myself materialistic, yet I’m realizing that I’m more attached to my items than I realized.
I was a little surprised when it took me about 24 hours to decide to let go of our CDs. I’m glad that I let them go in the end (I haven’t missed them a bit!), but I was surprised at my initial hesitancy.
Thankfully, as I continue, I’m becoming less and less attached to belongings and more and more free to enjoy people in our decluttered home.
I’m also learning that maintaining a tidy home requires intention. So much of what I discard are items that I hadn’t touched in a LONG time. Once our home is completely tidy, I’ll need to make sure we continue to get rid of items that moment they no longer “spark joy” or the moment they are no longer needed.
Especially with these komono items, I can see how they could quickly begin to accumulate if we aren’t continually discarding along the way when they no longer are helpful. Now that I see the results of a decluttered home, I want to keep it this way!
Tidying might be a one time event (according to Marie Kondo), but maintaining is going to be a daily effort. I’m totally okay with that!
Let’s Get Started
I hope you’ll stick with me and give this a try because I think you’ll find the results to be worth all the effort. To help you along in the process, I’ve created a short checklist to help you use the KonMari method to organize komono living spaces.
I’m giving you an entire month to work through this process with your komono items in your living spaces, which should give you enough time to get it done and not completely disrupt your entire home.
Check back next month for the next subcategory within the komono category! We’ll specifically be addressing kitchen & bathroom items, so get excited!!
If you want to save this post for later, you can pin it here:
Here are all of the posts in the KonMari Method series:
The KonMari Method: Organizing Clothes
The KonMari Method: Organizing Books
The KonMari Method: Organizing Papers
The KonMari Method: Organizing Komono in Living Spaces (you’re here!)
The KonMari Method: Organizing Bathroom Komono
