CBS2's Elise Finch tries the KonMari method to tidy up her office
NEW YORK -- Earlier this week, CBS2's Cindy Hsu took us behind-the-scene as she tackled spring cleaning with the help of a professional organizer.
Today, it's Elise Finch's turn. She wanted to turn her messy office into a neat workspace, so she reached out to Pia Thompson, the owner of Sweet Digs.
Thompson is a former attorney who is now a certified KonMari consultant. KonMari is the method created by Marie Kondo, author of the best-selling book, "The Life Changing Magic of Tidying Up."
"The KonMari Method offers you this journey of self-care. Because the whole point is not to stand in front of your closet or look at your drawer and say, 'I want to get rid of all these things.' It's about this is what I want to keep," Thompson explained. "So by saying, 'this is what I want to keep, this feels like me, right, this brings me joy,' you learn about yourself."
There are some strict guidelines if you plan to follow this method to the letter. The first is to truly commit yourself to tidying up.
"The second step is to visualize your ideal lifestyle. So in that, we'll sit down and we'll talk about how you want to use your space. What do you envision doing in here?" said Thompson.
For Elise's office, she wanted to be able to open the door and have it stay open, which wasn't happening because she had too many clothes hanging behind it. She also wanted a clutter-free desktop and organized drawers.
"The third thing is to ask yourself if it sparks joy, and this is kind of what Marie is known for," Thompson said.
SEE IT: Cindy Hsu tackles spring cleaning with the help of professional organizers
To do a quick joy-check, does it make you smile? Are you happy to see that item? If it brings you joy, keep it, If it doesn't, give it away or throw it out.
This method instructs you to discard before you can organize, and to do both by category.
Start with clothing, because you're less likely to a have sentimental attachment to those items, so they should be easier to let go of. From there, the KonMari method requires you to sort through books, then papers, followed by Konomo -- a Japanese word for miscellaneous -- and finally, sentimental things.
"So when I work with clients, we'll do a category -- we put something in a temporary space until we're done with the category and we know exactly how much we have, then we figure out where it should live," Thompson said. "Everything should have a home... that way you'll understand if you have enough space, that way you'll understand if you need to let go of things, that way you'll know where to find it and you won't buy duplicates."
Once Elise was left with things that brought her joy in each category, Thompson helped create a home for all of it.
They figured out how many dresses she can keep behind the door and still have it close, and they went through a mountain of paperwork on, in, under and near her desk.
It turns out, most could be thrown away, so now her desk is clutter-free. She also can see what's in each of her desk drawers now that everything has a home.
