I Tried Marie Kondo's "Joy Check" Method to Clear Clutter
I love Marie Kondo. I devoured her first book, The Life Changing Magic of Tidying Up, and did her now-famous KonMari method in my entire home a few years back. Her very simple philosophy of only keeping things that spark joy and then discarding items with gratitude resonates with me deeply. I’m always down for Marie Kondo’s wisdom, so when I stumbled upon this article here on Apartment Therapy, I knew I had to try her tidying shortcut: joy checking.
What Is Marie Kondo’s Joy Checking Method?
All good organization projects need to be maintained, and that includes a home that’s been through KonMari. It takes effort to only keep items that spark joy, and joy checking is a way of reassessing the items in your home with fresh eyes. Touted as a way to prep your home for guests, joy checking involves entering your home and pretending like it’s your first time there. It’s an opportunity to reevaluate what sparks joy and what doesn’t. Is there unwanted clutter? Decor that needs updating? During your check, if you find items that no longer spark joy, you thank the item and let them go.
My Experience Joy Checking My Home
I had a great time joy checking my home because it made me realize how much I truly love it. Becoming overwhelmed with gratitude while I looked around was an unexpected and wonderful feeling! I pretended to be a guest and walked from the front door, down our small hallway, past the kitchen and into the living room. Everything is decorated for the holiday so it’s especially cozy this time of year, and so many items sparked joy. My favorites include our mantel, the Christmas tree, and our pink front door. I truly wasn’t prepared to feel so accomplished, but I was proud of myself for creating such a safe haven for myself, my husband, and our dog.
There were things that didn’t spark joy, though, and it mostly had to do with clutter. There were piles on our steps, extra items on the key hooks in our entryway, and clutter on top of our fridge. Luckily they were very easy to clear. While I tidied the fridge, I realized some papers we had on magnets didn’t spark joy anymore, so I removed those as well. Clearing clutter has such a profound effect on my stress levels, and clearing those few spots instantly brought me more calm.
There’s a wall in our living room that had accumulated piles of stuff, and I cleared away those as well. There is minimal storage space in our home, which definitely comes with its challenges, but joy checking inspired my husband and I to finally bite the bullet and invest in a small storage unit. After some rearranging, we put the piles in the car and dropped off a small load of things to the storage space. Now there’s only a bin of dog toys in the corner, which feels so much nicer than the large piles that were there before.
Finally, doing a joy check inspired me to book an appointment with an electrician to install a lighting fixture in our dining room at last. I purchased a chandelier on Facebook Marketplace months ago, and even though we had swapped lighting fixtures ourselves before, this one requires a professional. I’ve been dragging my feet for a while, and had a moment where I realized I was keeping myself from my own joy by having a bare ceiling all this time. It felt good building momentum, and I have felt significantly better since going through my joy check.
All in all, the joy check took a full afternoon. Because I had a few piles of clutter, it wasn’t as quick as it could have been perhaps, but I’m so glad I dedicated the time to it. Simply setting the intention to see my home with fresh eyes was highly effective, in my experience. I definitely recommend joy checking your home, whether you’re having guests over for the holidays, or you just want to end the year with more gratitude and joy.
Further Reading
I Tried the 90/90 Rule and My Closet Is Now Fully Decluttered
See How a Stager Used Paint to Transform a 1950s Living Room
We Asked 8 Pro Travelers What They Never Pack in Their Carry-On, and Here’s What They Said
