Clearing your house of clutter will not only free up space, but can also help you and your family sleep better and become more healthy and active. This is why, when your home is overrun with clutter, it’s time to take action and focus on getting organized so you can start the new year on a cleaner, healthier note.  

This was the main message during the recent AXA Rewards Real Sessions workshop, organized by AXA Philippines, one of the country’s leading insurance providers. Real Sessions is a workshop series exclusively for AXA Rewards members that cover different aspects of life, all designed to help members achieve the life they want.

One of the perks of the rewards program is exclusive access to a series of workshops, the first of which was a talk on home improvement and decluttering by Christine Dychiao, the first certified Konmari consultant in the Philippines. Konmari is a simple but effective tidying method that helps people organize their homes and transform their lives. This was the first in the workshop series that will cover topics such as mental health, fitness and nutrition, financial empowerment, and more, happening throughout 2022.

Here are six KonMari rules of tidying that Dychiao shared during the online workshop:

Commit yourself to tidying up. Many people think that tidying up is a chore and something that takes too much time. But if you think about decluttering as a celebration - that you’re liberating yourself from clutter - you’ll be able to make more room for what truly matters. The less clutter you have, the more you can organize and lessen your stress. Committing at least three hours of your time a day to decluttering can go a long way.

Imagine your ideal lifestyle and space. A great way to start decluttering is by simply visualizing how the space will look, how you’d feel when moving in that space, and how you’d use that space. Do you want your books to be placed on a specific side of the room? Would you be staying in that space for a long period of time? It should be clear in your head on what the space will look like so you can organize it exactly the way you want.

Finish discarding first. A lot of people just move things around when they tidy up. They put the clutter on another bed, closet, drawer, or room, but it’s better to physically get the stuff out of the house. Ask yourself, “Do you really need this certain item that you haven’t used for a long time?” At some point, you have to let go of things that you don’t use anymore. You can donate them or practice regifting these items, just in time for the holiday season. This way, you can focus on things that really matter. 

Tidy by category, not by location. When you simply tidy up the same things together, you’ll see how much clutter you have of that particular thing. If you have a lot of books or clothes, you’ll see piles when you’re decluttering. It may also help you realize that maybe you don’t want to spend more money on the same stuff. You can start with your clothes -- gather everything in one spot, and decide on what you want to keep. For your books, don’t just pull them off the shelf. You have to go through each book. Ask yourself these questions: Are you done reading this book already? Do you have a friend that you think may love that book? After organizing them in piles, simply put back the unused or unread books on your shelf. 

Follow the right order. Start with the easy ones: books, clothes, papers. Then, you move on to the “komono” which translates as “miscellaneous.” And finally, end it with the sentimental items since these things are typically the hardest to let go of and you want to save them as long as you can. 

Ask yourself if it “sparks joy.” When you can’t figure out what to do with an item, always ask yourself, “Does it spark joy?”, “Is it functional?”, “Does this thing give me fulfillment and will it bring joy in the long run?” The key is to surround yourself with things that ignite your happiness. 

Once you’ve done tidied up, all you have to do now is make decluttering a habit in your life, and keep moving toward the decluttered, stress-free, and better life you want to live. Stay tuned for more life learning from upcoming Real Sessions next year.

AXA Rewards is an exclusive loyalty program for pre-qualified customers who meet a fixed set of criteria. To know about the AXA Rewards program, visit https://www.axa.com.ph/multimedia/articles/get-to-know-axas-exclusive-loyalty-program.