Marie Kondo: Prepare a Category-Based Tidying Session

The Lesson

You clear one shelf and discover the same kind of belongings in a drawer, a bag, and another room. Before making decisions about what to keep, it helps to understand the category you are working with. In a shared home, you also need to know which belongings are yours to decide about.

Marie Kondo’s official method explanation describes tidying by category rather than location, beginning with clothes, then books, papers, miscellaneous items, and sentimental belongings. It emphasizes choosing what to keep according to what sparks joy. These are elements of her approach; this preparation exercise is not a substitute for the full method.

The official KonMari article How to Keep Shared Spaces Tidy features consultants Alichia Pretorius and Nancy Eaton. Their advice includes planning the work and finding a time for household participation. They are the contributors to that article, rather than Kondo personally supplying each tip.

Bring those ideas to the preparation stage. If you decide to begin the clothing category, identify where your clothes are stored. A wardrobe alone may not represent everything: there may be a coat by the door, seasonal clothing in another cupboard, or your belongings in a travel bag. You do not need to infer that a rarely seen item is unwanted before looking at it.

Keep ownership separate from location. Something in your drawer may be borrowed. A coat in a shared cupboard may belong to your housemate. Your tidying plan does not give you authority to decide what someone else should keep. Shared or uncertain items need clarification before they become part of your session.

Preparation also includes the space and time required. A shared table may be available for an afternoon and needed for dinner. Plan how the area will become usable again, including where your belongings will go if you pause. The session should fit the household’s actual arrangements.

Reflection

• Which category am I preparing to work on?
• Where are my belongings in that category stored?
• Which items are borrowed, shared, or uncertain?
• Who else uses the space I would need?
• What must be restored when the session ends?

The goal today is a clear preparation plan. You can complete it without discarding anything or buying storage.

Practice

This is an original SelfGrowthVideos exercise, not Kondo’s prescribed worksheet or an endorsed version of her full tidying process.

Start a category map for your own clothing, the first category in the official sequence. List the places it is currently stored. Note belongings that are temporarily elsewhere rather than treating an incomplete view as the entire category.

Next, mark any ownership questions. Keep a borrowed jacket out of your decisions about what to keep. If a storage area is shared, ask before moving another person’s things to reach yours. Record what needs permission or clarification; do not resolve it by guessing.

Choose a place where you could examine your own belongings and a time when using it would work for the household. Discuss the proposed arrangement with anyone affected. Include how long the area is available and what access they still need.

Write a pause plan. If the session stops before you finish, where can your own belongings wait without occupying a walkway, somebody else’s chair, or a surface they need? Use an existing suitable container or area if available. If there is no workable option, adjust the location or timing before starting.

Finish with a short plan: “I am preparing the clothing category. My belongings are in ______. I need to clarify ______. The agreed workspace is ______, available until ______. If I pause, I will ______.”

Read the official method before undertaking its selection process. Keep this plan as preparation, rather than claiming you completed the category because you identified its locations. You can choose when to begin after the practical conditions are clear.

Review

Before the session, check your map against the actual situation. Is a storage location missing? Has the shared-space agreement changed? Are any ownership questions still open?

Afterward, review the preparation itself. Did you have access to the belongings you meant to examine, and did the pause plan work? Adjust one part before the next session. A workable plan should account for the people who live there as well as the things being tidied.

Go Deeper

Explore Marie Kondo’s teacher profile and her official biography. If you have not yet clarified why you want to tidy, start with Marie Kondo: Describe the Everyday Life Your Space Should Support. For an unclear shared commitment, try Iyanla Vanzant: Clarify Your Part in a Shared Responsibility.