How to Spring Clean: Marie Kondo style

Here at Beach Tomato, Spring stands for many things. We are suddenly within arm’s reach of longer, hotter days. Holiday season is on the horizon. Grey skies and naked tree branches begin to get some colour again. We finally see shops swapping out the last of the woollies for all things brighter and more beautiful. And in the spirit of our beautiful new website, it’s also time for that clichéd (but much-needed) “spring clean”.

As an internationally-acclaimed author of ‘The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up’, Marie Kondo has an idea or two about how to do a good spring clean. Although she would almost certainly argue that it is not limited to springtime. Clothes are the first category on her list when you begin the process, so we’ve diligently swept through our wardrobes and given them the KonMari treatment.

Here are 5 simple steps to help you do the same.

• Dedicate some time to the task: It’s not a quick job, and it requires some effort, but once we’d immersed ourselves in it we found it rather therapeutic. And rather fun.
• Imagine the ideal: picture how your life (and wardrobe) would ideally look and you’ll find the impetus to create it.
• Don’t squirrel things away: It might feel easier to store things away instead of committing them to the bin or charity shop pile, but by doing that you will never truly reap the rewards of the clear out.
• Sort by category: This applies to the full life tidy, but let’s apply it more specifically to the wardrobe. Start with underwear, then move onto tops, coats etc.
• Does it bring you joy? The famous question Marie Kondo prompts you to ask. This is a clear out system that is less about what you want to chuck out, and more about what you want to keep. Imagine the joy of a wardrobe full of things you actually LOVE.

Good luck.