Keeping our houses tidy is essential for progress, peace of mind, and happiness. Clutter often builds up over time and it can be difficult to deal with when we have been so used to it for so long. Here are some tips from best-selling author and world-renowned tidying expert Marie Kondo on how to organize your home.

1. Organize by category rather than by location

Stop thinking about organization as something that has to be done a room at a time. Instead categorize your mess by: clothing, books, papers, “Komono” (kitchen, bathroom, garage, miscellaneous), and sentimental items. If you clean up by location, there’s a chance that you won’t realize that you have different places for things such as pens, batteries, appliances, candles, and more. By organizing by category, you will make specific locations for these items in your home rather than having some in every room of your house. If this gets overwhelming, you can even simplify it further and do smaller categories at a time. For example, if you are having a hard time organizing your clothes, start with just your trousers. You will find that this method will streamline your tidying keep your items organized for longer.

2. Determine which items “spark joy”

One rule that Marie always shares with her clients is that they must only keep items that “spark joy”. By this she means, physically pick up the item in your hands and determine how it makes you feel. If it makes you happy then it is something that you should keep. If not, you would probably be better off donating it or throwing it away. We all have the issue of keeping items around for so long because we feel like it could serve us a purpose in the future, but end up never using them. Holding on to these items ends up being more of a heavy burden rather than a tool. Everything in your household should be something that sparks joy, and only you can decide that.

3. Get it all done at once

Rather than tidying a little bit a day, it is better to just do it all at once and get it over with for good. You will never finish in this way because other things will always come up and clutter will pile up in other places. You are probably not going to get it all done in one day, but the quicker you get it all done, the easier it will be to keep your house organized. Marie Kondo says “Tidy a little a day and you’ll be tidying forever.”

Watch Tidying Up with Marie Kondo on Netflix to see Marie help people declutter their homes and choose joy using the KonMari method. This show reveals the life-changing practice of tidying up, as Marie completely changes her clients’ lives in surprising and emotional ways.

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