AUSTIN — A new show on Netflix has a lot of people dumping their clothes out of their dressers and re-organizing. It is called "Tidying Up with Marie Kondo."
Kondo is an organizing consultant.
She uses a theory that what we own either sparks joy in us or drags us down, and we should use those feelings to de-clutter.
So if you are ready to get organized, where do you start?
I volunteered my own small apartment to organize. I started organizing my living room with Austin personal organizer Jennifer Lava.
"Let's start by pulling a few of these folders out and seeing what might go together," said Lava.
RELATED:
She took a look at my cluttered living room corner.
"It looks like it's stacked up there with not a lot of thought behind what goes with what," said Lava.
Lava recommended stacking folders on aesthetically pleasing trays on my small bookshelf.
In the kitchen...
"We always have more stuff then we're really using," she said. "Especially when it comes to the plastic containers."
For instance, I have more plastic lids than containers, so I need to throw -- or recycle -- some of them away.
The top of my fridge is cluttered too. Lava recommended buying a bin to place things like plastic wrap, plastic bags and aluminum foil in.
"(One) that's tall enough that you can stand these up in them," said Lava.
Moving on, my closet was fairly organized.
"A few tips for making it a little bit better would be to take some of the empty hangers out," said Lava. "Either group them together or get a bin and put them there."
The top of my closet, however, is cluttered with sweaters, hats and towels.
"Doing an extra shelf in there," said Lava. "Or … some bins turned on their side, would give you a place to put the towels or the sweaters and then you have the top part too that gives you that extra height that will help you maximize all the way to the top there."
Lava said she organizes with the motto "need, use and love" in mind.
"It helps people narrow down how significant to keep," she said.
When you start organizing, start small so you're not overwhelmed. Possibly organizing the living room one weekend, the kitchen the next and the bathroom the following weekend.
Coincidentally, January is designated "Get Organized Month" by the National Association of Productivity and Organizing Professionals (NAPO).