When you declutter, it is more than just cleaning up and making a space look pretty. 

The space should resonate with you and train you to be more mindful. It can help you feel more content, promote a healthy lifestyle, and help provide purpose. Decluttering and organizing your personal space also helps lessen stress, keep you focused, and induce productivity, leading to better decision-making and happiness in the long run.

To create the ideal space, it is important to clear your mind, set goals, and have the will to do it. 

Here are the 6 basic rules of tidying, which can help achieve the best personal space for you:

Commit yourself to tidying up

You have to commit time to do it, and shift your mindset to thinking that tidying is a celebration (and not a chore).

Imagine your ideal lifestyle

Figure out what you want to do with your space, and imagine how your space will look like.

You can get what you want if the idea is clear in your head, or you already have that goal in mind.

Tidy by category, not by location

Start working or tidying by category. Have a landing zone where you should focus on finishing first, instead of jumping from one to the other.

Create sub-categories. Categorize the things you want to keep, things you have to keep, and things you need to keep.

Ask yourself if it sparks joy

• Things that directly spark joy

∙ It absolutely makes you happy when you see or use it.

• Those that provide functional joy

∙ It helps you get the job done and makes your life easier, such as your laptop or other devices.

• Things that lead to future joy

∙ Something that you know will really make you happy in the future, such as finishing a book you intend to read.

Finish discarding first

It is important to let go of things. You need to be able to clear out space to create what you really want in your life

Follow the right order

Organize your items in the following chronological sequence:

1. Clothes

2. Books

3. Files

4. Miscellaneous

5. Sentimental Items

Start with the easy ones, so that by the time you reach the more sentimental items, you have already trained your mind to only keep what is essential.