Landscape & Urban Design Issue 37 2019 | Page 63

Out of Sight, Out of Mind? Before you start buying new furniture for your decluttered garden, we have to focus on the clutter itself. This does not mean store it away out of sight, out of mind, as it will get on top of you. The most common storage culprit in the garden? The shed. People can often cram as much as possible into the shed because that hides the mess. But then you aren’t discarding, you are only adding more and more and more. That’s not to say that storage solutions aren’t always a good idea. They can be a blessing for cushions and other smaller items that you want to use each summer, but not have out for the bad weather. Often though, storage is used as a hideaway for mess and that look out of place? 50 tennis balls? An abundance of different tool kits that you never use? Sort through them category by category, and it Does it ‘Spark Joy’? Perhaps her most famous catchphrase, Marie Kondo urges people to only keep the things that ‘bring joy’ to them in hoarding. How do you declutter? will ultimately help you to choose the Choose Category by Category keep, and to throw away. gnome that you don’t love? Plant pots Many people opt to organise by Categories for Garden Think about how useful it is. Have you location, but Kondo recommends doing it by category as it helps you acknowledge how much of each item you have, what you need or brings best of the best of your garden tools to • Clothes and gloves • Dining Sets • Seating, Sofas, Stools and Benches their homes. Do you have a garden with no plants in? Throw them away. used it recently? Is it sentimental? Does it bring joy? The last part is the most important. • Parasols Imagine putting on your favourite • Barbeques pair of jeans or reading your favourite • Outdoor Accessories book. If throwing away a tool gives • Plant Pots you the same feeling of throwing away • Gardening tools your favourite book, don’t bin it. But • Toys and Sports if not, pass it on, donate it, or recycle greenhouse, organise by item. • Building Materials it. This will help you to stop buying • Komono (miscellaneous items) things you don’t need and even once Take your garden accessories one by • Last, anything with sentimental you have decluttered, save money in value the long run. happiness to you. Kondo typically heads for the clothes first, then moves onto books, papers, misc and leaves sentimental items until last. It’s not difficult to adapt this to your garden; don’t organise by shed and one. Lots of random garden chairs Other benefits to the Marie Kondo method include benefits to your mental health and relieving stress. We’ve all heard the idea that a cluttered home is a cluttered mind, and this is just as relevant to the garden. Choose a place for everything. Remove anything that doesn’t bring you happiness. Keep anything that does bring joy. Most importantly - don’t get a bigger shed. konmari.com