How many times have you promised yourself you’ll finally get your home organised? You start with good intentions…but somehow it never sticks.
The truth? Wishing for a tidy home isn’t enough.
Dreaming, researching, making vision boards are lovely things to do, but they won’t change your space. What you need is commitment.
That’s why Marie Kondo’s very first rule of the KonMari Method™ is simple yet powerful:
“Commit yourself to tidying up.”
As a KonMari consultant in South Wales, I hear this all the time. The difference between wishing and committing is the difference between frustration and transformation.
Why commitment is key to your home transformation
If you only dream of a decluttered and organised home, or get stuck in the planning stages, then you’ll end up frustrated, with superficial results at best.
In the KonMari Method™, commitment means making tidying a priority and following through until the end.
Marie Kondo tells us, “If you tidy up in one go, rather than little by little, you can dramatically change your mind-set.” Seeing the full work through and not drifting off part-way is how you can transform not just your space, but your lifestyle.
She also says, “The more time it takes, the more tired you feel, and the more likely you are to give up when you’re only halfway through.”
You see, a little tidying now and then will see changes. You may get a tidy area, a clear junk drawer, but the kind of transformation that changes your home and your habits doesn’t happen with a trickle effect. It only happens when you commit fully, category by category. It happens when you go all-in, maintain the momentum and make significant, life-changing decisions when they matter most.
Your tidy home commitment should look like this: A clear decision to follow through on creating a home that supports you, even when the process feels tiring, inconvenient or uncomfortable. Commitment means moving beyond wishing or planning — it’s a determination, saying “yes” fully to finishing what you start, one category at a time. It requires a readiness to work hard, and a willingness to keep going, even when challenges arise, until your vision becomes a reality.
If you’re struggling to commit
If you’re struggling with commitment, pause and ask yourself these questions:
- Why do I want a tidy home?
- Why is creating a tidy home important now?
- What’s holding me back?
- What excuses do I keep making?
- On a scale of 0–100%, how committed am I?
Getting clear on your why gives your commitment roots.
10 steps to true commitment to your tidy home
Here’s what commitment means in practice:
1. Get your mindset right
Success with any commitment starts with your mindset. Make the decision at core level that you will experience this process with all your heart.
If you approach decluttering your home with a negative feeling, judging the process like it’s a chore, it will always feel difficult, and this will lead to resistance. Resistance will lead to avoidance. Avoidance leads to failure.
Instead try to see tidying as a positive experience – a gift. Shift your thoughts to ‘I am choosing to tidy my home because…’. Go into the process with curiosity, see it was as one of self-discovery, and get excited about every hard decision and every small step forward. Your life is going to transform because of it.
2. Be willing to make sacrifices
Commitment often requires sacrifices, such as giving up leisure time, letting go of possessions, accepting the loss of some dreams even and potentially making financial investments in professional help. Small sacrifices now will result in bigger freedom later.
Just for now, skip the lie in, forget the Netflix show, and say no to a few more things. When your home is tidy, you’ll have time for all of this AND more.
3. Set goals
Get your goal out of your imagination and on to a piece of paper and be specific about what success will look like. The key is to make this goal – the vision – so amazing that you’re willing to do anything to achieve it.
Your goal can follow the SMART framework. It should be Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant and Time-bound. Instead of saying “I’ll declutter my home” say “I will complete the clothing category by the end of the month, by taking two hours each Saturday morning to choose what sparks joy”.
Once the goal is set, create a detailed plan. This should include the steps needed to achieve the goal, resources required, potential obstacles and strategies.
👉Download my free Tidy Home Planning Guide to help with this and start making changes.
4. Create time
There’s a big difference in saying you’ll declutter when you have time and saying you’ll make time to declutter.
Decluttering a little each day, waiting for ‘spare’ time, hoping that motivation will strike, a clear weekend will appear on the calendar – this is still wishing. Commitment is not waiting for time to declutter. Commitment means creating time.
Schedule time on the calendar for decision making, charity shop drops, time to list items for sale, tip runs and anything else required is vital. Protect this time like any other important event in your life.
5. Give it your focus
When you tidy, you tidy. Don’t do it while half-watching TV or scrolling your phone. Multitasking dilutes your energy and slows your progress. And remember, the slower you go the more likely you are to give up. Switch your phone to silent, let others in your household know what you’re doing. You’ll be amazed how much more you achieve when you protect your attention.
6. Track progress
Relying on motivation alone isn’t enough. It may be enough to get you started, but after a short while the ‘new year’s resolution effect’ will begin to fade.
A Habit Tracker is a great idea to maintain progress. If you want to commit to regular tasks, such as decluttering for 15 minutes a day, make it a daily habit. If you want to do a charity shop drop each week, make it a weekly habit. If you decide to complete a specific project each month, make it a monthly habit.
👉Use my Habit Tracker to build positive habits – get your copy HERE.
7. Don’t let excuses win
Expect resistance, but don’t let it surprise you. Tired? Distracted? Finding it too difficult? Kids are sick? Need to stay late at work? That’s life. The trick is deciding right now how you’ll manage the inevitable. It’s helpful to create some ground rules ready.
Every time…then I must…
For example, every time
- Every time I miss a planned tidying session… then I must reschedule it within the next 48 hours.
- Every time I feel too tired to tackle a category… then I must commit to just five minutes (because starting often builds momentum).
- Every time I find myself making a “to sell” pile… then I must set a deadline for listing or donating it.
- Every time clutter creeps onto the dining table… then I must clear it before going to bed.
These are safety nets. They stop a bump in the road from becoming a full derailment.
8. Be willing to flex
Commitment takes a willing to be flexible and adaptable in the face of change. And there is a lot of change ahead. If something isn’t working, be willing to reconsider your approach. Flexibility shows that you’re committed to the goal and not just the plan.
This might mean acknowledging when things don’t sell and accepting that donating items will get you to your goal quicker. It might be acknowledging that doing it alone is difficult, and instead of struggling on, asking for help. It might be that trying to do it with the kids at home means you lose focus, that dropping them at a friend’s house is the answer.
9. Seek support
Research shows your chances of success can jump from 65% to 95% when you have someone to check in with. That could be a friend, a partner, or a professional. Maybe you go through the process with a friend, who is also decluttering, so you feel emotionally supported, or you ask your partner to do all the charity shop runs, or enlist help with selling items. Find help where you need it.
If you live in South Wales and want 1:1 guidance from a KonMari Consultant, get in touch HERE.
10. Let go of perfection
It’s easy to get caught up in thinking the perfection is the goal. Far from it. Life is the goal and life is not perfect. Don’t wait until the end to celebrate
Record how your commitment and consistent action is really making a difference by making a note of the changs you are making. Measuring success helps see progress at a glance and provides the opportunity to celebrate along the way. A definite motivation booster.
👉 My free Tidy Tracker makes this easy and fun.
Are you ready to commit to decluttering your home?
Commitment is the secret ingredient of the KonMari Method.
When you commit fully — heart, mind and calendar — you don’t just tidy your home. You transform your lifestyle.
Are you ready to make that commitment?
I hope the answer is ‘YES!’