My home doesn’t look like Marie Kondo’s.

If you came into my home expecting it to look like the photos on my website, you’d be surprised, maybe even a little confused. You might scratch your head and go, “Huh?”

So I want to set one thing straight. Using the KonMari Method of tidying up isn’t about making your home look like a Zen monk’s home. It doesn’t require you to have soft white, pink, and mauve colors and only a few things sparsely and carefully placed.

It’s really about connecting with what you love and placing those things in a way that is pleasing to you, not what someone else might prefer. What you own and where you put it is a very individual thing for each person.

Does decluttered mean sparse?

Often people think a decluttered house means something that looks like photos you see online on decluttering websites–including mine! Not so!

My husband and I have a love of vibrant colors. We have beloved mementos scattered throughout our living space. We don’t own any artwork of any monetary value. Instead, we have my kids’ art, some paintings by my mom,  my own art creations, and other inexpensive joy-sparking treasures decorating our home.

We don’t spend much money on furniture. Instead, we prioritize spending our money on experiences, which bring us more joy than a Better Homes and Garden living room.

Organized, yes. Sometimes messy, yes.

Don’t get me wrong. Our home is organized. We know where everything is. There are occasional messes, but they are temporary, and we know they are temporary. In fact, we have a commitment to having them be temporary.

Depending on personal preference, however, an outsider might see our space as filled with more things than they might like themselves. And if they happen to drop in unexpectedly during one of our “messy times,” they’ll definitely see our space as cluttered! They may even be puzzled, given that I am a decluttering consultant!

Our home doesn’t have a “perfect” look, nor do we have expectations of “perfection.” Comfort and a general inclination toward order and what pleases us are the touchstones that keep us happy with our space.

The Zen look is great for some people, but not for us.

Our home is a reflection of our life experience, our somewhat eclectic tastes, our memories, our family, and our preference to make use of what we already have rather than purchase new things.

All this adds up to a patchwork that you wouldn’t see in a home decorating magazine.

But to us, it feels good! We feel a sense of pleasure when we look around that pleases us. It feels like it supports the things we do in our lives because it doesn’t drain us in any way as we look around.

This sense of full support by our space comes from having consciously related to every item in it, choosing to keep only those things that spark joy. It is what I call the “inside out” method of decorating.

The space that you love is a unique reflection of you.

Creating your space this way leads you to love your home in a way that feels different than if you were trying to meet a standard you saw in a Country Living magazine.

It is a genuine reflection of you, what you love, and what’s important to you.

It doesn’t get better than that!