People used to ask me: When is the best time to tidy our home? I always replied in jest: Just before your guests arrive.

I wasn’t exactly joking, because nothing propels us to shove our mess into our cabinets faster when we know someone is coming to our home and may potentially… judge us.

As social creatures, we all want to appear tidy and put together to leave a good impression.

Nobody wants to be seen as tardy and messy even if we are, well, tardy and messy.

But now, with the pandemic’s restrictions on social gatherings, our homes are receiving fewer guests than before.

Which begs the question: Since hardly anyone comes, what, then, is the purpose of tidying up?

The ebb and flow of this pandemic over the last two years has taught us that even with the best effort, some things in life are beyond our control.

The reality is that the ability to learn to adapt to any changes is now a pivotal tool to our survival.

By now, we are familiar with the drill. Staying home whenever possible is part of our civic duty to avoid burdening our healthcare workers as they continuously (and exhaustingly) fight to keep us safe.

In the event of a coronavirus resurgence, our home is where most of us will isolate.

Suffice to say, our house is now the only place we can control in this volatile climate.

Like flicking a switch, our habitat must now work harder, be adaptable and on standby to transform into our refuge, office, school, gym, or more, at any given time.

Park the entire clan into it 24/7 and every inch of space becomes precious real estate. This means everything we own is suddenly magnified and stands shoulder to shoulder to vie for usefulness.

In the past, a delayed decision to deal with undecided things would probably mean chucking them in one corner first and noticing them only during the last-minute-tidy-before-guests’-arrival sprint.

But now that we are homebound so much, to unsee the things we used to avoid seems almost impossible.

By creating order during chaos, we shave time searching for items, not to mention lower our blood pressure and avoid getting frustrated too.

The most effective way, then, is to boldly face our mess head-on by tidying the entire home in one fell swoop.

Make use of this rare opportunity when every member of the family is home.

There is no need to force anybody to tidy up — all we need is to announce to everyone that we are embarking on a tidying festival for our stuff and the common areas.

Making this known to everyone at home is paramount as we need a consensus for storage locations in shared spaces such as the living room, kitchen, common bathrooms, and so on.

As we tidy our personal belongings, we will come across things that don’t belong to us.

Please include this in your announcement: That when that happens, we will leave such items where we found them.

No matter how tempting it is to tidy up for our family members, please refrain from doing that for the sake of family harmony.

Witnessing the emergence of our own freshened, transformed space is usually a good enough motivation to inspire them to tidy theirs.

As Gandhi said: “Be the change you want to see in the world.”

Tidying our home can unearth lost dreams and passions that may have been buried deep in the crevices of our daily grind.

What sparks joy for us is personal and unique to us. We need not look far for answers as everything we love is reflected in what we own.

Perhaps we once enjoyed and were good at baking, judging by the recipe books and equipment we keep, but along the way, our interest may have waned.

Excavating our things can rekindle past loves or snuff out hobbies that no longer bring us joy.

By going through all our personal belongings one by one, we process our past as we journey through the different stages of our life that shaped us into who we are today.

When we let go, with gratitude, of things that no longer serve us, we give ourselves grace to make space for things that do.

After we finish tidying our home, we will experience a surreal moment as we soak in everything that we have chosen to keep.

These are things that matter to us most and support our life at our best and worst times. Send them your heartfelt appreciation.

When we distil the true essence of tidying, it is a process of self-discovery that clears the path to reveal what we truly love.

From here onwards, curate your house into a home that sparks joy for you. This is the true purpose of tidying up.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Eve Wee-Ang is the first Singaporean certified KonMari tidying consultant. Based in Shanghai, she is a writer and speaker.