Spring has sprung, and the extra hour of daylight shining through your windows has made you realize your room is a mess. You need to do some serious cleaning before Public Safety gets wind of your hazardous living conditions.

Here’s how to achieve the “life changing magic of tidying up” Kondo preaches.

1 Actually commit to making a change

This seems pretty basic, but it’s similar to finding the motivation to stick to a New Year’s resolution. Actually promise yourself that even after the spring cleaning frenzy has ended you do your best to keep up with a tidier lifestyle.

One helpful method for staying on top of your new tidy living is to think of giving yourself a reward after you clean. So think that “if you tidy your space, then you can watch an episode of a show on Netflix.”

2 Think about the difference a tidy life would make for you

To stick with the new tidy life is to envision what it would mean in the long run for you personally. How would the lack of clutter benefit you physically and mentally? For most, it would bring less stress, especially for roommate relations. No more passive-aggressive notes telling you to keep your side of the room neat; thinking about the positive aspects of sticking with a more regimented cleaning schedule makes the task easier to handle and boosts your motivation to actually tidy up.

3 Discard unwanted items before you begin organizing

One of the big trademarks of the “KonMari” method is to start by throwing things away rather than diving straight into cleaning. This way, you don’t overwhelm yourself with deciding what you want to throw away or donate as you try to clean.

For some people, this tactic     means making a bigger mess than

what you had originally, and that’s okay. Don’t get discouraged by the magnitude of stuff you need to parse through. Think of it as a way to purge things you would ordinarily attempt to organize in the cluttered chaos. Getting rid of junk makes it easier in the end to clean your space.

4 Tackle the mess based on category, not location

Another major tenet of Kondo’s code is to handle things in very specific categories rather than all at once. Start with clothes, and determine what you want to keep and what you want to get rid of. Use that same frame of thought as you then tackle your books, papers, miscellaneous stuff (which includes things like kitchen and bathroom supplies) and finally sentimental items.

For commuters who may live in larger spaces off-campus, this rule means collecting all of your clothes in your home and organizing them before moving on to all books in your home.

5 Stick to a specific order

Don’t try to deviate from Kondo’s categorical rules. Otherwise, it is easy to become overwhelmed as you try to bounce from room-to-room or area-to-area trying to tackle the mess in its entirety. Focus on small achievable goals that will encourage you to keep on tidying up both now and in the long run.

6 Keep only what sparks joy

The ideology that Kondo is best known for is keeping things that bring joy into your life. In sum, categorize your belongings into what is helpful and necessary in your life, what is excess but brings you happiness and what is clutter and unnecessary. Think realistically about what you need and what you do not for your lifestyle.

Now, channel your inner Marie Kondo and conquer that mess. Spring cleaning never sounded so good.