What is kanso and how can you achieve it in your home?

Kanso is the new buzzword when it comes to homes and interiors, but what does it mean and how can we achieve it in our homes? And do we even want to? We take a closer look at the Japanese concept to see if it will work for us and our customers.

What is kanso?

Kanso is the Japanese version of feng shui, which originated in China. Kanso has been dubbed "mindfulness for the home". It involves simplifying our houses and getting rid of anything which clutters up our rooms, and therefore our minds. In fact, kanso is just one step in a seven-part ritual which will apparently help you achieve total zen. Where do we sign up?!

However, kanso is about more than just a tidy home. Its principles encourage us to see the beauty in nature and ageing, appreciate imperfections and wear and tear as a natural part of the process, and seek out grace, tranquillity and authenticity.

A minimalist home environment will help us to do this. Because after all, once we've chucked out all the clutter, we should be perfectly zen and fully conscious of the world around us - right?

Where does kanso originate?

Although it's the way to streamline your home in 2018, kanso is actually an ancient tradition. It's part of a set of ideas surrounding aesthetics and how they can affect our daily life, our surroundings and the world around us.

How do I achieve kanso in my home?

The main way to achieve kanso in your own home is by getting rid of all the clutter and going for that minimalist look. The idea is, if you strip back all of the unnecessary items (and therefore negative energies) you've accumulated over the years and get back to basics, you'll harmonise with your surroundings. This, in turn, will help you to achieve a calmer and happier state of mind.

Let's face it, we all have items in our home which aren't essential - but could we really bear to part with them all?

Need a little help getting started on your kanso-inspired decluttering mission? We wrote a blog post earlier this year on how to declutter your home and go for a more minimalist style. You can catch up on that blog here. Use it to arm yourself with some handy tips on launching your very own kanso mission!

Once you've parted with the clutter, you may want to tackle that mammoth spring clean you've been avoiding. Great news - we can help with that too! Check out our blog on essential spring cleaning tips to get your home sparkly clean. It's a failsafe way to make you feel fresh and ready to tackle the season head-on.

Is kanso for me?

The truth is, concepts like feng shui, minimalism and kanso can feel pretty extreme to most of us. That being said, we love to learn about new (or in this case, ancient) ideas and take elements of them into our own homes and lifestyles in ways which work for us.

It's definitely true that having a good old clear-out is good for the mind. And a spring clean is never a bad idea. Plus, most of us can benefit from taking a step back and looking at our homes and their contents through fresh eyes. So with that in mind, channelling a bit of kanso during your next tidying session could prove to be useful. We'll certainly use it to be more ruthless in donating items to charity or packing certain things away into storage.

Will you be adopting a kanso approach to your home in a bid to achieve ultimate zen? Or do you embrace the clutter?