Do you KonMari? Your days of having to watch “Hoarders, Buried Alive” for inspiration to clean the house are over. If you are looking to declutter your space and have a more zen like and peaceful environment, look no further as I am pretty sure I have discovered the Bible of tidying. I cannot describe the excitement and relief I have felt since starting this easy read with simple instructions anyone can follow. I have not finished the book, but I am ready to rock and roll on purging, starting with my wardrobe first, which is a biggie for a shopaholic girly girl such as myself.
I am not an organized person and my boyfriend would most likely describe me as messy (however, I am confident he will be eating his words soon!). Some fortunate folk like my sweet fellow are blessed with being what I call “naturally organized”. Everything has a purpose and a place, and is easily accessible as long as you put it back in the “right spot”. I love spending time at Brian’s home, it is clean, spacious, tidy and it is calm. Le sigh… However, not all of us are as lucky to be born with this innate ability to be tidy and be organized. I would like to blame my Mom for the old house keeping habits I have adopted into my own environment. Furniture in my Mom’s home does not serve a functional purpose as much as it is a space for her to pile “stuff”. I have clothing piled on chairs, and counters cluttered with paper, books, makeup and whatever else doesn’t have a proper home, I just place it where ever, and then throw a fit hours later when I cannot find something. How many of you have looked for an item, and you’ve had to go through your piles of stuff to find something, all the while wasting precious time? I don’t think I am the only one!
Marie busy at work!
Image from one of my favorite movies “Clueless”… Sadly, looks a bit like my bedroom…
Let me give you a brief synopsis on the author Marie Kondo whom I now consider to be my messiah in saving my sanity as let’s face it, clutter is chaos. Marie is from Japan and she has been tidying and organizing since the tender age of five, now a young woman, she serves clients across Japan and she has a waiting list of three months. She claims to have no clients to have rebounded once they have “Konmari’d” their space. She believes in decluttering and tidying all in one big swoop; none of this get rid of one item a day business. It is more like lets go through all of your sweaters and shirts and ask yourself this one key question “does this spark joy in me?”. If the answer is no, get rid of it, if you are not sure, ask yourself more questions and really think on why you want to keep something. As I have blogged before, we often keep items out of guilt, such as a gift from a loved one, or you paid a lot of money for a piece of clothing which is no longer in style. What is the purpose of keeping anything around if you’re not using it or enjoying it? NONE. It is taking up space and causing stress as you hem and haw each time whether to wear that ugly sweater Aunty Edith bought you for Christmas. Marie Kondo, is much better explaining her Konmari process than I am. I recommend just buying the book as I will be referring to it for years to come.
Another important point, forget all those rules which say if something doesn’t fit – get rid of it. If you haven’t used something in a year, get rid of it. If something gives you joy, you should keep it; even if the dress doesn’t fit you, you’re keeping it because you are hoping that it will fit you in the future, and it inspires you to work out a little harder, or give up snacking at night. It is fine! Keep it! I can think of a few items in my closet I am going to keep as I plan on wearing these classic pieces in the near future. Clutter is chaos and imagine a space without stuff you don’t like and the only items surrounding you are ones that you love, which bring you joy. Pretty epic when you really think about it.
Below are the five categories which can contain subcategories such as clothes (for example subcategories could be sweaters, shoes, bags, dresses and et cetera).
I will continue with my 30 day challenge, but I have already let 30 days pass by, so I will just go through the 21 days of items I discard. I am so excited to Konmari my place. I hope to start this weekend when I have proper time to devote to some big results. I will be sharing more helpful hints from the guru of tidying & organization.
Will pick up the below once I am finished first book!
Arigato Marie!
Peace & Love – Rachel
You Know Jacques! 