November 25, 2015

Decluttering with the KonMari Method

declutter, KonMari Method, organization

So let’s talk about the KonMari Method of decluttering. I know, I’m late to the party…this book was huge at the beginning of this year. Whoops! I randomly came across an article a few weeks back talking about its folding methods and all of a sudden I was in the internet research downward spiral. I was intrigued, I was hooked, and I bought the e-book immediately. I spent the next two days powering through it, taking notes as I went and reading though provoking passages out loud to my husband. I was hands down sold (he was not). I was going to become the tidiest person I know.

The basic concept of the method is to get rid of anything that does not “spark joy” in your life, thank it for its service then organize what you have left in an origami-like fashion. No need for special organization systems, bins or boxes either. A shoe box lid or Tupperware container will do the trick.

This all sounds well and good, but let’s talk about real life implementation people. Was it a catalyst to get a major purge done? HELL YES. Am I going to keep our house tidy 24/7? Probably not. Did I find some new ways to keep things a bit more decluttered and organized? For sure! Has it given me a new outlook on things I own? Most def.

Like the book suggests, I decided that my clothes were the best place to start and blocked off an entire afternoon to tackle the project. I love clothes and getting dressed up, but I was holding onto plenty of mediocre things that when put on, did not make me feel like a million bucks aka “spark joy.”

My donate/sell pile got very large very fast and it felt GOOD. It took me about three hours to go through everything then another two to fold and put things away. In the end, I donated or sold about 10 bags of stuff. I went from two full dressers down to one and emptied half my closet. Our bedroom has space now, like open physical space that feels kinda wonderful. And picking out an outfit in the morning is a breeze because I know that every single item is the most flattering, feel good piece of its kind.

In the next week, I also went through my papers and photos. I downsized from 30+ files to five and although I kept many pictures, I actually spent the time organizing and putting them into photo books. I do plan on going through other groups of things i.e. kitchen and bath items in the near future using this same technique.

I will never have that “everything in its exact place” sort of house, but it definitely brings a new, lighter energy to things. And now when I’m out shopping, I take a good, hard look at each and every item to make sure it’s the right fit for me. If it doesn’t “spark joy” then it’s not coming home!

Biggest takeaways:

It got me thinking about what really means the most in my life and only surround myself with those items. Why hang on to things that don’t make me 110% happy? If that means having less, well that’s cool.

Sometimes an item is hard to let go of because it represents something important or memorable from the past. Acknowledge its place and time with those special memories, then let it go. It’s served its purpose. This was a big one for me.

It made me re-think my whole pajama/lounge wear situation. I’ve always been a crappy sweat pants and hoodie sort of gal, but I took her words to heart and made myself a nice little lounge wear wardrobe from items already in my closet. And guess what? Not a pair of sweat pants in sight! I feel like a lady of the house now and not a frumpy old maid J

I was always of the mind set of hanging every piece of clothing so I could see it, but then I’d run into a super stuffed closet where I could hardly pull a blouse out. I thought the folding technique was sorta stupid at first, but now I’m hooked. It’s a pain to do it the first time, but easy to maintain.