Have you heard of the KonMari method of de-cluttering and organizing? It is based off the book The Life Changing Magic of Tidying Up by Japanese tidying expert Marie Kondo. I read the book over the holidays and it has totally changed my mindset about the things I keep in my home. The two biggest lessons for me were 1) Only keep things that truly bring me joy, and 2) Get rid of the things that have served their purpose. Oh, and her folding method. That in itself is pretty life changing!
After reading the book, I was able to purge about twenty 40-gallon trash bags of clothes and household items. It was about 50-75% of my clothing, several bags of kitchen items, Christmas decorations, and much more. Her advice is to take each item in your hands and ask yourself “Does this bring me joy?” So if it doesn’t fit correctly, or is broken, or you never really liked it or used it, it goes. If you are like me, you might have guilt getting rid of something that was a gift or that you have a sentimental tie to. Marie Kondo says in this instance that you need to thank the item for serving it’s purpose, and let it go. It sounds silly, but it actually works. For example, I was holding onto a dress I wore to my high school graduation. It has served its purpose A LONG TIME AGO. Bridesmaid dresses? They have served their purpose. Time to let go. Or a Christmas card from a family member? It served its purpose and brought me joy when I received it. Now I can discard it.
I wasn’t planning on blogging about this endeavor, so don’t have many photos, but here is a before/after of my dresser. As you can see it was overflowing with clothes, and I would have to dig to find what I was looking for. Don’t judge.
After discarding and using the KonMari folding method, it now looks like this. Yes, that is bare space!
The great thing about this folding method is that everything stands upright so you get to see all of your clothes at first glance. No digging around to find things, and nothing gets buried at the bottom that you never use.
Here’s a video of Marie Kondo demonstrating the method:
By purging and folding this way, it makes getting dressed in the morning a lot easier. I don’t have to stand there thinking about what I want to wear since everything in my closet and drawers I love and want to wear. I just grab and go.
I was worried I wouldn’t be able to keep up with the folding and revert back to my old ways, but it has been a month now, and they still look just as good as they did on the first day. I don’t think I will ever go back.
Another thing that helped me purge was choosing where I was going to donate my things beforehand. I chose a women’s charity and confirmed what items they accept and don’t accept. So then as I was going through everything, I thought of my items serving another family in need. Much better than not being used and cluttering up my house (and life).
Bottom line, I’m a big fan of the book and method and highly recommend it to everyone! Let me know if you have read it and what you thought.
