the life-changing magic of tidying up

After my query into how to keep your life organized, I started reading a dear little book by Marie Kondo called "the life-changing magic of tidying up: the Japanese art of decluttering an organizing". This book is simply adorable to read, and teaches a message about tidying and reorganizing your home, and in the process reshaping your life. She has a method for dealing with every category in your home, and recommends spending a good chunk of time doing a complete overhaul that will change your way of dealing with things forever... so you never have to do it again! "Make it a special event, not a daily chore. If you do a little each day, you'll never get it done." I'll give a brief overview of my favorite messages from this book.

Sort by category, not location. So, sort all your clothes at once and all your books at another time, etc, instead of doing it room-by-room.

Discard first. Start by visualizing your destination, and keep that in mind as you go. My absolute favorite rule in this book (the one that will really change your relationship to stuff) is to only keep those items that when you hold them and touch them BRING YOU JOY. If for any reason something doesn't spark joy for you, discard it. When you can’t throw something away, hold it and tap in to why you bought it. Has it served it’s purpose? Maybe it taught you what doesn’t suit you, or brought you a thrill for those few moments in the dressing room. Take old items which you have been unable to part from and "...free them from the prison to which you have relegated them. Help them leave that deserted isle to which you have exiled them. Let them go with gratitude."

Another favorite moment came when I read the chapter "Papers rule of thumb: discard everything" ... YES!... Now I feel free from my prison of papers. She presents great tips and rules about each category and why it's OK to discard almost all papers. YESSSSSS!

The chapter on clothes (a great place to start the tidying process) explains how you need to take all clothes out of drawers, closets, storage bins, and lay them out on the floor. Select which ones to discard first, those that don’t bring you joy when you hold them (even if you wore it yesterday). Then the ones you keep, she explains how to fold them in a way that makes them happy. I got a hoot out of the sock chapter: "the socks and stockings stored in your drawer are essentially on holiday. They take a brutal beating in their daily work, trapped between your foot and your shoe, enduring pressure and friction to protect your precious feet. The time they spend in your drawer is the only chance to rest… what treatment could be worse than this?" 

Kondo speaks of a 'click-point', or a perfect amount of 'stuff' to own that feels right for you. As you put things in order, you'll see what your 'true values' are, the things that you keep that bring you joy can often open up to you what your passions are in life. You can discard all the rest. 

The deeper message of the book is that so much of the clutter you hang on to stems from either your clinging to the past or your anxiety about the future. Can you look at items in your home and see that truth?

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