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I was happy to see that Netflix created the Tidying Up with Marie Kondo series. In 2012, her wildly popular book, The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up: The Japanese Art of Decluttering and Organizing as well as her Spark Joy book came in my life. Actually, scratch that… it technically came into my life a few years later in 2015 when I was ready to address the clutter and start a new chapter in my life.
In late 2015, I followed all her steps, laid all the clothes on the bed and picked up item after item in my closets, kitchen and every nook and cranny in the house. And yes, that meant a deep purge of all my Martha Stewart Living magazines and stacked-to-the-rim cookbooks. And yes, I still fold all the clothes. It truly does provide joy whenever I open up a drawer. Most importantly, it gives me breathing space.
Fast forward.
In March of 2016, I was exploring NYC and checking the online venues to see what was happening that day in Manhattan. And BAM! There I saw it, Marie Kondo herself was giving a presentation and book signing in the Union Square Barnes & Nobles that very night! I went and gobbled it up, making sure I did my obligatory “meet the author” photo, naturally. It was a perfect cherry on top to my year of sparking joy.
What did I learn from the #KonMariMethod?
- Her method is perfect starting-off point when wanting to organize.
- Organization is a key focus with the KonMari Method. The goal is to get everything that is similar all together in one spot so you can see what you have and then get rid of everything that doesn’t “spark joy.”
- Sometimes you have to do the first initial purge and then come back later for a second purge. It’s almost like you have to flex that muscle and get a feel for it.
Fast forward again.
My closets, kitchen and every nook in the house has white space. Tidying up is no longer a dreaded chore because there is less to clean. Unnecessary kitchen gadgets, pantry clutter and all the extra “stuff” is gone. Goodwill loves me.
What do you do next after #KonMari?
Sometimes functional items are necessary, even when they don’t #sparkjoy. What to do? Here are a few things I learned along the way.
- Consider watching Minimalism, A Documentary about the Important things on Netflix. Once you’ve flexed that #KonMariMethod muscle, this documentary takes it one step forward and has you thinking about what adds value to your life. Something may spark joy, but does it really add value? Sometimes yes. Sometimes no.
- Try listening to The Minimalists podcast. Yep, same two people from the documentary. Only this time they cover hundreds and hundreds of simple topics. If you’re like me, after listening to them, you’ll be itching to take another look at the “stuff” you kept. Their tagline says it perfectly, “Love people and use things, because the opposite never works.”
- Love on your people (including yourself) by respecting your things. Do you have a set of beautiful Audubon plates packed away because you don’t want to break them? Go on, unpack it and make the meal or snack extra special. Do it already!
- Keep curating. For instance, do you have cabinets upon cabinets of mixing bowls? Curate, curate, curate. Every time I open up my drawer with the cute yellow melamine bowls and vintage milk glass bowls, I am reminded, “these are so cute, what else do I need?”
Are you stumped with any of the concepts of Tidying Up? Or, are you whole-heartedly embracing the #KonMari method?
Happy sparking joy!
Lyndi
so what would you do in this situation: I have some handmade soup bowls that I love but one has gotten chipped. And I hate chips. Chips make me sad. Its a delima–would you get rid of it?
It depends! If it’s chipped in a way that it would allow bacteria to settle in, I would glue it and repurpose it for something else, say jewelry holder. In the Marie Kondo book she talks about how their is a Japanese practice that repairs broken bowls and dishes by mending it with gold. Doing this actually makes the dish more beautiful! So, how bad is the chip and where is it?