The Life Changing Magic of Tidying Up by Marie Kondo

I’ve never been a particularly organized/tidy person, but the last year or two have felt especially dismal.  In the past I’ve been able to get my house in order for an event and keep it that way for a few weeks before chaos ensued again, but over the last year or so I’ve really been struggling to even get my house in order to begin with. 

I don’t know if anyone else feels like this book is everywhere right now, but I sure do.  Since the approach seems a little different than anything I’ve tried before I decided to give it a shot.  I’m going to attempt to take pictures and post as I complete each step.  

When I’ve described the book to people over the past week they’ve come to the conclusion that the book is largely about getting rid of stuff.  And while, yes, that is a large component it’s not really the focus.  You don’t go into every step saying “I’m going to get rid of half of my clothes”, or even “I want to fit all my clothes into one closet and dresser”.

Instead you physically handle each item, asking yourself “Does this bring me joy?”.  If yes keep it.  If no you thank the item for what it’s brought to your life – I honestly thanked several pairs of unworn capris for teaching me that I don’t like capris – and then discard.  I think/hope that the deliberateness of the process will make me more aware of what items I love when purchasing new things and keep me from buying things that aren’t going to be used.

The first step is to go through all of your clothes.  You’re suppose to put them all on the floor (I went slightly lazy and put them on the bed). And find EVERY item of your clothing in the house.  When the author visits clients houses she tells them that anything they find afterward will automatically get thrown out.

Here is a lovely picture of my bed with all of my clothing (except work uniforms).  These were held in 4 closets and two dressers.  And I’ve really struggled to find something to wear lately.

The clothing is the only step I have completed so far.

First impressions – Selecting outfits has been infinitely easier and I’m happier with them.  I put together two outfits I’ve worn before without having to think very hard, and I love that I’ve condensed my clothing down to one closet and one dresser – Sorry for the slightly blurry pictures.

 

I think I’ll struggle to maintain the folding aspect of her plan.  I find in tedious and time consuming, but I’m hoping it will get faster and easier as I do it more.  It is nice to be able to see every item of clothing when the drawer is open.

And here are the bags of clothes going to Goodwill.

Up next….PAPERS.  This step is very much about discarding.  (Step 2 is suppose to be books, but I think I’m going to do books last).