Since most of my belongings were in storage for nearly two years while I was trying to find and buy a home I had a LOT of stuff that I really didn’t need and was not likely to use again anytime soon. Finishing the unpacking coincided everyone’s suggestion to read Marie Kondo’s book The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up as one of my 12 non-fiction books for 2019. I finished the book in just a few days and, of course, started using the KonMari method to declutter my home. Her process is simple: gather all items together that are alike and sort through them, deciding which items ‘spark joy’ and which don’t. Those that do not you thank for their service to you and let go from your life (often in donations). That’s my summary, on her website she lists them as: There is also a specific order you must go in if you are following her method of decluttering, and it doesn’t follow a location system but rather goes by item categories:
Since the first step was clothing that’s where I started. I had recorded the entire process but unfortunately the footage was corrupted so I lost it all. Instead I recorded a video of the aftermath of finishing the decluttering showing you my closet and all the drawers holding clothing so that you can see her filing system. I also discussed some of the things I did differently than she suggests. They are:
That’s pretty much it though. While it did take a long time, I enjoyed the process and found a lot of value in going through everything. My local charity also found value in me doing it as I had a backseat full of bags just from the clothing (which includes shoes and accessories as well) over haul. Finally, the process of going through all of my things has made me more mindful of not only what I purchase clothing wise but also why I am purchasing it. I needed a new pair of slacks and I almost didn’t get them, despite needing them, as they didn’t really meet the need of ‘sparking joy’ that is, they weren’t really my favorite style. I did end up getting them as I actually needed them and hadn’t been able to find a better alternative but I was mindful about it and the incident has made me realize I need to be more pro-active in my clothing purchases rather than reactive so that I can find things that really suit my taste and budget as well rather than just making a purchase out of necessity that I may not be happy with. Next up was books, which was a fast but insightful evening. We’ll talk about that next week though. Have you tried decluttering your closet yet? What did you learn if so? Did you have any tweaks like I did? Until next time, P.S. As a bonus for this week I have an extra video on how to fold plus size clothing using Mari Kondo's filing method of folding clothing in drawers. I really like this method and have used a similar method for years (her method has one additional fold than mine did). Here it is if you, like me, find yourself needing to tweak the folding method on some items to get them to fit into the drawers better... or if you just want a run through of how to fold with her method. I tried to be comprehensive. |
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