The last few years have been a little chaotic–grad school, moving several times, different jobs, and most recently getting married and becoming a stepmom. It’s been a lot to juggle and one thing that has really fallen by the wayside is housework, especially organization. Boxes have stayed packed and stacked for months…okay, let’s be honest, years. It has become a never-ending source of frustration for me.
I like things to be neat and in their place. I’m sure my mother will laugh at this, but it’s true. When things are messy I tend to corral the mess to a certain area and then avoid that space. Recently that hasn’t been possible. The mess has been everywhere and could not be contained.
For the last year I’ve helped my fiance (now husband) with renovating several condos he acquired as rental properties. These condos we’re built in the early 80s and hadn’t been taken care of, so we had so much work to do. During this time, stuff was everywhere. Furniture, tools, appliances, decor items and so, so much more was just everywhere! I was about to go crazy.
Finally we finished renovations, six weeks before our wedding. I spent most of that time with my family in Tennessee preparing for the wedding. Stuff had been shoved into the house we would be living in so this is what I got to come home to as a newlywed:
And this:
AND THIS!
And that’s only the entryway, kitchen and office. Every room in the house looked pretty similar to these. After having lived like this at the condos for a year already, I simply couldn’t take it anymore. Something had to change. I had seen reviews of The Life-changing Magic of Tidying Up by Marie Kondo, and I was ready to give it a try. I needed life-changing organization!
I found the KonMari method simple but effective. Over the next few weeks, I got rid of so many things. There have been multiple trips to Goodwill and to the dumpsters (we live too far out for regular trash pickup). Slowly, I began feeling less overwhelmed. We were no longer at DEFCON 1.
I must say the book was life-changing. While I don’t agree with everything in it (i.e. I’m not waiting for my things to wake up and speak to me), there were many helpful bits of advice.
1. Organize by category.
Getting all of a particular category together helped me to see what I truly had. This meant I had to collect books from almost every room in the house. It meant I had to unpack multiple suitcases of clothes that had been in storage. When you gather all of a category, it can be shocking to see how much you really have, but it is so helpful when making decisions on what to get rid of when you really know what you have.
2. Only keep the things that bring you joy, and let go of items that have already served their purposes.
We often hang on to items because of the memories associated with them, but many of those items have already served their purposes. Hanging onto the dress I wore at high school graduation doesn’t give me any additional benefits. I’ll never wear it again, and donating it to someone who will wear it doesn’t diminish my memories. Books I have read but will never read again don’t need to take up space on my shelf. I can let these things go.
3. Don’t keep things out of guilt.
It is not helpful to hold onto things only because you feel guilty about getting rid of them. I had clothes that I had bought but never worn because I realized I actually didn’t like something about them but never got around to returning them. Marie Kondo encourages readers to see these items as learning opportunities about our own personal style and preferences and to be grateful fo what we’ve learned without being burdened by keeping things we don’t want.
There are so many other things I could say about this book. It has helped me make significant changes. I don’t want to live in a house stuffed with things. I’d rather live in a home containing only the things I enjoy and that is far less cluttered and easier to clean and organize.
I still have a long way to go. Kondo expects the process to take about six months, and I can understand why. Yesterday, I found out that the Crystal Paine is doing a week-long homemaking challenge while she reads through the book. You can check that out here. Also, you can follow me on Instagram as I share pictures of the continued process. If you are struggling with the overwhelming amount of stuff in your own, I hope this can inspire you to take actions and make lasting changes!
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