Marie Kondo Method of Tidying

I'm finally getting around to post my experience and realizations after reading Marie Kondo's, The Life Changing Magic of Tidying Up.  It's a quick read and most of it seems like fluff, not much concrete things, but after reading it I put the book in my keep pile. I think the writing style works and I found I related to her approach and was surprised we both had similar histories with organizing. She goes through her trials and errors of organizing from her early years to know and her aha moments. 

I started in January and got the bulk of the stuff done by March. I'm still not done, still have a few topics left. Almost done with paperwork and have yet to tackle mementos, and haven't started with digital files. Kondo is particular about the order of the stuff you tackle and in the most part I followed it.  I found it helpful starting with the easier stuff, although I didn't think of it as easy at the time. Here's my notes;

1. I started by making a detailed list of stuff to go through so I had a road map. I would find I'd forget something, like medical supplies, and add it to the list. Everything from breaking down my clothes into categories like coats, underwear, handbags to breaking down my projects like art supplies, knitting supplies, sewing supplies. I included everything, even shipping boxes and luggage. This did two things, first it made me realize how much stuff is tucked away and it created manageable chunks. I gave myself a year to make it through the everything and was surprised how fast I made it through the first 80%. 

2. I tried to tackle one subject matter at a time, and then clean up before moving onto the next bunch of stuff. One thing I didn't do well which I highly recommend is to dispose of the stuff after each round. Like take it out of the house, no longer in your ownership. I basically put it in corners or the basement and after awhile it was a big mess and tempting to move things back into the keep pile. 

3.  The whole premise of the KonMarie method is not to weed stuff out but only keep the things that are important to you. You put everything from all over the house in one pile and pick out the good stuff you want to keep,get rid of the rest and then figure out storage once you know the size of storage needed. I think it helped me tackling a ton of stuff in the first two months because it helped me really change my mindset, how I was thinking about stuff. 

4. Does it spark joy? Is a good mantra. It helped me look at something and step back. Sometimes, something used to spark joy, but now not so much and that's ok.  Like a set of sheets I bought years ago and loved but now I'm not as wild about them but didn't realize I didn't really love them anymore because I kept using them out of habit. In addition to the joy question I'd also ask myself if I would buy it now and would I pay full price. One thing that helped me but might not be for everyone is that the thing wants to make you happy, so if it's not sparking joy, stuffed in the back of the closet not really used or forgotten, then it's not fulfilling it's purpose and isn't happy. I know my socks don't have feelings but this helped me. Maybe it's from watching the Toy Story movies and feeling bad for the forgotten toys. They would be so happy if a new kid would play with them instead of being abandoned. It gave me that extra little push to let go of things i was on the fence.

5. Function can give joy. Even if it's not gorgeous. I started looking at my pots and pans and realized some were more useful than others. I let go of a bunch of frying pans and man I love my small pot more than I did before. In turn this means I take better care of my stuff because I appreciate their function that much more.

6. On the flip side, function is not an excuse to keep something. I had an extra kitty litter box.  Very functional but don't really need it.  Need to let go of the what ifs. Mi thanked it for it's usefulness over the years and said goodbye. 

7. Which leads me to something I really had to dig into.  Why do I keep stuff for what ifs? It comes from times when I was much more economically challenged. In my frugal days you had to keep something because you couldn't afford to buy a new one if you needed it. I watched a few shows of Horders on tv and that helped quench my habit of keeping boxes of used twine and other random stuff I can easily afford to rebut if needed. I also found I had trouble throwing stuff out because of the environment. I didn't want to be wasteful and toss stuff.  Me keeping stuff isn't really helping anything, and having a garage sale and sharing stuff with family works. Nick took a few of my travel toothpastes. 

8. Sometimes I'd find I'd hold something and it wouldn't exactly spark joy but I was hesitant.  I did like it. Often I found that it was lacking joy because it wasn't being useful although I did really like it. For example I had a jacket that I liked but didn't really have an outfit for it, so I let it convince me. I allowed myself to have a small pile that is a "convince me" pile, also referred to as my "use it or lose it" pile. I didn't put the stuff back in with the other keepers and I revisited it periodically these last few months. I had a bunch of food that I wasn't really going to use but put in the pile and then design recipes around them. My thinking is that at the end of the year anything in the "convince me" pile goes. I have a few projects that I think I'll do but have yet to do, after several months, off it goes. 

9. I found this process overlapped with what I've read about french women and their clothes. They buy a few good quality classics and take good care of them. I got the quality classics but would skip over the take care of them part. If it sparks joy, you start treating your stuff with more respect. I found I was loving my socks that I kept even more. As a result I ended up de-pilling them. 

10.  After I got done with my clothes it was amazing how I felt. I've gone through my closet and dresser many times, but this time was different. I felt like I lost weight. Everything has it's own spot, no different than before, but this time, the stuff is in their home.  Everything is in it's special place. The room feels more airy, even though visually it's exactly the same. But behind the doors, things can breath now, not just orderly, but no longer crowded. I let go of the clothes that don't fit - I tried on stuff this time and was surprised some favorites don't work anymore. I let go of pieces that were a great deal, or expensive but didn't work anymore for me.  I also let go of sentimental things.  Do I really need the t-shirt from my first engineering company which I've never really worn?  Nope. My closet feels curated - it looks almost like those closets in design magazines that I drool over. One thing that helped was selling my stuff. I ended up going with thredup because it was less work for me.  I order a bag, send it in full of clothes and they go through and pick out stuff that is sellable. Most of my stuff they paid me straight out, the more expensive things are on consignment. So far I've gotten over $100 with about a 40% hit rate of what they accepted.  They donate the other stuff. 

What I asked myself is when I tried something on, is this something I would wear on a: corporate interview, relaxed interview, first date - evening, first date - day. Does it make me feel great. It helped me start zeroing in on my personal style. What do I feel great in because it compliments your coloring, your body type, etc.  I found I love button down shirts but not really on me. So I went from having 15+ to only five. And it's ok to keep an item that gives joy but doesn't work yet. I had this one pair of striped pants I loved but nothing to wear with it and then one day brought home this sweater that went perfectly and it became one of my favorite outfits. Until the pants got ripped beyond repair - ugh. 

11. It's not about not having anything. It's about keeping the stuff you love. For me I love bed linens. When I went through them I figured out which sheets go with what blankets/comforters and my new bedroom color.  I had some sheets I loved but would not use in my bedroom. I repurposed them as fabric. I've made a duvet cover for my guest bed and am using some as slipcover fabric for chairs. In the end, is till have two shelves of bed sheets for my bed.  But that's ok, I love sheets and I have them all beautifully displayed. 

12. Keep your eye on the prize. One thing I found really helpful is to look at my pinterest account and decorating magazines. I love some of these rooms and it helped remind me of the look I wanted. Such beautiful rooms and vignettes that I wish I had more of. It helped remind me I was being held back by stuff. They always say edit the room and then edit some more. For me I love the scandanavian white minimalist style and the old English country house with layers of history, overflowing with family heirlooms. I started looking at my stuff and comparing it to the pictures. These rooms were filled with gems.  Some rooms had two gems others had 200 gems. And not all stuff are gems. As I've been creating vignettes, I try to stick with simple, not many items. Theory is it's easier to clean too. 

13.  Containers. I love organizational containers, but don't buy any. The whole point is to go through everything first and then find the right size container. Kondo encourages using what is on hand, and that's what I did. I developed a pile of boxes of all different sizes. In my medicine closet, when I organized it I used small boxes first and lived with that for a few months. Then, when it was tested, I upgraded to nicer storage. I made a special trip to NYC to go to Muji and save on shipping. My thinking is everything should spark joy, even your storage. I've even added a shelf in my linen closet and got some ikea containers that fit perfectly. 

14.  If it sparks joy, why is it hiding?  As I've been making my way through everything, I've been conscious of where I put things. Functional things I don't use often, goes in the back closet.  Functional things I use frequently is on display and easy to access.  I have a lot of mementos I've collected from my travels and I've been working on finding a home for everything. I've been more conscious of where the homes of things are. I found an extra shampoo on the top shelf on my closet - in the overspill area. I had forgotten it was there. I'm too old to remember the location of everything so I'm working on making everything visual or logical where it is. 

15.  Which leads me to why do I have multiples. I've been migrating more towards the european style of buying what you need versus the american way of buying a costco case of something that will last you a decade. Take toothpaste. Mine lasts pretty long, why have a spare or two?  There are three drugstores within walking distance. Now I only buy toothpaste when my current one is getting to the end. You know how much space this frees up?  Why have a mini-store in your house with a years worth, or more of TP, paper towels, toiletries, dry goods, etc. 

16. As my mother and friends know from my help organizing, one of my favorite mantras is 'like with like'. I was doing it on the micro scale but the book made me think about it on the macro scale. It makes it so there is less to remember where things are. I had cleaning products in the linen closet, back closet, under the sink and in the basement. When I pulled everything together, I had tons.  Now they are all together in the back closet. And I got rid of half of the stuff. Well, they are in the "convince me" pile which means I'm trying to use them up before the end of the year. In a strange way, I'm doing more cleaning as a result, just so I can use up the products instead of throwing them away. I ended up putting in a new shelf in the back closet to help with easy access. And I'm finding, instead of having a cluttered under the sink, I can walk ten feet to the back closet. An upside of having a small place - not far to walk. 

17. As I was going through everything I kept a notepad and created an "upgrade" pile. I found I had some things that didn't spark joy but need to keep until I get something that does spark joy. Two examples is my bikini and my spatula. Both functional and something I use in the year. 

18. And finally, it's amazing what you find. My place is small and I'm fairly well organized, but sometimes things go missing. I found a ton of stuff and saved me money, everything from my vacuum charger, rubber gloves, cat leashes, paprika and even white pillowcases that had disappeared. The two best was a maple syrup sampler which was perfect timing since I was near the end of my syrup supply. And one of my favorite throw blankets that I had yet to use, I discovered worked as a big winter scarf, european style, that goes perfectly with one of my jackets. 

It's been good writing this up because it is easy to slide back into old habits of holding onto things. It was good timing this year, I was traveling a bunch after the initial round of tidying and when I was considering buying something I would ask myself if it really sparked joy and where would it's home be. Because the true secret of keeping things tidy is not to bring in a lot of stuff to begin with. 

July update

You'd think I'd be blogging more since I'm not working the long hours, but I find I'm really liking not being on a computer and doing computer stuff. I have to keep reminding myself that at the start of the year I told myself it's ok not to have a laundry list of accomplishments from this time off. But sometimes, I feel like I should have more to show.  Like finished projects, my bedroom is still not quite finished painiing and I still have a pile of boxes with my work files yet to go through. 

Although I don't have a lot of physical things to point too that I've accomplished, I do give myself credit for accomplishing more of the unseen stuff. I've really enjoyed the Kondo Marie process of going through my belongings and really taking stock of what I own and why. It's helped provide structure for me to address psychological attachments and thinking. It's easy to fall back into the old way of thinking and all but I do think I'm making progress. My latest aha moment was the memories. The last section of the house to tackle are your mementos and I have those in spades.  Actually ten boxes full of old birthday cards and playbills and who knows what else. Stuff to remember events by. I was thinking I'd turn it all into well curated books - my memoir, detailing every event of my life that I could. Sounds overwhelming, doesn't it?  And for what purpose, not to forget?  That was my aha moment, just like when I went through my clothes at the very beginning, I really only want to wear what looks good on me and makes me feel good.  Same with memories. I mean a t-shirt might be comfy and I've had it for years, but if it's seen better days and I only wear it out of habit, why have it?  Why not wear a nicer shirt?  Same with memories, I really only need to keep the ones that I want and that I feel good about, that spark joy. By keeping everything, I loose the good stuff in the mix. 

The other thing I've found self-improvement on is my physical health. I'm so happy I stumbled upon orienteering this spring. I really love it - being out in nature, the Easter egg hunt for the markers, the puzzle solving, and a little bit of competitiveness. I want to take up trying to run again, but this time, not because I feel like I should, but because I want to get faster for orienteering. That's the best way to stay successful. 

And the Whole30 has been really eye opening. I wish I could write out a whole laundry list of what foods make me feel like what. But no such luck. I've had social stuff, where I don't want to be that person who can't eat anything, so I eat socially. And I've tried reintroducing foods back in, but have trouble figuring out cause and effect. What I have found is that the old waffle/pancakes/toast breakfast I used to live on makes me super tired. I was driving for an appointment after breakfast yesterday  and about half an hour in I was so tired. I think I've found I can have gluten/carb breakfast once and I'm ok, but several days in a row and I get hit with the sleepiness. I can tell my tummy is digesting foods differently these days. At home, on my own, I usually will eat only meat and vegetables for each meal because I just feel better. And if I have guests or are eating out, I'll add grains and legumes. I've yet for really introduce dairy yet. I wanted to try to reset the system again and the reintroduce it, but need a chunk of time with no social food eating times. Also, I'm finding the uber hot and humid days kind of kill all results - it knocks me out. So hard to tell what the food is doing. The one thing I've been really diligent about is sugar. I've really opened my eyes to sugar and have posted on this before.  I've really only had dessert once.  My uncle fred made some desserts for the fourth.  I didn't want to be rude and felt like it was a special occasion. He had made three, and I found that I couldn't eat the third - a parfait, because I was just too full and had too much sugar. Old me would have still tucked it away but new me put I back in the fride for someone else to enjoy. 

I'm not going to not eat sweets but now I'm just waiting to indulge for something that is really good and nothing put in front of me has been in that upper level. It is so nice to have my sugar cravings fade into the background. I think they'll always be there. I'll still get an occasional wish of eating something sweet - and want to run to the store and pick up one of my standbys like Little Debbie Swiss Rolls. But they are so bad for you and I ask myself why.  Often it's because it's close to meal time and I'm just hungry. Or I didn't eat enough for my meal. I feel much more aware of what I'm eating which is strange because I would have said I was aware of what I was eating months ago. Anyways, I love that I have a much better handle on my energy level and I love that I put my growing belly in check. I hate to be one of those people that is body conscious, partly from media standards, but now I'm glad that I was a bit. I feel like I'm eating much healthier as a result and have a lighter step. I've still got a bit of a belly, not flat like it was in my twenties, but that's just it - it's the right belly for my age. 

The one thing I've not learned yet is how to bear the hot humidity. I think I'm only writing this post because today is the one day we get a break from the weather. A nice day where I can do tons. Actually I should cook a bunch of food. It's hard to bake beats when it's 90 and humid. 

And the last thing to report is that my Wallis got a clean bill of health yesterday. We had her final check up.  The X-rays (they don't call them that anymore, I think it's referred to as radiographs), showed she was healed perfectly. So she can now be off restricted movement. Frankly I had pretty much let her run and jump awhile back.  But now, I can remove all the boxes I set up as steps to the couch, bed, etc. She was so good on the drive too. She even took a nap out to the vet (it's about an hour drive and well worth it, not only were they cheaper, but so much nicer). I'm so happy she's back to her full self. And her fur is almost grown back too.