On Monday my appointment for the morning had to reschedule, so I found myself with an unexpected chunk of time without something specific planned.
I have been putting off the task of tidying my office/spare room, mostly because dislike tasks like this. But also because it seems so tedious and annoying. But lately I have been suffering from a lack of ability to find things quickly that I need. So I know I was overdue for another “KonMari” festival.
Marie Kondo describes in her book “the life changing magic of tidying up” how the act of tidying must first begun with thorough discarding, all at once. She approaches the act of tidying as a special event that can take up 3-6 months depending on how much stuff we have and need to discard. I believe it.
About a year and a half ago in the Spring, I really worked at this, clearing out my entire closet and working my way through most of my wardrobe. It felt great, and I got rid of so many things I never wore, or seldom wore. Her criteria for keeping things: if it sparks joy, keep it. If not, discard it.
I began in the “correct” order as she describes, and put all of my shirts and blouses on the floor of the room. Clearly she does not have cats at home… that has a hazard for certain types of clothing when you do not want cat fur on everything. But I am including a picture so you can get an idea of how bad it was to start.
A lot of things had to go, but I only started with the “tops” category today, and I am planning to work through her list all week, spending at least 2 hours a day tidying. Today I spent about 4 hours, but I must say once I made all of those choices and then put things away, I was feeling really exhausted.
So many decisions! Oy!
You minimalists have the right idea! More stuff equals more stress. By having less stuff, and minimizing my decision fatigue, and lessen the time I spend looking for stuff I cannot find. I hope this helps to optimize my focus at home, something we “work at home” folks truly need.
But I like the idea of approaching this project as a one-time special event, and treating it with the sacred process that it is. I decided to light some candles when I started to make it more of a ceremony. It definitely helped. Let’s see if I can sustain the mood and keep this going tomorrow. Wish me luck!
cristy@meximinnesotana.com
mexi minnesotana 
Great idea to make this into a ceremony of sorts! When I begin a similar project, I always try to keep my eye on “the prize,” which should be a more efficient and pleasing space. When I recently downsized to just one closet for clothing, I made a rule that I will get rid of one article for every new one that I buy. I’ve pretty much stuck with that, although I should probably weed out a few extras, by the looks of my closet today:)
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Yes! Keeping our eyes on the prize and the final result is necessary because it gets a bit messier in the interim… I continued to make progress today.
🙂
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I say if it doesn’t fit, it doesn’t hang. I only want to grab clothes that fit so I don’t have any issues when in a rush. Either they are donated or stored in vacuum bags to not take up too much space in another area; and I limit the amount of non-fitting clothes in case of gain/loss to one size up or down. No more than one hot and cold season for each size and that is it. We hang so much, to only use about 20-30% because they compliment our body…then the rest has to be dealt with…right?
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We don’t have a lot of room for storage at our town home but I find that everything I need (even off season clothes) can fit into my closet and one shared closet for coats. I am using the Kon Mari method to fold rather than hang a lot of things, and that helps save space as well.
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I’ll have to check that out. See if I’m doing it or not. Thanks!
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Well done 🙂 I already cleared closet = minus 2 huge black bags 😂 & at least 2 on the way. And it is only in 2 rooms.
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Great job! It’s amazing what’s in there sometimes!
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Yep…& also my own voice stops me sometimes “oh no, U can’t just throw it away – U need it”, but the thing is I haven’t used it 3-5 years.. and def won’t start now 🙂 but it’s difficult to say “good bye” 🤐😂🙀
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Most of us have been conditioned since we were children not to be wasteful (at at least I was). It’s a powerful voice that’s still in my head. Thanks Mom and Dad! But while I hate to waste, I hate more to be surrounded by stuff “just because” maybe I will need it…
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That sounds like a very satisfying few hours, Cristy! Lxx
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Felt great!
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