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i feel like in almost every post, i talk about how something is changing my life: instantpot. amazon prime. prime now. some new baby gadget that i found. etc etc. sigh, but isn't it true? life is always changing. that's what makes it fun!
this, however, is truly life-changing! or will be, i think!
it's right there in the title anyhow!
i bought this book about a year ago when i was in the middle of my pregnancy after hearing so much about it. this little japanese lady is well known on youtube for her cute voice and nifty folding techniques. i'm sure you've heard of her! she is the marie kondo of the KonMari technique!
for the last few months, i've been keeping this book close by hoping to get started on this venture to change my life and to experience the magic of "tidying up". I am not a tidy person by nature. my pace of life is often fast and chaotic. I leave the house with things all over the place and when people (especially my mom) decides to drop in for a surprise visit - I am usually rushing home to get there before her so that I can tidy up for 5 minutes and create a facade that I have my life together (sorry, umma!) the frustrating thing behind all of this is that I feel like I am cleaning ALL. THE. TIME. constantly putting things away, reorganizing drawers and closets, re-arranging my bookshelves, trying to put things back away after using them. but no matter how much I try to 'tidy up' I always feel like my place is a mess. can you relate?
after reading just a few chapters of this book (and keeping notes so I remember for the long haul), I realized that i've been doing everything wrong my entire life! kondo says that tidying up a little bit every day is not the way to do it. she also says that storage is also a booby trap that creates the illusion that the clutter problem is solved (which is what i've been doing my whole life!) her main mantra is that tidying begins with discarding.
effective tidying is
1. discarding
2. then, deciding where to store the things you have decided to keep.
when deciding what to discard, she is pretty specific on how to decide what to keep and what to throw away. everything I choose to keep must be something that 'sparks joy' in me now. not something that I used to like wearing, or something that once had sentimental value, or not a book that I hope to read one day maybe if I have time but not until I read the 10 others books that I actually want to read. you know what I mean? we have a lot of stuff you guys. and the reason why I can't get my life (or my place!) together is because I am trying to hide away the 1,000 things that i don't need in my life but I'm keeping just because. so the purge begins....
I'm reading the book slowly and following her directions as I go. the chapter for this week is CLOTHES. and man, do I have a lot of clothes.
I realize that we often live our lives surrounded by a lot of things that we hold on to, just because.
during this first purge, learned a few things about myself:
- I am a closet hoarder. a sentimental hoarder. I have clothes from middle school and high school (YOU GUYS.) that I don't have the heart to throw away because I have this one specific memory from 12 years ago when I was wearing this shirt or that scarf and so I feel guilty throwing it away.
- I also am a sucker for sales. I am not a fashionista in any shape or form. I don't think I can ever an OOTD post or video because the clothes I buy and wear are as plain as Jane can be. Also, I'm asian so I love cheap stuff! I can't tell you how many things I bought on clearance for $2-10 that still have tags on them. I imagine I bought that shirt that is 4 sizes too large just because it was only $3 and I was meaning to use it for PJ's or a costume or make it into a dress someday one day. I need to stop buying things just because they are cheap if it isn't something that I would actually enjoy wearing. yikes. keep me accountable!
- I really like stripes and plaids and florals. I never realized how much these designs dominated my wardrobe until I laid everything out on the floor/bed (which is what she instructs you to do in the book!)
- I also prefer darks over lights. 80% of my shirts are gray or black. Ha!
after laying every article of clothing down on my floor and bed, i picked up each one and tried to ask myself I really wanted to keep it. you know that dress that used to fit but hasn't for a while but you're just keeping it in case you'll fit into it again? discard. do you feel just meh about it? discard. did you wear it before and it made you happy but you just don't really see yourself wearing it again but you also don't want to throw it away? just do it. i filled almost 4 garbage bags full of things that didn't make me happy and were just filling up my closet and drawer space. 4 BAGS YOU GUYS. I'm almost embarrassed.
after the discarding process, I followed her folding techniques and put my clothes away. I can't believe how much more space I have. and how many things I kept for no good reason. now I can honestly say that I can choose any random thing in my closet and drawer to wear and I'd be happy to wear it (though, I am currently a bit limited since half my clothes are not conducive to a nursing mama). but look, SPACE!
good bye clutter.
now onto Eugene's clothes!
he gave me full permission to purge his closets, too! (har har)
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if you are interested in purchasing the book, use this link {HERE}
the book is currently almost $7 off right now!
will keep you posted on the rest of our de-cluttering journey!
cheers to happier + tidy-er lives!
xoxo
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