Are
you an organized person…one who likes a place for everything and everything in its place?
Or…are
you a person who is just fine, even happy, living in clutter and playing hide &
seek with your possessions?
As
for me….I ADORE organization!
In fact, if I thought I could make a living doing it in my small town, I
would hire myself out…seriously! Give me
a cluttered closet or a messy drawer, and I will have it organized for you
before you can shake a tail feather😊
(Disclaimer: I’m not saying my house doesn’t have “stuff”
in it or that I am a minimalist…definitely NOT!
But I just like to know where things are and I like to know that they
are well organized.)
I
have recently read a few articles about Marie Kondo and
her KonMari method of organization. Have you heard of her? She is a Japanese organizing consultant and
author and has made a small large fortune teaching and writing about her
methods. Too much to go into here, but
Google her…quite interesting. Makes me
sorta angry though that I didn’t get on the bandwagon before she did…I mean I
could be the ORGANIZATION GURU
myself!
I
decided to try a couple of Marie’s ideas this past week. Before I tell you what I did, though, let me
tell you what I “didn’t do.” Marie (from
her videos she seems such a sweetie) says you should hold each thing and see if
it brings you JOY and if it doesn’t, get rid of it. Hmmm…sorry, Marie, but
when I was going through my husband’s underwear drawer I just didn’t feel any
real JOY.
Also, she suggests getting rid of things you
haven’t used or worn in awhile and she tends to get rid of A LOT. (Of course, she isn’t talking about the “have
to have” things like toilet paper, toothpaste, or those empty toilet paper
rolls you’ve been saving in case your grandchildren might need them for a
school project…and yes, I was guilty!)
Well, I’m pretty good about doing that on a
rather regular basis but there are some things I decide to keep because I might
need them “some day.” For example, I
have a very dated KATE SPADE purse that was my mother-in-law’s. I knew I’d never use it but HEY! It’s KATE SPADE. And it did finally come in handy when my
granddaughter had to do a report on and dress up like Coco Chanel…that KATE
SPADE purse fit her outfit perfectly….(isn’t she just the cutest?)
Anywho>>>>Here
are Marie’s 6 basic rules for decluttering and organizing your stuff:
1. Commit yourself to tidying up all at once…she
suggests choosing one day or one weekend and get it done in one fell
swoop! (My problem with this is trying
to do it all at once could, maybe, possibly cause a NERVOUS BREAKDOWN!) My really good friend (who is totally happy
in her home of MAJOR CLUTTER) would have to work for several months!
2. Imagine your ideal lifestyle…so! are you happy to continue to live in your
clutter or do you salivate over decluttered, well organized, no dust magazine
photos that you peruse over mindlessly? Keep
that thought in mind.
3. Hold each item with both hands and ask
yourself: “Does this spark joy?” Again,
my husband’s underwear doesn’t really make me want to do a happy dance, but I
am thankful he has it😊
4. Finish discarding before you move on…in other
words, discard everything you no longer want or need BEFORE you begin to
organize what is left…throw away all you can or donate still usable items to friends
or family or a local charity or other organization.
5. Tidy by category and not a location…now I
have to tell you this one bothers me!
Marie would say go through ALL the clothes in your house or ALL the
books you have before moving on to a new category, but personally I would start
with one ROOM or one CLOSET and then go on to another. I would go batty with every room in the house
in disorder at the same time!
6. Follow the right order; she says CLOTHES,
then BOOKS, PAPERS, MISCELLANEOUS, and finally SENTIMENTAL STUFF (because those
memories are the most difficult to want to get rid of). I tend to disagree with this step too. I don’t think there has to be an order…what
difference does the order make? As long
as you are decluttering and organizing and getting your act together, I
personally don’t see what it matters if you decide to go through all your books
before your clothes. What do you think? (I do agree with her on saving the
sentimental stuff till last.)
So…what
advice from Marie did I use? I decided
to go through our drawers and fold things the way she suggests, which is VERY
different from anything I’d ever seen.
We don’t keep shirts or sweaters in drawers but I did go through all our
underwear and socks. I wasn’t sure my
husband or myself would like this new way, but we have actually been very happy
with it and our drawers have stayed so much neater. Plus folding this way seems to give more room
in the drawer. Here is a good VIDEO to
show you how it’s done
and
here is a picture of our undie drawers.
(Don’t you feel special? I don’t
share our underwear with just anybody!)
Although
I absolutely love ADORE organizing and seeing our “stuff” neat and uncluttered, I
have to admit I do have one weakness…MEMORABILIA
& PHOTOS and that’s why Marie says go through this LAST. If you start with it, you may become
disheartened because you just don’t want to get rid of that sweet painted footprint
of your toddler in preschool or the silly folded notes your boyfriend (now
husband) passed you in class in the 9th grade…GUILTY AS
CHARGED! But I will say my memorabilia
and (now) all photographs are well organized in boxes. (My son will probably throw a lot of it away
when I’m dead & gone, but I will be playing my heavenly harp and won’t give
a hoot!)
Marie
also says before you get rid of something sincerely thank it for serving its
purpose. So…THANK YOU empty toilet paper
rolls for holding my toilet paper and then taking up space in my closet while I
waited for my grandchildren to need them for a school project which never happened. (I did donate them to my granddaughter’s
STEAM teacher just in case!)
So…which
are you? Organized or disorganized? Are you happy with your “stuff” as is or have
you been promising yourself you want to do something about it? If it’s time to neaten up and declutter, then
put on some comfortable clothes, some rock-out music, and get going! And maybe you’ll even find the JOY in folding that
underwear!
