ORGANIZATION is My Middle Name!

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 9^th 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!