I’ve got a new obsession. Have you seen Tidying Up with Marie Kondo on Netflix? The premise is fantastic. Who doesn’t want to clean up the messes in our homes? C’mon- we all have them somewhere. Closets? That junk drawer in the kitchen? Old photographs? The garage? Just admit it and you’ll feel better!
Marie is absolutely adorable. She is a beautiful soul trying to tidy up the lives of people she touches through her work. It makes me happy to watch her help others. If you are wondering who this Marie Kondo is, she is an organizational expert with books, a website, and an awesome show on Netflix. All of these efforts teach through her KonMari method of decluttering with the ultimate goal of transforming our lives. Watching Marie bless the homes, explain how to determine if items spark joy, and share the importance of thanking your items gives an almost spiritual vibe to decluttering. It’s not about simply cleaning up your stuff. It’s about tidying up your life. There’s a difference.
I’m inspired by Marie. I look around my home and see the places where I need to “Marie Kondo” our stuff. I’m ready to see what sparks joy and what I can thank before sending it for donation or to the trash. My husband and teenage daughter are on board, although we plan to tweak the KonMarie method a bit. We love the idea of seeing the totals of what we have and determining what items spark joy. Closets will be a starting point for us, but we have plans for all areas of our home. I’m not looking forward to the garage. That’s not going to be a fun process, but we will rejoice in the end results.
The sentimental items will definitely be the most difficult to sort into the joy and clutter categories. I feel like most things I have kept for sentimental reasons will probably still hold some kind of sweet memories for me. I also expect to find some items that I have no clue as to why I kept them in the first place.
Our twenty-something kids still have things at our house even though they all live on their own. I guarantee that we have stuff that they don’t even know is there. This will provide an opportunity for me to thin out their leftovers- keeping those things that truly need to be kept.
We made a trip to Ikea today to do a little preplanning for our Marie Kondo decluttering expedition. We found some drawer organizers, bins, boxes- an assortment of things to get started. It might sound crazy, but we’re kind of excited to get the process moving. It’s time to see what sparks joy and free ourselves from clutter. Wish us luck!
sharing the stairs 