Wednesday 3 October 2018

Sparking Joy

Last year, my parents bought me the book "The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying" by Marie Kondo. I read it cover to cover straight away and then filed it on my bookcase, not quite ready or able to get on with it and clear the house but since then keeping in mind to try not to buy any more things which would end up as junk. 

Since my daughter has started full days at school (I know, where has the time gone) I've tried to clear out the house a little, one drawer or shelf at a time, keeping only the things that 'Spark Joy'. So far I've tackled most of the kitchen (Which felt great - 2 bags full of things we never used already taken to the local charity shops) and my clothes (another 2 bags at least).  My size hasn't really changed that much since my late teenage years, but I did have enough wages in my 20s to buy a lot of things that I didn't really need or wear.  Since some of them still had their tags on, it was time for them to go.  I was pretty ruthless!  The rest I rolled.





And then I got to the underwear drawers.  These were a disaster zone - stuffed full to bursting.  I bought some lovely drawer dividers and then had a massive panic when I unpacked them as they were huge.  Luckily they fit but I had to have a MAJOR clearout.  However the results look pretty amazing.  I can see everything clearly and theres a place for each thing.



What strikes me most is how much money I wasted on things I wouldn't use or wear.  And this makes me feel terrible. 

Now to tackle the kitchen cupboard with all the cups and plates and childrens cups and plates that is like Jenga!  I look forward to having more time to actually enjoy the things I'm left with.

Have you read any of Marie Kondo's books or attempted to declutter like this?

Until next time!
Jo

3 comments:

Poppypatchwork said...

I have challenged myself not to buy any new shoes or clothes in 2018, I'm on target with shoes, but failed on clothes, but my spending is still under £100, so not a total fail. I have edited our house right down, and we have almost nothing here which is not useful or beautiful. Life is truly more fun with less.

Jo who can't think of a clever nickname said...

Oh my goodness, this was me a few years ago when my younger son was born. It was obvious I was not going to be working in an office again so I did sort out a lot of those clothes.
I also organised my underwear drawer like that too!
I do try to declutter but I am basically a nesting-hoarder. I like to build a nest of my things around me.

Agi said...

Hi Jo, I suppose this Autumn cleaning thingie moves us all. I have red the book in the summer, get rid of a huge amount of useless staff, and felt much better afterwards! Do not get annoyed at spending money for unused clutter - at least you realised and can do better in the future :)