This post deals with 3 things; a book, my tidying up and what to keep because it sparks joy! Here is how this story started. When I was visiting my sister I saw a book on her table called, "The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up: The Japanese Art of Decluttering and Organizing" by Marie Kondo. I started reading the book and I did some serious reflecting about myself. First off, I highly recommend the book, and I purchased it myself so I could use it for reference.
Any way, when I got home, I dove into the discarding part of tidying up. You realize I am a collector by nature, and this was not easy! The author states you should discard and organize in one go, and it changes your lifestyle and is life transforming. When you are done, you are only surrounded by things you love. Here was my problem, I have so much stuff I couldn't do it all in one sweep. I started with the guest bathroom. This took me about 5 hours. No kidding! I went through everything, cleaned and put back what sparked joy. The next day I took my junk out of my son's closet. He hasn't lived here for many years and I used his closet to store my classroom stuff, bedding, and junk I didn't know what to do with. The book said to stay away when someone is tidying up because you might have an attachment to the stuff or you have a fear for the future. I have a big attachment to things connected to memories!
Then yesterday I worked my way through the laundry room. This was hard because I LOVE vintage linens. But I realized I didn't need all the extra sheets, etc. I made a nice donation pile and dump pile. My husband came in and I told him I was grumpy. Seriously, this is life changing, but fun? This process makes him very happy because he would love to see about 1/2 my stuff disappear, and I can't blame him!
I have had very little time this week to play, so I decided to take some of the beautiful lace and goodies my cousin Nora gave me, and organize them in a appealing way. This is what sparks joy! These are things I love to look at, use, keep or make something beautiful with.
Any way, when I got home, I dove into the discarding part of tidying up. You realize I am a collector by nature, and this was not easy! The author states you should discard and organize in one go, and it changes your lifestyle and is life transforming. When you are done, you are only surrounded by things you love. Here was my problem, I have so much stuff I couldn't do it all in one sweep. I started with the guest bathroom. This took me about 5 hours. No kidding! I went through everything, cleaned and put back what sparked joy. The next day I took my junk out of my son's closet. He hasn't lived here for many years and I used his closet to store my classroom stuff, bedding, and junk I didn't know what to do with. The book said to stay away when someone is tidying up because you might have an attachment to the stuff or you have a fear for the future. I have a big attachment to things connected to memories!
Then yesterday I worked my way through the laundry room. This was hard because I LOVE vintage linens. But I realized I didn't need all the extra sheets, etc. I made a nice donation pile and dump pile. My husband came in and I told him I was grumpy. Seriously, this is life changing, but fun? This process makes him very happy because he would love to see about 1/2 my stuff disappear, and I can't blame him!
I have had very little time this week to play, so I decided to take some of the beautiful lace and goodies my cousin Nora gave me, and organize them in a appealing way. This is what sparks joy! These are things I love to look at, use, keep or make something beautiful with.
That's it for today! I'll let you know how the rest of my tidying up goes! If you don't see new posts as often as I should be posting on my blog, you'll know I'm tidying things up around here!