“Can you place your hand over your heart and swear you are happy when surrounded by so much stuff you don’t even remember what’s there?”
— Marie Kondo, author
It’s midway through the Lenten season and not too late to join in. Some people chose to stop an activity while some chose to start one. Lent is the 40 days before Easter, not counting Sundays. It’s a time of giving something up or taking something on as a means of reflection and repentance. Marie Kondo’s book, “The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up: the Japanese Art of Decluttering and Organizing,” offers a systematic method of giving up a lot of stuff.
Marie calls her system the Konmari method — a contraction of her name. Her book is translated into nine languages and distributed in 30 countries. She was named one of Time’s 100 Most Influential People, has her own Netflix show, and has since trained 231 consultants the world over to organize and declutter your stuff. Marie advocates intentionally choosing what to keep, and discarding the rest. The criteria are — will keeping it make you happy, and will it bring you joy?
I’ve decluttered areas in my home like the kitchen, clothes closet, shoes, purses, junk drawers, books, etc., then later I do it all over again until everything is gone except what I’m using or enjoying. I do occasionally add something new to round out more fully my “joy.” But every purchase is now a considered purchase.
Robin, a blogger, chose to take the challenge by removing one item the first day, two the second and so on for 30 days. On day six she picked three pairs of shoes with heels too high for comfort. She counted each shoe. It got harder as the days increased. By day 30, she found a box of light bulbs. She had changed all their light bulbs from incandescent to LED and stuck them in the garage. I could so relate how we rid ourselves of something by shoving it in the garage or a closet or under the bed. I’m proud to say there is nothing under the beds except perhaps a few dust bunnies.
As a Lent commitment KC cleared 50 items from her closet the first day. Part of which she gave to me. “Whatever you don’t want, take it to Palmer Home Thrift Store,” she said. Which I did. It doesn’t help to declutter if you trade your stuff back and forth. The idea is out of sight, out of mind — and not under foot, or under your bed.
Marie Kondo has a special way of folding and organizing clothing which she explains in the book. After watching Marie on Netflix, a friend’s husband practices folding his clothing the Konmari method for fun. There is something crazy fun about clearing out space, organizing and seeing the floor again. Not to mention thrift stores and consignment shops report donations have increased substantially.
Marie says, “Once you have experienced what it’s like to have a truly ordered house, you’ll feel your whole world brighten.” That’s the magical part.
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