KonMari Method: 2 Weeks In

 

It has been awhile since my last blog post for a multitude of reasons.  First and foremost being that the Blogger platform is so incredibly glitchy and creates so much more work for me.  Anyone considering starting a blog, chose another platform, I beg of you.  Preview hardly ever works - this is the 2^nd time I am writing this blog because even though I save my work frequently it was deleted!  I am once again reminded to compose in word, then copy and paste to this page.  (Please don’t get me started on the app.)

What's New?

In the past month and a half since I have written I turned 36 (puke) my husband turned 39 (he is still as dashing as ever – unfair), we took some mini getaways: 2 trips to Cincinnati (we would live there if we didn’t live in Columbus), Amish Country and a camping trip.  I hosted a 2-day Barn Sale with my family for our business, Old Barn Décor & More (successful and fun), did a 2-day garage sale (exhausting), we have been working on some home repairs. I totally have the 5-year home “itch”. Are we moving? Are we going to stay another few years? We had a much needed date night where we did a brewery tour, drank craft beer and then had drinks and burgers sans kids where we actually tasted our food - glorious!

All of this among caring for our two boys, 2 and under and trying to concentrate on potty training our oldest and our baby is now teething…..I am exhausted just typing all of this!

I wanted to share what is and isn’t working for me as I work through the KonMari Method.  If you haven’t, read the book! (“The Life Changing Magic of Tidying Up”) It is a quick, easy read.  I can guarantee light bulbs will go off for you like they did for me.  I am 2 weeks into what is supposed to be a 4-week process.  I have always been good at organizing, but what I had failed to do was consider why and what I am organizing. Less stuff requires less organizing. I feel like I have learned so much!
 

What I Am Not Exactly Following

So here is what isn’t working. This is supposed to be a 4-week process, but I can 100% guarantee you it will take me longer than that because of all the things I previously mentioned.  I agree with some of the other bloggers out there that Marie Kondo doesn’t take into consideration children.  Let’s face it, kids come with A LOT OF STUFF! Not to mention there are lots of interruptions along completing this course.  I will be motoring along making progress and then someone needs a snack, a nap, a diaper change, a meal, a trip to the potty, or just some good one on one mom time.  I also need to point out that I am not going to start talking to my inanimate objects like she recommends.  Hey what works for one person is fine, but that’s not me.  I may mentally say goodbye to something I have a weird attachment to, but I already have those days that make me believe I could be well on my way to the loony bin, I don’t need to start talking to my toaster. 😊 She also never mentions holiday items (unless I missed that somehow) and I have way too much of that stuff.  I feel like it would take me days to go through all of that.  I also have not been following the exact sorting order that is laid out in the book.  With little ones I have been more focused room by room unless it is something that is a small sub category I can sort in a common space.  Our basement is currently under an improvement and the children just can’t be playing down there as I work right now.  I am putting paper off to the end with sentimental items since that stuff all seems to be intertwined in the basement. I may work on a sub category here and there in the meantime, but I can’t just work on paperwork for days. Clothing has been taking longer than I hoped because 4 months post baby I have had to try on a lot of stuff. But, hold tight there is a lot that is really working for my family and me…..

 

Here is The Game Changing Stuff

2 weeks in and the biggest take away thus far is continuing to ask “does this item spark joy?”.  You will be shocked by how many items remain in your home because you are just used to seeing them day in and out or you have held onto them for so long you forget why you own them.  I agree with Marie Kondo, it is essential that you pick the items up and touch them.  Especially helps for housewares and clothing.  Once I would touch certain clothing items I would be reminded that the fabric isn’t comfortable or it’s a little more worn than I would want to wear out and about; which helped quickly eliminate some things.  The other thing is simply giving yourself permission to get rid of certain things, just make peace with all of it.  I have moved items numerous times and then never really used them.  I refuse to move them another time. Having fully completed my kitchen (which is large) I am enjoying being in there so much more. I cook 3-4 meals and make snacks in there each day.  It’s a much more refreshing space, I can easily navigate cabinets and quickly find what I need.  It also brought a few things to my attention once I wasn’t focusing on all the "stuff".  We had a lot of under cabinet lighting that needed replaced and now the room is ready to be repainted.  Next to our kitchen, my walk-in closet has once again become a happy place.  For the first time in my life all my clothes are in one spot.  I am sure that sounds insane, but my entire adult life I have stored clothes in multiple closets or out of season clothes in totes or under the bed.  Even as a child we did this.  It is so nice to be able to access everything at once.  The book makes a great point that people used to do this because houses had tiny closets, plus the seasons used to be more distinct.  Here in Ohio we are still going between shorts and sweatshirts and it’s almost the end of May. I have started rolling the clothes that are in drawers.  I have implemented this in my children’s rooms and mine.  Before things constantly got unfolded or slid around in the dresser to find a specific item.  Now it is easy to select the item needed without disturbing any other item in the space.  It takes a minute to get used to seeing things this way as my entire life I have stacked clothing. It is truly saving us time.  Another great take away is when sorting gather all of something you own of a category – this is a must!  You have no idea how many pens, candles, scratch pads, bookmarks; just  random stuff that is spaced throughout your home.  It is easy to eliminate things once you see how many of something you have.  Items need to be stored together.  Why is it overwhelming to tidy your home?  I am the first to admit I am mentally overwhelmed with to-do’s.  It requires virtually no thinking when you know that all batteries live in a certain space or we keep all our candles in this spot. I mention candles again because I had so many I was shocked.  I ended up selling a bunch of unburnt tapers and pillars at my garage sale because they don’t even match my décor or I would never use as many as I had. If all your items are together you can keep them from multiplying on you.  Have you ever bought something and then later realized you didn't need it, you just replaced said item? Admit it, you probably have. Storing things has become easier as well.  We live in a 2,200 sq ft ranch, it takes approx. 30 seconds to get anywhere in this house; storing items based on what we perceived as convenience was a huge misstep for us.  Kondo talks about storing things inside of each other. Seems like a no brainer, but I wasn’t doing it. My stuff was all stored like it was on display in a store, taking up too much room.  She is not a fan of commercial storage stuff.  The Container store will not be tapping her as a spokesperson. “Those storage ‘solutions’ are really just a means within to bury possessions that spark no joy.” And you know what, she is right. She urges you to organize at the end. I have been taking empty storage containers to one corner of our basement and waiting to see what I need at the end of the course. Even though I am loving my closet I have started a list of things I need – boot shapers, a shoe riser, a taller step stool, etc. and holding off on that final organizing step.

 

This whole process can be emotional.  It has forced me to come to terms with some things about myself, good and bad.  This is probably why I would purge certain things each year, but not truly do the best job at it.  I would let myself get overwhelmed or side tracked by souvenirs, photos and letters or just bad memories would come up and I would bail on it.  I know I am a dreamer, but my “dreams” of completing some of the projects I have been holding onto were and are ridiculous. I simply don’t have the time. Yes, yes, I know I am a SAHM, but I am a really busy mom and wife.  Plus, when I do have free time I want to read or watch trash tv or drink wine on my patio or take my kids to the park, not pull out some of these projects to work on. If I cannot realistically finish some of this stuff this summer out it goes. If I have been holding onto something that doesn’t work in the house we currently live in, out it goes as well. When or if we move, I want to start fresh and properly plan the space with new stuff not whatever I have been “hoarding.”  There has been just a lot of stuff that has exited this house that I don’t know why I have so much of.  I used to shop way too much.  Retail therapy. In my 20’s, when I was single and bored or didn’t feel fulfilled by life I would shop.  Buying things to fill a void, to make myself feel better that my ex had put my life in (a temporary) shambles.  In my early 30’s buying things because I wanted a baby.  Buying things because I was pregnant 4 times in 4 years and either grieving the loss of a pregnancy or preparing for a baby and letting items multiply on me. Buying things because I could, bought them because they were a good deal – not that I needed it. As stated in the book, you truly have to make peace with the past and I am looking forward to closing the book so to speak on a lot of that.

Interested in starting your own journey into the KonMari method? Follow my Pinterest board for inspiration and friendly reminders.  I will be sure to check in with more updates!