KonMari: What I learned

Over the past several weeks, I have using the KonMari method of tidying to get my house into shape. You can read all about the introduction and the book here.

I'll admit that I'm really glad this whole KonMari thing is done. It is a lot of work and very time consuming. Do I still have to tidy and clean everyday? Yes. But that's to be expected when you have kids and other people in the house. But I have noticed that our house is cleaner for longer and not as many things are ending up on desks and counters. Our closets and drawers have more space and everything is much easier to find. It was tough, but it was absolutely worth it.

Here are some afterthoughts and things I learned over the past few weeks:

Don't wait until....

Don't wait until you move. Or the baby's born. Or summer break. Or whatever is you are waiting for. My husband used to say that he would go through his things when we moved, while he was packing or unpacking. But moving is stressful enough and most often we would just throw stuff into boxes without much thought as to whether or not we actually wanted to keep it. But you know what makes moving easier? Having less stuff.
Also, things and life happen, so it's really better just to get this over with as soon as you can. It doesn't happen all in one day anyway, and as long as you keep up momentum and continue with everything step by step, it will get done.

We have too. much. stuff.
I was astonished with the amount of stuff we had. Drawers full of pens, closets full of electronic equipment. Think about what you use on a day to day or even weekly basis. Can you think of any drawers or closets that are full of stuff that goes pretty much unused? I could, for sure. By getting rid of all of this unnecessary stuff, we see and find what we have and truly need. 

Being surrounded by things that bring joy, creates joy
By only keeping what I really loved, I noticed that I feel happy just having it around. When I get dressed in the morning, I am happier about my appearance because I am wearing things that bring me joy. I carry a purse that sparks happiness, dust books that inspire my soul, wear shoes that put a bounce in my step, eat off of plates that make me smile, and admire photos on the wall that create joy. I'm just happier in general. I'm sure it's also the fact that I am surrounded by less stress-causing mess, but I really do think being surrounded by items that inspire joy is a genius idea.

Cleaning with a toddler is hard
I know that, realistically, I am supposed to do this tidying alone, all in one sweep. But with a toddler, this is not possible or realistic. It took longer this way and I often had to pause what I was doing, but it got done eventually. And now that things are neater? Everyday tidying takes less time, which means more time with Dominik.

I'll also mention that cleaning with a husband is hard as well. I was hoping that he would be inspired to go through his things as well, but he remained uninterested. Which brings me to the last item:

Living life means mess will happen, often
Everyday life, especially with kids and a spouse results in a messy house. It's a part of life and it's okay if things aren't always tidy. And now that we have a bit less stuff? The messes suddenly don't seem as stressful.

If you haven't read the book, I highly recommend The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up by Marie Kondo. Did it change my life? I think that it did.

The KonMari Method: Photos and Treasures

This is the last part in my series about using Marie Kondo's tidying method. You can read about the introduction and her book here.

The category that Miss Kondo saves for last is momentos. All of the things that we treasure and that are very special to us. These can include scrapbooks, photos, special gifts from loved ones, inherited trinkets, etc. She saves this for last because this is all stuff that we have a hard time letting go because either at one point it brought/brings us joy or because they hold some sort of significance above everyday items. By this point, I have had lots of practice deciding whether one of my belongings brought joy or not. So now, the real test on these learned practices and my discarding skills.

Photos

There are several places that I store photos. I have a few albums and scrapbooks that hold the photos that are truly dear to me and that visiting family member enjoy to look at. Those stayed as is. The rest of my photos (that aren't in frames) are on my computer or in plastic container. The container holds a ton of photos ranging from my baby photos all the way to Dominik's baby pictures. Initially, I doubted that I could let anything go because these were photos of my family and friends, of course they all bring me joy! But I was surprised to find that there were many that I easily discovered that they brought no joy. There were photos of landscapes and places that I couldn't remember where exactly they were. There were blurry and bad photos that really shouldn't have been printed to begin with. There were copies of the same photos. And then there were photos that brought back painful memories. For example, I had a big chunk of pictures from sixth grade, when I was around 12 years old. This was an extremely awkward and difficult year for me and having documentation of it was not necessary and gave me zero joy. Of course there were plenty of photos that had me laughing and smiling, those all stayed.

Photos that left

Me! :)

Don't ask.

A lovely trip to Hawaii with my dad

My one and only surprise party

Our honeymoon

I have SO MANY photos on my computer. I'm good about creating categories so that they are grouped by event or time period. But, I always forget to back them up. So, in the most tedious process ever, I went through each category and deleted photos that were blurry or that were just not ones I needed to keep. Then, I did two things: I burned each category onto a disc and I transferred them as a folder to an external hard drive. Although I did defeat the purpose a bit of the KonMari method by creating more stuff, it was important to me to backup these photos because they brought tremendous joy.

Treasures:

Well, not actual treasure, but all things that are important to me. All of these things are stashed under my bed in containers and shoeboxes. I have a shoebox of things from when my husband and I dated. I have assorted boxes of various artwork given to me. I have a large container of very old family photos, some of which date back to the early 1900's. I also have a box of all of my wedding memorabilia. These were harder to go through than my photos. Did I need a brochure of a hotel my husband and I stayed at for a few days in Puerto Rico? No, but all of these wonderful memories rushed back. But then, I remembered something important that Miss Kondo brings up in her book: our memories and experiences do not depend on these items. I am perfectly able to remember these wonderful past events without the aid of ticket stubs and brochures. So, I let items like these go, savoring the memories they conjured.

Of course, I kept most things in my wedding box as well as my wedding shoes. I also kept the artwork and the family photographs because these things are irreplaceable and things that I would like to give to Dominik. To be able to see photographs of his ancestors and Japanese artwork brought back by his Great Grandfather I believe will be truly special. This is what true joy is all about.

Art:

Speaking of art, I saved my own art for this category as well. I pour my heart and soul into each painting or drawing. Most are the product of hard work and I am proud of it. I store my paintings under the bed because canvases are thick and bulky and I store my paper artworks in a portfolio. I took a deep breath and dug in.

The easy things to discard were the sketches, still lifes and practice drawings. These were made simply to practice and held no special meaning. There were also some things that either weren't complete or didn't turn out quite right and that I was not proud of. There were things from high school that I had hung onto just because it felt wrong to throw away art. Some were created out of the depression I battled. I thought that these would not bring joy as they came from a dark place, but I was surprised to find that they did indeed spark joy. But why? They symbolized my rising from that dark place. They symbolized the fact that creating that artwork soothed and healed my soul. These dark drawings were special and meaningful and beautiful.

There were also my figure drawings from college. Finding these stirred something else deep inside of me. They pulled out that deep and insatiable longing to create art, something that I have been too busy to tap into. Portraits and artwork of the human body are where my passions are when it comes to art, so these items not only brought joy and pride, but they served as a reminder that I really did need to nurture this part of me.

How to keep it green/eco-friendly:

-pretty simple: recycle what you can, discard what you can't.

I'll admit that I didn't totally reduce the number of items in this category. Most of this stuff brings me joy so that's not entirely surprising. Yes, I tidied a bit and yes, I organized the heck out of my pictures. But something more important happened than tidying. I was reminded of my love for creating art, something that has been put on the back-burner since graduate school. I'm looking forward to diving back in; I'd love to start with a portrait of Dominik.

There's just one last post for this KonMari series! Up last is what I learned from this experience and the results.

The KonMari Method: Komono Part 3

This is a continuation of me using the KonMari method to get my house under control and tidy! Read about the introduction and the book here.

I saved the "other" subcategory of the Komono/miscellany category for it's own post because it deals with a lot. So far, I have tidied my clothing, books, papers, bathrooms, kitchen, desk/office area, the hall closet, and even my purse. Aside from special items like pictures, this is pretty much everything is left over.

Figurines/Tchotchkes:

When I was a kid, these types of items overtook my room. I had princess figurines, little ceramic animals, and various little items that I used for decoration. They pretty much stayed in my room until I moved out, when some went into a box that stayed at my mom's and the rest came with me. When I moved into my own place, I realized that many of these little items weren't really even me anymore. They were cute, like the little animals, and brought sweet memories, but like Miss Kondo has described: they served their purpose and it was time to move them on. This last time that my husband and I moved, I reduced the number even more, only keep what matched my home decor or what was truly special.

Not very many things left this time, either. I had been holding on to a few things like this Captain Sparrow bobble head simply because it was a gift from my husband a very long time ago. But I never really liked the Pirates of the Caribbean movies so the bobble head never truly sparked joy and we did not know each other very well when he gave it to me. Other items that left were also gifts that I only kept because I felt guilty getting rid of them. But to be honest, it felt nice to let them go.

Things that stayed sparked real joy: a copy of my favorite sculpture, the sand from our marriage ceremony, dolphins that I used to play with as a child, unicorns that felt magical, and a little art figure model that my husband and I enjoy posing.

Blankets, Linens, and Towels:

This is a category that I missed. It probably belongs under household items like sewing equipment and office supplies, but it's large enough that it could be it's own subcategory.

There's really no reason to keep a ton of bed linens. Most goes unused, especially if it's for the guest room. I like to keep two of everything. One for current use, or what's on the bed now, and one for when the first needs washing. I rotate them like this because I used to be notorious for forgetting to put the sheets in the dryer. Not fun to wait for sheets to dry at 11 o'clock at night. So I applied the same principle to the guest room and Dominik's bed. Two sets of sheets and two quilts; one for now and one for next rotation. We had an extra comforter that was a hand me down and didn't even fit our bed that was donated.

We don't have many towels. We have a few beach towels and enough for the week for each bathroom. There was only one or two towels that were demoted to cleaning rags because they were worn out and ripped. Towels are a pretty useful item, in my opinion, and I never feel like we have too many. I think that as long as they fit wherever you would like them and there's always one for getting out of the bath, you are all set.

Babies and Toddler Items:

Children that are older than toddlers should go through their own things, but I think it's up to the parents of very young toddlers and babies to make judgement calls on what to keep and what to discard. Older children of course require the help of parents and parents have veto power, but it really should be left up to them for the most part.

Dominik, who is about 20 months, does not have many things to begin with because we have tried hard to keep the number of toys to a minimum. Children are usually much happier with simple, open-ended toys in small numbers or with just playing outside in nature. Dominik has a box full of pinecones, shells, sticks, and other nature items that gets a ton of play.

My husband and I are usually pretty quick to return toys and items that do not fit our requirements: toys must be open ended and non electronic, books must be free of grammar and spelling errors, and no film or television characters. We don't wish to hurt anyone's feelings by returning or donating their gifts, but it's important to us to provide Dominik with what we feel is best.

I went through the baby items that we are saving for the next baby, Dominik's toys, and his clothing. There were a few baby items that were discarded. One thing was a toy from my husband's childhood that I always felt was probably unsafe as it was flaking paint. There were some other random items stashed away that didn't have much use and brought me no joy.

Dominik's clothing and diaper storage (it's diaper laundry day)

Old clothes that are being saved

I used the KonMari method to fold his old clothing

Much better!

There were a few electronic toys that we kept for the car, but Dominik never liked them much anyway, so out they went with some other plastic and not well made toys. We kept three electronic toys because they bring him so much joy. One of these things is a little activity center that he dances to when he pushes the music buttons. His clothing, including clothing that I am saving for the next baby, was all reorganized after I discarded things that had decor we didn't like (for example, a social media centered onesie) or was stained or too worn.

Oh and also, all those big hangers that came with baby clothes, get rid of them.

Hobby Items:

Art supplies

Paints and other art supplies

Most people have a hobby or two that requires a certain amount of stuff. My husband like computers, cars, and playing the guitar, so he has stuff that allows him to explore those hobbies. My main hobby is art. There are kid safe art items that I have in on a shelf in the kitchen for Dominik. I have a variety of personal art items like paints and pastels. They are stored either under the bed in my tackle box or in a dresser that also holds my sewing things.

After

After

I mainly just reorganized and got rid of trash or things that were broken. But there were some things that were no longer of use to me. Dried out markers, an extra set of colored pencils, mint boxes I had saved for charcoal storage. There was also quite a bit of dried out paint and empty bottles. I also gathered random sketchbooks and other art supplies from around the house and put them in one spot.

My actual artwork is being reserved for the last category as they mean as much to me as photographs and memorabilia.

How to keep it green/ecofriendly:

-Most figurines and whatnot can either be donated or sold to a consignment shop. Who knows, that collection of creepy dolls could be a treasure for someone else.

-When you go on trips and are tempted to buy little snowglobes or figurines to remember the trip, remind yourself that you already have the memories and the pictures. Save your money for a cool experience on your vacation, like fancy dinners and guided tours.

-Linens and towels can be donated to shelters for both humans and animals. Homeless shelters always need items like this, and animal shelters as well as vets use towels to keep our fur babies warm and comfortable.

-Toys that are in good condition and that are safe can be donated. Anything unsafe is better in the trash. Just remember to properly dispose of those batteries.

-Depending on your hobby, most hobby items can be donated. If your hobby involves paints and chemicals, check to make sure that you dispose of them properly as certain things are considered hazardous waste.

Up next, Momentos!

The KonMari Method: Komono Part 2

Using the KonMari method to get my house tidy is almost complete! Read all about the intro here.

The first part of the "komono" category was things like dvds/cds, skin care, makeup, accessories, etc. This next part is all about everyday housewares. Let's break it down into the subcategories.

Electrical Equipment:

This was a big category for us because my husband is both an I.T. and a technology enthusiast. Because of this, most of the electrical type stuff we ended up keeping because my husband uses most of it quite frequently on his project computer and for work. This included wires/cords (so. many. wires.), gaming mouses and keyboards, computer hardware, storage devices, and computer accessories.

All of my old cell phones

Where I did make progress was with cameras and phones. For some strange reason, I felt it necessary to hoard all of my old phones. Maybe I thought that they would be suitable backups? Anyway, they have been sitting collecting dust, so out they go. There was also an ancient digital camera that was missing the battery charger anyway, so out that went too! Not very much left, but now what is exclusively mine is now completely tidied.

Household Equipment:

Pens, stationary, desk supplies

What was under all of those pens

This category included things like stationary, pens, sewing equipment, things that you would typically find in a junk drawer or on desks. This is one of those categories that creeps up on a lot of people. These things are all useful, so why get rid of oversupply? Pretty soon, junk drawers are overflowing and you have more pens than anyone could possible need (yet they are always lost).

All of the pens in the house

Pens to be discarded

Paper, stationary, and notepads to be recycled

Speaking of pens, we had a ridiculous amount. I dutifully went around the house collecting pens from drawers and purses, as well as all of the ones stuffed in a drawer by our desk. It was a little overwhelming on how to start, but after testing out all of them, I realized over half didn't even work or were dried out. After that, I kept a few novelty ones, some fun colors, and then a variety of blue and black. I also had an astonishing amount of notepads. These are things that are easy to stuff in a stocking or give to someone as a gift, so these often accumulate. I kept the ones that brought me joy. I also had a ton of envelopes with no matching cards, which was strange. Once all of that was organized, it was nice to have all of the stationary and writing things in one place, at the desk.

Sewing machine that lives on the desk

Felt, journals, iPad, headphones

More sewing supplies

Fabric

I have quite a bit of sewing equipment because it's one of my hobbies. It is stored in an old dresser in our bedroom (where my sewing machine is as well). The dresser doubles as my nightstand so I also have things like my journal, iPad and headphones. My fabric and felt is all in constant use, and I feel great joy in sewing, so most of that stayed. Although it's pretty taboo to Miss Kondo, I kept my buttons because I use them. What left was mostly unusable scraps, old journals, and some old ribbons.

After

After

After

What is being discarded

Household Supplies:

Medicine cabinet before

Medicine cabinet after

This is all the stuff we use to keep us healthy and our houses clean. First, was the medicine cabinet. All of our medicine is in one place (except for a few things in our upstairs bathroom for emergencies). We are big on natural health, so it was mostly whole food vitamins and supplements. I went through and got rid of everything that was expired or that was of no use to us.

Under the kitchen sink, before

After

The rest was pretty easy. We keep our extra paper towels and toilet paper in the garage and we don't use many paper towels anyway (I try to use towels and reusable cloths for most cleaning; paper towels are saved for doggy accidents mostly). All of the cleaning supplies that I use are under the kitchen sink. We use either vinegar or watered down soap in sprayers for cleaning instead of the variety of bottles that many homes have. The cleaning supplies that are not used in the house, and that are toxic, are in the garage for my husbands use on his car projects.

Kitchen Goods:

Pantry before

Pantry before

I've always considered my kitchen to be fairly minimal and organized. I don't have a whole lot of appliances and all of my pots and pans fit in one spot. So I was naturally really surprised when I discarded so much.

The hot spots were my utensil drawers, a cabinet full of drinking containers of some sort, and my pantry. Everything else was already neat, orderly, and contained the cooking items that I loved. I had a lot of cooking utensils and measuring spoons that I never used and didn't much like. I kept one thing that I didn't like: a plastic ladle. But that is only staying until I can find a nonplastic alternative like silicone or stainless steel.

So many cups!

My husband really loves to keep glasses and water bottles on hand, "just in case", so most of that stayed. But I found several plastic bottles that were just collecting dust and that were gifts we did not care for.

What is leaving

The rest were random things that brought no joy. Vases from florists, a platter that was cracked, wine glasses that had hubby's name spelt wrong. It was all easy to discard and left the cabinets much more tidy. I also went through the pantry's food items and discarded expired foods and reorganized everything so things were easier to find.

The toddler "helping"; pantry after

Pantry after

How to keep it green/eco-friendly:

-Electrical equipment should not be thrown out. Many stores like Staples will recycle your electronics and most areas have e-cycling events. Check to see what's local to you.

-Make a point to use up things like pens, stationary, and notepads before purchasing more. It really helps having them all in one or two places. The less you buy, the less will end up at the landfill.

-Things like whole foods vitamins can be discarded and the bottle recycled. But all other medications and supplements should be brought to your local pharmacy to be properly destroyed.

-Chemically based cleaners should be disposed of according to the directions on the bottle. Don't just toss everything down the drain. Certain chemicals can be even more toxic when mixed.

-Kitchen supplies that are in good used condition can be donated! Try to recycle as much as possible, just check your local waste management company's list of recyclable items.

I am very pleased with my progress so far. Although, it is hard to keep up with the normal, everyday chores because I am chasing a toddler while tidying. Also, my donation and recycling piles are growing larger and I will have to make a few trips soon to make room in my garage. After I finish, it will be nice to go over the house one more time for a nice, deep clean.

I'm saving the last Komono category, "other" for next time in Part 3! This is everything that has not been tidied yet and includes all of my art supplies as well as kid's items. After that, the very last thing will be momentoes and other cherished items.