KonMari Update – Sparking Joy Yet?

Well, it has been almost two months since I started my KonMari journey. And it has most definitely been a journey…filled with lots of trash, recycles and so much organizing. All we have left is the garage, and maybe some photo keepsakes. I fully blame my husband and the fact that it is just plain cold outside in the winter to be organizing a garage as to why we haven’t gotten to that part of the house. The photos, well that is all me, they are so distracting and then I get so sad my kids are so grown up!! 

The clothes were by far the most difficult and most dramatic change. My closet and drawers are still so organized and clean…I love it!!! Thank you, Marie Kondo 🙂 I am getting much faster folding laundry and it has become just how I fold and not something I have to watch a YouTube video on each time I do laundry. Even the kids are folding the KonMari way.

Here is my closet TODAY: (still looking pretty good!!)

Speaking of YouTube, if you still need a refresher here is our folding video.

Quick Recap of the KonMari Method:

Marie Kondo’s method outlined in her book, “the life-changing magic of tidying up,” is pretty simple. Start by discarding, then on to organizing all in one big swoop. In the end, you will be surrounded by only things you love and your home will Spark Joy. She claims this will only have to be done once and that through the process you will be empowered to keep your space in order. Sounds super amazing!!

Marie Kondo breaks it down into 5 categories (then each category is broken down further). It is very important to do the categories in order and not room by room. You must hold each item and ask yourself the question, Does this Spark Joy? If Yes, keep. If No, say Thank You to the item and get rid of it.

Categories:

1. Clothing (tops, bottoms, coats, accessories, shoes) Pile every clothing item in one place like a bed and start by handling each item. Once you are all done, fold all the necessary clothes so they can be standing on their own. I looked up some tutorials on YouTube to find out the proper way to fold. Arrange hung clothes so they rise to the right in your closet.
2. Books (pleasure reading, reference, visual, magazines)Again, pile all the books from everywhere in the house in one room. It is important to take the books off the shelves and to touch each one.
3. Papers (currently in use, needed for a limited period of time, must be kept forever) Note: this does not include sentimental papers. Make sure when storing papers to keep them in one spot only.
4. Komono (CDs & DVDs, Skin Care & Makeup, Accessories, Valuables, Electronics, Household Equipment, Household Supplies, Kitchen Goods & Food)
5. Sentimental Items (Photos, Keepsakes)

Here is my Status Update:

Ok, so I made it through all our the Clothes in the last blog post – KonMari Challenge – Sparking Joy in your Home. I also tackled both my kids closets and all in all we ended up with so many bags to donate it is just a little embarrassing.

Next up Books…I should start by saying, we have a lot. I found these pretty hard to say goodbye to. Does anybody else really miss the days of reading an actual book, not a screen?? 🙁 Nobody in my house seemed to have this problem, so they (note, not me) had a rather large pile of books to donate as well.

On to Papers…I try to keep up with papers already, so these weren’t too bad. Also, when you move as much as military families papers are the first to get tossed, so I feel like I am pretty on top of this. I wish all categories were this easy!!!

Here we go…Komono…there is just so much in this category. I tried to handle this one room by room just because it was so large and overwhelming. It was also a little tricky because do you really love a potato peeler or garlic press…no…but I need it to cook. So, I decided to go with the question, Do I use this pretty regularly?? If the answer was Yes, I kept it, If No, into the trash or donate pile. Again, I feel like military, moving families are a little different because I go through everything in my house almost yearly because I am unpacking it into a different house. So, I didn’t have lots to throw out or get rid of but it was really nice to clean out the kitchen and bathrooms and find all the treasures in the back of the drawers.

I have not made it to all the Sentimental Items yet, or the garage as I said above. Pictures continue to overwhelm me and I fear they always will. I always imagined these amazing scrapbooks with descriptions of all the activities and funny stories of our travels but somehow it never makes it to paper or in an amazing book. For now, the pictures are in nice boxes and not taking up too much space in a cabinet. One day….

All in all KonMari was a great challenge and I am super glad I took the leap. I do feel like I really went through and let go of lots of things we had been moving around with us for years and never really used. My laundry room is looking a whole lot better and I am able to actually fold and get stuff done in there. We ended up donating 2 carloads to the thrift store and have a ton of toys, outdoor stuff, pictures, books, shoes, games, puzzles, furniture, and decor items to sell at a neighborhood garage sale in April…Win, Win!!! With a move in our future this summer anything we can do to lighten our load the better.

So a big THANK YOU to Marie Kondo for inspiring me to declutter….I am feeling the JOY 😉

Happy Decluttering