A Non Sentimental Girl's View on Kon Mari.

Good morning, afternoon, or evening!  I hope you had a great weekend and your week has started off better than expected.

Today I bring you post number four in this cleaning series I started earlier this month. Can I tell you how delighted it makes me to see that you guys enjoy these posts?  Thanks for reading.

Last week we talked about the most important thing to do before you even attempt to clean: De-clutter.

If you missed that post you can catch up by clicking here.

I really hope you were inspired to sort through your plethora of items and at least trash/donate 25% of what you have.  We live in a society that really likes to buy, buy, buy and then hold on, hold on, hold on!  De-cluttering your entire home and eliminating what needs to go to File 13 or Salvation Army is critical.

A few of you emailed me that you had tried the KonMari Method of cleaning or rather organizing.  Please note:  I'm completely oblivious to trendy ideas.  So after reading a couple emails of singing her praises (I cannot get over how she just took her name and made it into a cool sounding approach to de-cluttering!  It really makes me want to know who Feng Shui is!) I Youtubed her method.



Here's my take away -

If you are a sentimental sweet heart then this method is all you and a bag of chips.  I guess I am representative of the group of humans who hold very few things sentimentally and can trash/donate something faster than the last nanosecond went by.

The Kon Mari Method suggests you take everything out at one time to go through it.  I totally dislike this method.  Now hear me out!  I totally understand the psychology of doing this.  You get stitch of clothing you own and it in one central location then you will probably realize you should shop your own closet instead of heading out to Loft next weekend.  What I do not like about this method of taking it all out and putting it in one location is that you can easily get overwhelmed.  When you are cleaning or organizing and you get overwhelmed you tend to slow your pace and eventually give up.  That leads you to shoving the stuff wherever you can make it fit.  If you get overwhelmed easily, I firmly believe you should stick to my little tip of sorting and organizing one area at a time.  But hey it is whatever works for you!  And only you know you best!



One take away from KonMari that I adore?  Well duh: The way that she suggests you organize your items.  You better believe I decided to make my drawers look like Gap's overstock drawers (everything standing up) and I gained a ton of closet space once I finished!  When I gain space in my 1930's home layout then that is reason to celebrate! (No storage in this bad boy. That was considered a waste back in the day.)

Many people said that this method of de-cluttering and organizing changed their lives.  Um, well, that's fabulous and congrats to those lucky people!  For me it did not alter my state of being but I was excited to have some more space in my little closet.

A side note:  I decided to try KonMari on my eight year old, semi hoarding, child.  I would hold up an item and say, "Do you love this so much you must keep it?" She looked at me like I was a six eyed, purple haired monster.  I was really surprised how quickly she started saying "give it away!" to me instead of "but I love it so much!"  If she would just feel that way about the stuff she cuts out of magazines and plasters to her wall.

The takeaway -



For those of you who have problems with parting with your items, clothing, paperwork, and Hallmark cards - this is for you.  I am guessing it could be very therapeutic.  A big part of this method is letting the past go and moving forward.  (See there is psychology to cleaning!)

If you are like me and lack the deep sentimentality side of your being then I suggest you review how she suggests you organize and store items.  They are total wins!

Til next time...