The Life-Changing Magic Of Tidying Up - Does It Work?

If you've been visiting another universe, firstly: welcome back!  One of the first things you need to know about Planet Earth of late is everyone's trying to KonMari their lives. Marie Kondo is the most adorable Japanese woman whose book The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up  is, as it promises, life changing.  Not only is it practical and also unflinchingly self-revelatory in her search for tidiness from age five, but it's beautifully written, like a wee haiku.

Marie Kondo. Love how she tucks behind her ears, elvish style

When we did our re-model six years, all the cheque writing started getting very stressful so we decided to do a mish mash of Ikea stuff for my closet. It was always a bit of a noodly tangle of stuff so this month I decided to California Closet it...fairly reasonable if you keep to basic finishes.

All of my clothes have been on the bedroom floor for a month. This is partly because the carpet in the closet needs to be re-laid, so the set of drawers can't be moved in yet, but mostly because my stuff doesn't fit in there anymore - how is that possible?

Last night I just ended up just chucking everything in as before, resulting in a tangly noodle of stuff. Then I remembered I hadn't performed he most basic of KonMari magic, which is is to fold everything vertically. More on that later.

Reading the book has not only resulted in us donating about 50 bags of clutter (I know this amount sounds obscene but Marie says after she's done a two-bedroom Japanese apartment, about 45 bags of stuff are taken away). This is despite the fact we don't do Costco and I try to hold up a string of garlic when passing Big Box Stores.

Some of the books and stuff being donated

Warning: my wardrobe is a work in progress, so does not qualify as closetporn - yet!

Trying to hang things attractively and with like-colors like they do in stores. Not sure why everything has come out as minty green

Need to replace hangers so they are all on the same page

It's also changed my writing a bit.  Don't keep a line/paragraph/chapter just because you've spent a lot of time writing it or you think the words are nifty - if it doesn't fit in your book, cut it out, baby!

But back to my wardrobe - how to get everything in? The final piece of the puzzle for me was: folding things vertically. That is, folding things into tiny oblongs and placing them vertically in the drawer.

Ta da!!!

All my workout tops -  and space to spare! They're resting today, it's a Saturday after all, and having glass of wine with friends later. 

Marie Kondo's tips for tidying up - and whether I actually, really, honestly followed them. 

1. Sort by category, not location: Don't do the bedrooms first, then the living room, then the rest of the house. Do all your clothes, then all your books, etc. 

Did my wardrobe and gave the rest of the house to Kevin. That worked! His office went from four filing cabinets to half a drawer. One quibble...we decided after the re-model not to build bookshelves so we won't keep books. So why is his office still filled with his old economics books???

2. Tidy in one go. Don't draw it out. If you tidy a bit each day, you'll find that you're tidying forever. Do it all at once and you'll have the system in place to stay tidy. 

Didn't do this, too lazy, spent three weeks with stuff on the floor. Still not finished yet.

3. Pick up each item one at a time and ask yourself, "Does it spark joy?" 

Cheated on this one - there was one shirt I love to look at but seldom wear. Is it joyful if you keep thinking "I should be wearing this, why aren't I?" Probably not.

Negotiating with Marie on this shirt

4. Fold your clothes so that they stand up vertically. This way, you can put all your t-shirts (or other items) in a drawer and see every item at once, rather than digging through piles of fabric to find the shirt you want. 

Changed everything, got so many more things in the drawer and I can see what they are. 

5. Don't repurpose clothes to loungewear. Don't justify keeping a torn, ratty T-shirt just because you think you can repurpose it as a pajama top. 

Already got me ugly lounge pants for me lounging anyways

6. Recycle your papers. For important legal documents, scan them. Everything else you should get rid of. 

Kevin did all this. He got four filing cabinets down to half a drawer. When you really get down to it, how many papers are actually legal?

7. Don't keep gifts out of guilt. After the joy of the gift-giving moment is through, you can donate the gift without guilt. It has served its purpose. 

Hardest one, just hope certain people don't visit. Maybe I can say the drought took it?

8. Storage experts are hoarders. A "clever" storage solution never really solves anything. A new box or organizer won't make you tidy. 

That's why that stupid bag-holder hanger thingy never worked.

9. Start with what you know will be easy to get rid of. If you start with mementos or items you attach a functional value, it will be harder to know if they spark joy.

Still cannot chuck photos, even if they are doubles, or the kids ceramics however chipped or broken and the kids' pictures.

Cy in particular has mastered a very primal abstraction. Some of this stuff belongs in a museum - am I right?

10. Pick up everything you are donating or recycling and say "Goodbye and thank you for your service."

Seems ridiculous but makes letting go so much easier.

Might apply this to my kids. Don't think they would pass No. 3 at the moment. Tempted to give them the old No.10.