How Tidying Can Change Your Life.
About 3 years ago I read a book that changed my life!
This book was The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying, by Marie Kondo.
It didn’t change it right there in that moment but for the following 12 months I pledged to put into ACTION what I had learned, and it changed my life.
Now, I am a sucker for a non fiction book to inspire me into action. I love reading cookbooks and also fiction books around cooking and eating, the whole experience of it. I love books about organisation and time management they just make me feel like taking steps to improve these areas of my life, I guess they are doing their job!
This book was published in 2011 and has since then become a series on Netflix.
I wanted to talk about tidying and de-cluttering today as we are all still in lockdown it could be a good thing to get on with if the list of jobs is running out or if you can fit it in around working from home, now there is no commute.
If we can make ‘Home Management’ easier and less time consuming we can have more time to spend doing what we want to do. I find this to be true especially once the warm sunshine comes out, then I spend all my time in the garden and my house gets neglected and looks trashed but because I have put simple steps in place I can whip through the house with a duster and the vacuum and have everything ship-shape in no time – and get back out in the garden!
Where do you start?
Marie has a method for this.
As with everything if you don’t know where you are going, how can you get there? When I work with clients with their health and nutrition we always start with goals, what are you aiming to achieve how do you visualise your life once you complete the process?
So, start here first. Be specific.
Tidy by Category
Not drawer by drawer, cupboard by cupboard, room by room.
This might sound odd but we are tidying, hopefully, for the last time here or if there is a rebound, a falling back into old ways, you will be able to catch yourself and it won’t take such an effort to straighten out.
- Clothing
- Books
- Papers
- Miscellaneous items (Komono)
- Sentimental
Komono
- CD’s/DVD’s
- Skincare products
- Make-up
- Accessories
- Valuables (Passports/Credit cards etc)
- Electrical Equipment
- Household Equipment (Stationary, sewing kits etc)
- Household Supplies (Toilet tissues, detergents, medicines etc)
- Kitchen Goods/food supplies
- Other (Hobby equipment counts as a separate subcategory)
What do you do with each category ?
Collect it, all! Starting with clothing remove everything from your wardrobe, drawers, bathroom, spare room, laundry area, hallway etc. Every single place you store clothing. Put it in a pile then take each piece of clothing and decide, does is ‘Spark Joy’ OR do you need to thank it for its service and remove it from your life – without guilt!
Marie has some lovely sayings such as ‘Spark Joy‘, this is the marker she uses to identify whether an item is to be kept. If you are unsure, does it spark joy? Does it hold a happy memory, do you feel good wearing it, will you read it again because you loved it so much? Another is ‘into my wallet‘ and I can not help but say this when I find change lying around (or empty the change pot on my husband’s side of the bed 😉 ), every time you find change lying around the house, put it in your purse! Simple as that. How many places around the house do we have random change lying around? The bottom of drawers, down the side of the sofa, in a random pot …. put it in your purse and use it 🙂
It’s a process…..
You can see why I allowed this process to take me a year. The first two categories are quite quick to achieve and allows you to see immediate progress, keep going though, schedule it in, tick off each category, maybe review it every week or month so you can keep up momentum.
Sentimental items are left until last. By this time Marie explains that your decision-making skills are finely honed and you are better able to make decisions about what to keep and what to get rid of. If you started with these items you might never move on!
The Result
Once you have cleared everything from your home that no longer serves you, you should be left surrounded only by items that you love or enhance your life. This makes you feel happy, light, positive and organised, more in control of your surroundings and your day to day life.
Everything you own should have a home, when it is not being used it should live in this home, when you need it next you will find it exactly where it is meant to be and this is a lot easier when there isn’t a load of other clutter in the way.
Once you have a clutter free home it is SO much easier to keep it clean and tidy.
A few years ago I hired a cleaner thinking this would remove some pressure from life. The trouble was before she came I would get so stressed about tidying up, not because I was proud but I wanted her to spend the two hours at my house actually cleaning, not trying to get through all our crap!
Now I don’t feel the need for a cleaner, I keep our home clutter-free by periodically selling, donating or throwing unwanted/broken items and if we buy anything new I make sure it has a home. This way I can quickly fire through my weekly cleaning routine as I haven’t got to clear up first.
If this sounds like a project you would like to take on for your home and life I really recommend reading the book first. She obviously goes into so much more depth than I have here, she explains about storage, folding and why it isn’t necessary to have a seasonal wardrobe and so much more, it really is inspiring. If you aren’t into reading, check out the series on Netflix, it’s addictive! Or do both.
I have put together a checklist <<HERE>> for you to download and help keep you on track.
What next?
If you would like to chat with me about your unique menopause transition, book a Wild Well-Being call and come away inspired and motivated to begin your journey to optimal health.