KonMari Meets Flylady

Marie Kondo, Meet Flylady.

The Kon Mari Method of decluttering reminds us to let go of anything “that does not spark joy.”  Very useful sentiment, but when it comes to tackling my closet, I follow Flylady.

“Only surround yourself with clothes that treat you nicely.”

I had a day off today, and really tackled my closet.  Gone are shirts that are too short.  Gone are work clothes I haven’t worn since before my daughter was born, definitely gone are pants that are too tight in the waist. . .  they have a lot of not nice things to say.  Let’s not forget the clothes that say, “You paid $85.00 for me and then I shrunk, ha ha ha!!”

One of the biggest hurdles for me when I declutter is the challenge of actually getting to Goodwill.  I hate looking at a pile of stuff everyday that keeps reminding me of an errand that needs to be run. I could go right to Goodwill today, so I was particularly vigorous in eliminating clothes with a sassy mouth.

Another closet problem is renegade wire hangers.  I corralled them all, banded them, and they are in the car to go to the dry cleaner the next time I head that direction.

If you would like to read Flylady’s thoughts on tackling closets, read here for inspiration.

I am looking forward to putting away my clothes tonight knowing I have the right hangers on hand and a place to hang my clothes without having to wedge things in.  Tomorrow morning I hope only sweet-talking clothes will be waiting for me!

 

 

Goodbye to What You Thought I Could Use…

Hi friends…

I’ve been hard at work the past weeks using the bits of time before I go to work to declutter small areas.  One thing that has been bothering me about clutter is that is steals my mental energy.  Clutter, in my life, is items that a decision should be made about but that I have not taken action on.  Clutter might be a t-shirt that fits funny or shrunk, but I barely wore it!  Or maybe if I keep it another year it will fit my daughter…  Meanwhile, every time I get dressed it is there saying “You bought me are you EVER going to wear me?”

Gifts are also an area that can become clutter.  If the gift is something I haven’t really enjoyed, it just waits there for me to enjoy it to the level the giver intended.  One recent influence on me is the book “The Life Changing Magic of Tidying Up” by Marie Kondo.  In the book she encourages us by saying the power of a gift is in the action of giving, not the item itself.  “Presents are not things but a means for conveying someone’s feelings,” she writes.  No one  would want the gift they gave you to make you feel guilty or unhappy for decades!

One item that I came across is the massive COMPLETE book of Shakespeare’s works, given to me by a friend who went to teach in Japan 25 YEARS AGO!  It has been sitting in my laundry room for years.  I often thought it might be “worth something” until I looked on abebooks.com and alibris.com and found them selling for $6.00 – 12.00!  I am grateful my friend thought I was the kind of scholar that would crack open a 2,300 page book, but I decided to donate it to my local library’s “Friends of the Library” book sale.  The library gives me so much joy in my life and I hope they can use the money from the sale of the book to make the library a joyful part of someone else’s life.

For more on Marie Kendo see this article.