Jumping (Partially) on the Bandwagon

Apparently I am the last person in the US to hear about the book The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up.  It’s been on the New York Times best-seller list for quite a while, even reaching #1.  The “life changing magic” was first mentioned to me this past summer by my BFF, but the message didn’t spark my interest at that time. Later, my officemate mentioned she was listening to the book on her phone and she played a bit of it while she was tidying her third of our office. 

The portion we listened to happened to be about the order in which you should tackle the stuff in your house.  This was advice that I sorely needed.  One should start with clothes and then move onto books, documents and finally mementos (the most difficult items due to their sentimental value).  I decided to start the organizing process, although I admit that I didn’t put ALL my clothes on the bed as the author suggested.  I started with my dresser drawers.

Before photo of my scarf drawer

If you are familiar with the book, you know that the test for whether to keep or discard an object is does the object bring you joy.  That’s an interesting choice of words - joy.  As I held each t-shirt in my hand, I asked myself if that shirt brought me joy.  Turns out this isn’t a simple yes or no question.  Sometimes the shirt brings me joy by wearing it, like the bright blue t-shirt with the low cut V neck that makes both my boobs and my eyes look good.  Other times the shirt brings me joy by having it in my drawer, like the red t-shirt I bought when my daughter and I took surfing lessons in California on her 16^th birthday.  I think I am supposed to get rid of the one that is just a happy memory, not a useful shirt.  I was able to do that sometimes, but not every time.

After photo of my scarf drawer - I can see all the scarves at once!

After photo of my t-shirt drawer
(I forgot to take the before photo)

Ultimately, the system worked for me because my drawers are more organized and contain fewer items.  I implemented the KonMari method of folding (see this video for directions to this method named for the author) and get a warm, fuzzy feeling when I look in my drawers.  Am I ready to tackle my 2 closets worth of hanging clothes?  Hell, no!  That’s on my summer list of things to do.  No way I can face that daunting task in the dead of the grey, Midwest winter.  Too depressing.

Also, I haven’t finished reading the book yet!

- christina