31.10.15

LIFE-CHANGING POWER OF TIDYING UP







I came across a book some of you might have heard of already: The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up: The Japanese Art of decluttering and organising by Marie Kondo.
I believe we don't find things by coincidence -even though it was introduced by dear friendsI like to think book did actually find me. Maybe simply because for me the right time has come to declutter my closets and most importantly my life.

I have the soul of a collector and as such I am not very good at disposing of my things. Making decisions purely based on objects' functional value is not easy for me. Nevertheless I want to live in a place where I don't feel suffocated by things anymore.

Marie Kondo's book has taught me that I should only keep what truly makes me happy, happy now not happy yesterday. Some things can still be meaningful after years, but other things fulfilled their purpose already so they must be send off.

Well, I decided to give it a go and follow the Konmari method. 

   1. start by discarding

   2. do everything thoroughly, completely and in one go

   3. only afterwords you can start organising your things and give each item its proper space

Kondo suggests to procede following a specific order when deciding what to keep and what to send off -items should be grouped in categories. First clothes, then books and so on.
This way by the time we get to the most difficult category -the sentimental items- we have developed better judgement skills in understanding what we really need.

This is what I have been doing in the past 5 days. I started with the content of my wardrobe. Layed out all together in one go my clothes in front of me, touched each of them one by one and asked myself if I really need it, why I like it if I still do, why I do not use it anymore if I don't.
And slowly, unbelievably, not always smoothly ... it happened. Well, there are various reason why we do keep more things that we need. It's important to understand those reasons in order to let the unnecessary go. Thank the thing we discard for what they did for us and let them peacefully go.

Ok, I have just started. The road seems a long long one -the process can last as long as 6 months sometimes Kondo says- but I am determined to complete it.
Will this change me? I think it already has, a little. In facts we do not only declutter our belongings, but our life as well. The big lesson I am learning here, I suppose, is to get rid of the past in order to embrace the future.
After all, can we all think of anything better than being surrounded just by the things we love, the things we really need and that still spark joy? 

If you are not particularly attached to things, probably you posses the right amount of clothes, objects and maybe this book is not for you. If you, like me, are a little lazy, like to collect things, feel the objects you collected over the years are part of yourself and have a piece of your soul... well, this book is for you, believe me!
I definitely recommend it. It contains also practical advice on how to fold things (oh soooo clever believe me!), how to divide them and organise them in your home.

If you have read it I'd like to know what you think. Did it work for you? Was it inspiring?
Or maybe I inspired someone by sharing my experience here? Let me know.



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