Joining the KonMari Cult

[diello]

I never heard of KonMari until this past weekend when the lady icantmakeme started posting about it on Facebook. I immediately hopped on this bandwagon, because I am always complaining about how little room I have in my closet, drawers, and whatnot. This weekend, I tackled the bedroom.

So the KonMari method of tidying up / de-cluttering is that you remove EVERYTHING from its place. Not just sorting through things you are deciding to toss away. EVERYTHING. We are deciding what to keep, not what to toss. And it's not an act of minimalism, it's an act of creating as much joy in your life as possible. When you pick up an item, if it sparks joy, if it makes you happy, you keep it (if you want to keep it).

This is a pretty hard concept, because sometimes you feel a joy you used to feel for it, when you first got it, or back when it still fit, or when someone else complimented it. You've gotta make sure you feel that good about it NOW. I absolutely LOVED a few of the things I got rid of, because I don't feel good when I try to fit into them now. Or they just don't look flattering on me anymore. Or because it's just not my style anymore. These things sparked joy in me because I was remembering a time when I rocked these things with confidence, or because I was so happy when I'd wear that all the time. But that's not me anymore. Sentimental items are even more difficult, because I wore that when I had my first whatever, or someone I really love gave me that, etc. Keep the memory that someone was thinking of you, or whatever the case is, maybe write it down, or something, but if you don't wear it, say goodbye.

It's a radical form of self-acceptance. It's great that you want to be able to fit into that dress again(*), but do you really still love it the way you used to? Past-You is gone, so stop making decisions for Past-You. Same with Future-You. You can always buy new clothes, so stop hording because you spent a lot of money on that thing you don't really like(**), too. That money's long gone. Its absence from your wallet doesn't affect you anymore anyway.

(*amendment 1: personally, I think if you are struggling with your weight, and that cute little dress is acting as a visual motivator to keep on track, I think keeping it would be okay. If it's your goal, keep it. But if it's just an idle thing you could maybe fit back into someday, ditch it. You can get another when you're ready)
(**amendment 2: keep Special Occasion things, though, like a business suit, tux, or whatever - if it's something you'll actually need in order to make a good impression or whatever, keep it)

Another option, if you can't bare to see it go to a donation bin, is to give it to a friend, which I did with about 5 items (keepin' it in the family).



I started with clothes, so every dresser drawer (I have two small dressers), every storage bin, every laundry basket (I advise doing this right after laundry day), every bag of forgotten rags, every inch of my closet got dumped into a pile. I guess you're supposed to categorize it into piles first - seasonal, work, sentimental, etc, but I just dove in.

Photos 1 and 2 are the contents of my closet. This is my bed covered in every piece of clothing I have. It's hard to tell the size of this pile, but if I sit on the corner there, the pile goes about 4 inches over my head.


And here's my shoes and purses. Look at that huge basket of shoes! I thought the purses would be really difficult, because I use most of them, but it was actually pretty easy - even a pricey little purse from one of my favourite fandoms (FreakAngels).


I don't know why this photo is sideways, but these are my containers of jewelry and makeup (with a bunch of other crap mixed in). I reduced this to two jewelry boxes, one tiny drawer of makeup (see that little white drawer behind the skull?), one drawer for hair clips, and the bin is for brushes and hair curlers.


I kept going after the pictures, but here is the first load of bags (7 here - 9 and counting so far)


My shoe keeps - heels, flats, sneakers/sandals (plus 4 pairs of boots in the closet - and +1 that is part of a default Halloween costume, and +2 winter boots) 16 pairs all together.


And the makeup/jewelry/etc ditch (I tossed most of the makeup, but there was a thing or two I never used), which at the end, let me get rid of two makeup/accessory bags, and two other caddies (I kept the skull caddy - it'll be used for other things).




That's it for this weekend! It's a mentally exhausting process. I wanted to get through my entire room, but when I dumped a bunch of loose papers, and boxes with letters/stationery inside, I just couldn't handle it. I went through a bunch of stuff, then set the rest out of the way for another day. I did end up going through my old letters, tossing most (keeping some from close friends for one more read-through), and tossing a lot of junky stationery I'll never use. I keep all letters from current pen-pals, though.

Comments

[meathiel]

Phew ... that's some serious decluttering!

[diello.livejournal.com]

For real! I can't believe there's actually a floor in my closet!

It's me, your fellow Cult Member... (Too lazy to sign in)

[(Anonymous)]

http://youtu.be/hKgS0PA3E7s

I started listening to this last night and it's allowed me to get back on track. Also to revisit the categories I'd already done and get rid of MORE.

[aphroditemf.livejournal.com]

Oooh, this is a smart idea, I might have to try it myself! Though my problem is no so much the clutter of my own stuff, it's my husband's endless clutter, and he's the type of person who won't throw anything out, ever, no matter how useless it is! I might show him what you wrote about KonMari and see if that persuades him to part with some of his junk.

[diello.livejournal.com]

Let him know that there is actually FLOOR AND WALL SPACE under all that junk! I've seen it (well, not YOURs, but I'm certain it exists for you too)! And if that doesn't do it, tell him if he declutters, True Blood will come back for one more season, Jessica will show her tits, and Sookie will actually find something useful to do with her life.

[pax_athena]

Impressive!

I did a total revamp of my closet once back in school - not that I did have much, but that was the bad time after my family fled to Germany, etc. It was such a freeing moment. I still remember the feeling.
Moving to Boston also forced me into deciding what to keep. I still own a ton of clothes, but I came to admit that it is actually all stuff I like, so I am just the kind of person with a big closet.

(And I absolutely would love to see more if you decide to continue on this path!)

[diello.livejournal.com]

I have lots of tshirts still, but I love it. It's not about minimalism as much as it is about simply deciding what you love and don't love anymore.
I'll be continuing on the de-cluttering journey next weekend, hopefully :)

[littlemask.livejournal.com]

I never heard of it until your post but I love the idea! I've been wanting to get rid of a lot of my stuff but the task just seemed too daunting but throwing everything in a pile and deciding whether to keep it or not sounds do-able. Thanks for sharing and I'm also looking forward to hearing more. :)

[diello.livejournal.com]

It's kind of like moving, in that the next room is the box, and the one you just emptied is ready for stuff to be brought back in (this week's project is my sewing studio - but I was so astounded by how much I got out of the room that I just don't want to put anything back in (it became a catchall for crap over the years). But now my living room's a stressball of sewing and craft crap, so I HAVE to do something, haha!

[littlemask.livejournal.com]

Lol, yeah, I know what you mean. I started decluttering this week using this method and I have so many empty boxes and totes now! I feel lighter and like there's more air flow. I've been working in the main room but by the time I finish I feel like I'll be able to put all the things I own in the main room and the rest of the house will be so empty! :)

[lolahead.livejournal.com]

Thank you! I've been trying to get on this whole minimalism thing. I cleaned out a ton of books and some clothing, but I need to do more. I will be going through the clothes again and using the *joy* method of sorting.

[diello.livejournal.com]

Books will be hardest for me. I've already cleared out a couple of shelves, but I know there's more I need to do. Then again, from my closet, I did think purses would be hardest (not at all), so maybe books will be a little easier than I think... I hope.