Organizing Update

My kind of organizing 

I'm still in the thick of it with my organizing.  It's a sloooowwww process when you have little ones at home.  My progress is completely contingent on nap schedules and how many snacks my children need in a given hour.  (The day they scream "Ma! The Meatloaf!" I'm out.)

I would give anything to have Mr. Carson live with me.  I don't like to let silly terms like "fictional characters" get in the way of my dreams, but this might be one I have to let go.  So instead, I turned to another expert: 

I started reading the incredibly popular book, "The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up" by Marie Kondo. The whole idea behind the book is to surround yourself with only those things that spark joy, and during that process you have to bid the things that don't spark joy a literal farewell.  

It's totally kookoo for cocopuffs, except it's not.  In fact, I find myself nodding as I read and quietly whispering, "Yeesss, That's right." Once I started the process of asking whether or not a particular item sparks joy, I was all "Holy Oprah! I get it!!!"  It's an easy, quick read, too.

Dare I say, I am a Konvert (had to).  I have successfully gone through my closet and while I maybe have 5 outfits now, I can tell you, they all bring me joy AND are really the only things I wear anyway.

I also have 9 bags of perfectly good clothes ready to go to a local thrift shop, which supports a domestic violence shelter. And I've gone through all of my jewelry and delivered a box of pretty things for a formal wear drive for low-income students to go to prom. Nothing about this feels wasteful.  I actually feel bad that all of that stuff sat in my closet, unused for so long.  I always thought I might sell some of the stuff, but ultimately I realized I was just adding another item to my "to-do without the kids" list.  

That line almost made me cry, which is so silly.  But it's so true!  I've read through the entire book once and now am going back to go through the "KonMari" Method, one category at a time. You start with clothes, then books, then papers, miscellany and finally sentimental items.  Her theory is that by the time you get to the sentimental items, you will be a seasoned pro.  I feel like I'm on my way!* 

*Thank goodness because The Container Store is opening down the street from my house, and I swear my credit card jumped out of my wallet and hid trembling in fear.  I can do some damage at a store full of acrylic boxes and good pens.


I'll be back to regular pretty pictures with not a lot of words next week!

Have a lovely weekend!