At the beginning of the year, it seemed that you just couldn’t get away from Marie Kondo. The queen of discarding, organising and tidying up in Japan was suddenly big news over here in the UK. The start of a new year often prompts people to have a clear out and the promotion of her work was perfectly timed.
For us the discovery of the Marie Kondo came just when we needed it though for a different reason. Ours was not a ‘new year clean out’. We had spent 18 months living with a minimum amount of stuff on our travels and when they came to an end, alongside the happiness of seeing certain of our belongings again when we moved into our home…well there was a feeling of despair and of being weighted down by the sheer amount of belongings we had (admittedly we had added vastly to this whilst we were living in Japan). Lease aside, no longer could we just pack up a few things and go somewhere new. This was such an adjustment for us to make and we were not getting the enjoyment out of our belongings that we once did. So when I read about the ways of Marie Kondo in this article about dealing with anxiety and stress in the Guardian, it really struck a cord with us.
I ordered the book, read it the moment it arrived and then started as soon as I could. Though it felt odd sometimes standing there wondering if the object I was holding bought me joy, the more I did it, the easier it became. I was dreading going through my books as these seemed quite a big part of me – even there though I discarded over half of what I had. It is still a work in progress as I am waiting for Phillip to finish going through his stuff so that we can then look jointly at our ornaments and other such belongings. The charity collection has not been booked yet either. I do feel lighter and freer though so can’t wait to see how it feels once we actually do finish the process and what our ‘lighter future’ brings.
First up – clothes. Top left – at the start, bottom left – what was left, right – all for charity!
Top two photos show all my books at the beginning. Bottom left is what is being kept and bottom right is all going to charity
First up – clothes. Top left – at the start, bottom left – what was left, right – all for charity!
The Ramblings of Button Jamboree 