Marie Kondo and the Life Changing Magic of Tidying Up

I think I've been brainwashed by Marie Kondo! If you haven't heard of her yet, then try watching her Netflix series called Tidying Up With Marie Kondo.  The new series was added this year and I started watching it just as a lark at first. I thought well maybe she has some good tips on how to organize the house? The next thing I know, I'm pulling everything out of my closets and asking if they spark joy! ha!

Marie Kondo is an organizing expert from Japan. Besides the new Netflix series, she has written two books on home organization, has a YouTube channel, and a blog. I think the main reason I like her method of organization is that she approaches tidying in a spiritual way. Before she evens starts cleaning a clients house, she will take a quiet moment to "connect to the house". Kondo sits on the floor in the living room of the clients home and visualizes how that client wants their home to look and feel. While doing this, she is visualizing more than just a tidy home, but also the lifestyle the family wants in the future. From there, she tries to organize the home in such a way as to manifest that vision for them. I think the show did a poor job of explaining what she is doing when she sits on the floor. She explains it better on her website though.  Perhaps it was too spiritual for an American audience? I don't know. The goal of the KonMari method is to end up with a clutter free home that brings joy and prosperity to your family. She wants you to visualize your ideal life and then work on getting there. Anything that doesn't help you to achieve that goal is undeserving of your space and attention. Her approach makes perfect sense to me. Who doesn't want joy and prosperity?

The KonMari method breaks down the tidying into categories rather than rooms. She starts with clothes, then books, then paperwork, then Komono (a.k.a. miscellaneous items) and finally sentimental items. She has each client start with putting all their clothes on the bed. They then go through each item one by one and ask if it sparks joy. All of this is done while envisioning your ideal lifestyle.  Those items that don't spark joy are then thanked for their service and discarded or donated to charity.

She has six basic rules for starting the clean up...

1) Commit yourself to tidying up.

2.) Imagine your ideal lifestyle.

3.) Finish discarding first.

4.) Tidy by category, not by location.

5.) Follow the right order.

6.) Ask yourself if it sparks joy.


I am about the furthest you can get from a minimalist. I don't know if she is intentionally promoting minimalism, but she definitely leans that way. I may not be ready for minimalism just yet, but I do realize that I have way too much stuff. Too many clothes, too many books, too many movies, and definitely too many shoes. My Hubby reminds me of this fact everyday and I can understand why he is frustrated. I like to shop and then I have a hard time letting go of older stuff. Basically, its too much coming in and not enough going out. Those two things combined make for an overcrowded house full of stuff.  Even after this massive closet culling, I still have too many clothes to fit in the closet, so I turned my spare bedroom into a walk in closet instead. I added 2 racks for myself and 2 racks for my Hubby to store his suits and professional shirts on. Hopefully I can get it back down to fitting in the closets eventually, but right now it just won't work. I haven't even gone through the shoes yet...

 


My next biggest category to tackle is books and movies. I've already culled both not that long ago but I'm going to have to be even more ruthless in the new purge. Lets face it, I will never have just one book shelf of books like Kondo suggests, but I think I could part with some books that are just hanging around. The other part of this equation is to purge often to keep the house from getting cluttered again. Wish me luck on the next step!

Happy Solstice and Merry Christmas!

I wanted to wish everyone a Happy Solstice, Blessed Yule, and Merry Christmas and to also say a big thank you to everyone that reads my blog! Thank you for stopping by my little spot on the internet and brightening my day.

I wanted to share a few holiday photos from my house to yours. Seasons Greetings!

 

                          

A Visit From Saint Nicholas

'Twas the night before Christmas, when all through the house
Not a creature was stirring, not even a mouse;
The stockings were hung by the chimney with care,
In hopes that St. Nicholas soon would be there;
The children were nestled all snug in their beds
While visions of sugar-plums danced in their heads;
And mamma in her 'kerchief, and I in my cap,
Had just settled our brains for a long winter's nap,
When out on the lawn there arose such a clatter,
I sprang from my bed to see what was the matter.
Away to the window I flew like a flash,
Tore open the shutters and threw up the sash.
The moon on the breast of the new-fallen snow,
Gave a lustre of midday to objects below,
When what to my wondering eyes did appear,
But a miniature sleigh and eight tiny rein-deer,
With a little old driver so lively and quick,
I knew in a moment he must be St. Nick.
More rapid than eagles his coursers they came,
And he whistled, and shouted, and called them by name:
"Now, Dasher! now, Dancer! now Prancer and Vixen!
On, Comet! on, Cupid! on, Donner and Blitzen!
To the top of the porch! to the top of the wall!
Now dash away! dash away! dash away all!"
As leaves that before the wild hurricane fly,
When they meet with an obstacle, mount to the sky;
So up to the housetop the coursers they flew
With the sleigh full of toys, and St. Nicholas too—
And then, in a twinkling, I heard on the roof
The prancing and pawing of each little hoof.
As I drew in my head, and was turning around,
Down the chimney St. Nicholas came with a bound.
He was dressed all in fur, from his head to his foot,
And his clothes were all tarnished with ashes and soot;
A bundle of toys he had flung on his back,
And he looked like a pedler just opening his pack.
His eyes—how they twinkled! his dimples, how merry!
His cheeks were like roses, his nose like a cherry!
His droll little mouth was drawn up like a bow,
And the beard on his chin was as white as the snow;
The stump of a pipe he held tight in his teeth,
And the smoke, it encircled his head like a wreath;
He had a broad face and a little round belly
That shook when he laughed, like a bowl full of jelly.
He was chubby and plump, a right jolly old elf,
And I laughed when I saw him, in spite of myself;
A wink of his eye and a twist of his head
Soon gave me to know I had nothing to dread;
He spoke not a word, but went straight to his work,
And filled all the stockings; then turned with a jerk,
And laying his finger aside of his nose,
And giving a nod, up the chimney he rose;
He sprang to his sleigh, to his team gave a whistle,
And away they all flew like the down of a thistle.
But I heard him exclaim, ere he drove out of sight—
“Happy Christmas to all, and to all a good night!”

-Clement Clarke Moore

How to plant a Fairy garden!

It's that time of year again! It's time to garden again. It was so hot today but there I was in my big black gardening hat pulling weeds and digging in the dirt. There is just something so satisfying about digging in the dirt with your bare hands! I started with the weeding and had to move around a few flowers and transplant some runaway Bee Balm to some containers in my backyard. 

After all the weeding was finished I sent a message to a good friend who is a gardening expert about what plants I should plant in my tiny front garden and she responded with "why not plant a fairy garden there?" Of course! Why not plant a fairy garden?! And off I went to the local nursery to purchase lots of purple flowers. 

 

Believe it or not, I had this little ceramic cottage and gnome at home already. They were both thrift store finds from a while ago. The cottage reminded me of Hagrid's cottage when I bought it. All I had to add was the flowers. I am really happy about how it turned out. So happy that I think I should plan another fairy garden in the back yard! And wouldn't it be fun to do a haunted fairy house next time? Hmmm...

A Trio of Halloween Quilts

I've been busy sewing lately but it hasn't been velvet dresses for a change! I have been turning back the clock by about 20 years and taking up an old sewing hobby that I left behind in the 90s. Think about that. The last time I made a quilt, Nirvana and Pearl Jam were all over the radio, Buffy was hunting vampires weekly, and Doc Martens were just regular boots. Well, the quilting bug has bit me again and hard this time! 

It all started innocently enough with a few baby quilts for friends and the next thing I knew I was sewing a full size quilt for my entryway bench for spring. I finished this pretty green and black quilt for the entryway that matches a green spring wreath! You see, I have this thing about matching my wreaths to the quilts I make for every season. Now that I've hung the fall wreath over the bench, this quilt has moved to the living room because it's just too pretty to pack away yet.  

The next quilt was made for a halloween swap between bloggers. I absolutely loved how the colours and prints worked together so well in this adorable little quilt. The batting was a little thicker than what I used in the first quilt and gave it a nice tucked look. The teddy bear you see sitting on this quilt is also hand made by me many, many years ago. 

Since I loved how the orange and black quilt looked on the bench I decided to make a traditional halloween quilt for myself also. It is so bright and cheery with all the orange and purple that it brightens up the whole room. Last year I was really into the black and white halloween decorations, but this year I am back to all the traditional colours again. I missed them! 

I haven't quite finished this last quilt but I will by halloween night. In the meantime, Jack Skellington and Cthulhu can enjoy sitting on it. Hehe. 

*meme images from Pinterest. 

Halloween at Home Part 2

Happy Halloween!

Here is part 2 of my Halloween at Home posts for The Curious Professor Z. I saved the best for last! The best part of Halloween day for me is carving the pumpkins and handing out candy to the little ones. I made sure to shop early and get some nice plump pumpkins this year. They are perfect for carving!

I basically wanted a Tim Burton style pumpkin this year. I drew out my design on the pumpkin with a sharpie. 

And started carving! 

I wired up some Grote strobing lights that my hubby had around the house. 

The final step is to clean the sharpie off with some degreaser. 

And here they are all lit up on the porch. 

And here are some treats for after all the Trick or Treaters have gone to bed. Movies and Cupcakes are the perfect ending to the evening. And it wouldn't be Halloween without a screening of John Carpenter's Halloween!