Spring seems to give people the motivation to get rid of the old and bring in the new. With messages of spring cleaning and detoxifying your life, it seems like everyone is trying to better themselves. In light of this self-care season, I decided to tackle my mild hoarding problem.
I, somehow, always end up collecting small ‘momentos’ here and there. Or, I feel the compulsive need to buy every single thing from the dollar section at Target. After a while, these items tend to add up, and I’m left with a pile of stuff I don’t need in the tiny box I live in.
So I did what I had to do to: seek motivation and advice. I turned to the queen of organization, Marie Kondo. For those of you unfamiliar with Marie Kondo, she’s a Japanese organizing consultant and author of the famous book, The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up: The Japanese Art of Decluttering and Organizing. She also has a television show on Netflix called Tidying up with Marie Kondo, in which she helps people escape from their clutter. The show is based on what she talks about in her book.
I watched the first season and learned a few helpful things along the way. For starters, Marie Kondo is all about ‘what sparks joy,’ a concept I’ve found to be hard over the years because to me, everything sparks joy. However, to better myself, I put this notion to the test and discovered there’s a lot of junk that collects over time and it’s better to get rid of it. Another tip is how Marie Kondo folds her clothes. It’s different than what you would normally see in a store, and it’s as if the clothes are folded over twice. This creates more room for other clothes without the possibility of jamming things into your drawers. She also suggests that you buy boxes to place items neatly and appropriately, based on the type of item. Lastly, my favorite thing that Marie Kondo teaches in her series is that we should always thank our items for what they gave us and be grateful for our things. She tries to teach gratitude and love with everything she does, which is why I think she has impacted so many people’s lives.
At the end of the day, I may not be the most organized, put together person in the world. However, with a little help from Marie Kondo, I think it’s possible to have my life a bit more together and if I can do it, so can you.