If you've been living under a rock, perhaps you haven't heard about Marie Kondo. She has a television show on one of the premium channels. Don't ask me which one, because frankly I can't remember.
I've watched several episodes, and have enjoyed them all. She visits a person's house and helps them clean, purge and get organized.
One of the things she does at every house, is have the homeowner put all their clothes on the bed. Her reason is that you should only keep clothes that bring you joy. Hum. The only clothes that really bring me joy are smaller size ones!
I am somewhat ashamed to admit that I have three closets - and they are all full! So, my argument to Jeff that I need something new falls on deaf ears.
A psychiatrist writes in the article says that our minds react to clutter and are more likely to procrastinate about doing some things - like picking out clothes to keep, toss or donate. I'm guilty about owning too many clothes (don't tell Jeff), yet I still crave a new piece of clothing. Maybe, it's a woman's gene thing.
Having a disorganized house, is a constant reminder of things in your house left undone. I can, for sure relate to that. Our house is full. But, some of the things that I enjoy about our house is the memories associated with "this and that".
Ms. Kondo has a magical, or seems to me, an ability to fold some clothes, into neat little squares, so that they fit in a drawer better and everything is visible when you open that drawer. Neat concept, but one I'm not sure I can follow. When my clothes come out of the dryer, I actually do fold some items. Other things, like underwear and socks, just get stuffed any which way into a drawer. Out of sight, out of mind!
She contends, and I know she's right that everything in your house has a "home". Now, people all you have to do, and that may be exhausting, is to return whatever you use back to it's original space.
Books, Ms. Kondo says should only be kept if they bring you joy, and believe you should only have 30 books! Let's see, with that recommendation my "cup" (i.e., books runneth over). With the advent of electronic books, I now don't own many books, and the ones I have, are not new. But, if I've kept a book, there's always a reason why I do, even if I can't remember why saving "x" book is important to me.
I own a Kindle, and have it loaded with all manner of books, which are easy for me to read, thanks to the biggest font available. Having an electronic device for you to read, is nothing like actually holding a book. I know all of you book lovers know what I mean. At the moment, I'm reading two hardback books, and am enjoying every page. When Jeff and I go to an antique store, I always check out the books for sale. I don't want any new books, but old and perhaps battered ones. I like smelling old books. They give out a distinct smell, one that I enjoy very much. I touch these books with reverence, and always wonder who owned this book before me. At the moment, I have four very old books on a shelf in the bedroom. One of those books was written by a "Bassett". I bought the book just because of the author's name! Are these books valuable? I'm betting no, but they are invaluable to me. After all, that's what counts.
Now you would think that after writing about de-cluttering the house, I'd be anxious to get started. One stumbling block is that Jeff and I view our belongings differently. We're back to that Venus and Mars thing!
Just writing about organization and de-cluttering, left me, with the critical need to tend to the papers piling up on my desk. In doing so, I found several, okay a lot, of papers that needed to be either (a) shredded; or (b) filed. Shredding is easy, turn around in my chair and feed the beast. Filing is more difficult. For years, I have kept paid bill receipts. Looking back, I don't know why I did this. If we miss an electric bill, for example, I know that the electric company would be more than happy to send out another.
Here's an example of an organized Kondo way. I can promise you that I have no drawers in our bedroom that look like that. I certainly wish they did, but getting clothes folded neatly is just not my thing!
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