Clothes

Rules for Clothing

As KonMari told me, I started with my clothes. I definitely think this is one of the easiest categories personally because I don't feel much of an attachment to my clothing.

Luckily I wasn't expecting our little bubs when I did my clothing because that would have made it a lot harder to try and figure out what to throw out and give away!

As instructed, I got out all my clothes and related items from the wardrobes, drawers and other places (other than dirty laundry) and put them all onto the floor and my bed. Seeing all of them out at once was a bit of a shock - I didn't think I had this many clothes and accessories.

"If it doesn't make you feel fabulous don't buy it, don't wear it, don't keep it"

It Begins

The first things to go where the items that didn't fit me anymore. I had to stop thinking 'one day this will fit me again' or 'I can always take this in to fit me'. Next was items that needed repairing or buttons replaced - as instructed I realised if I hadn't found the time to fix it immediately it obviously didn't mean that much to me so why was I holding on to it?

Items that were damaged or worn out went straight to the bin and items that were in good condition for donation were put into a bag to take to the charity bins. I have kept aside a few items that I would like to try to sell as I believe someone would be willing to pay a heavily discounted amount for the ones that still have tags on them! If I was hesitant with something - like if I wanted to get rid of it but something was telling me not to for some reason or another - I decided to hold on to it for now. When it came time to put all the clothes I decided to keep away I was usually sure about these items by then and either kept or got rid of them.

After my first clothing de-clutter I had two bags for the bin and one for charity. I repeated this de-clutter a few weeks later (still wasn't pregnant) and got rid of another 2 bags - one for the bin and one for charity - mostly handbags and shoes the second time around as it was easier to say goodbye to these items once I knew I didn't regret getting rid of a single item the first time around. I refrained from trying to sort through my partner clothing - or more accurately - I refrained from nagging him to sort through his clothing, but I did so something a little sneaky!

My Partner's Clothes

I moved all his frequently worn stuff to the left side of the wardrobe so the stuff he wore infrequently (or never) was in the middle and harder to see when you open the door. After a few weeks I pointed this out to him and he actually stated he didn't go past a certain point to look for his clothes because they all seemed to be within sight when he opened the door. I think this helped as only a few weeks after this he decided he wanted to get rid of some of his clothing and accessories and ended up with four bags of his own for charity and the bin! I was so pleased that he decided to do this on his own and our wardrobe actually has some space now!

(Source) - By the way, I don't really recommend the source providing this image as some of the organisational tips don't address the clutter you need to rid yourself of - as per the KonMari method! But it might be helpful once you have completely de-cluttered to use their storage tips.

Something else KonMari talks about is not storing seasonal clothes separately. I had been someone who did store seasonal clothes and did the whole change-over every few months but after moving to Melbourne this was a bit harder to manage - its famous for 4 seasons in 1 day!

KonMari believes that if you have de-cluttered well you shouldn't need to store seasonal clothing and waste time and energy doing the changeover a couple of times a year - I couldn't agree more. I was finding I'd have to wash these items as they sometimes smelt a bit 'dusty' and would inevitably find things that didn't fit or that I didn't want anymore!

Folding and Storing

This was the part I was looking forward to the most - the folding, rolling and pretty, organised storage of my clothes and accessories. KonMari describes how to fold items so they can stand up on their own and how they are 'filed' in your drawers to make them easier to see and access.

In her second book "Spark Joy" there are illustrations of how to fold and organise clothing and its like a picture book for adults! My drawers have been completely transformed now that my clothes are filed, my underwear is rolled, my socks are folded and even bulky jumpers stack nicely. I even made enough room for my partner to use half of one of my drawers (which would have been impossible before starting my de-clutter) for his cycling clothes. 

Great / Cute Source Here for Folding Guides

I plan on carrying this style of folding and filing into bubs rooms with their clothes but I'm still in the process of washing them all and haven't started putting them away yet - although I've never been so excited to do so!

So What Now?

As I'm currently in maternity clothing (only 8 weeks to go!!) and then I'll be moving into nursing tops I haven't thrown anything anyways since falling pregnant unless it was damaged or I really knew I wouldn't want it. I will need to store my work uniform while on maternity leave as this does currently take up a bit of room in my wardrobe - and I don't like the feeling I get when I look at it (you can say that I'm now counting down the days to finish at my current workplace). If I return to this workplace I will put my uniform back into my wardrobe.

As I will also be moving to a baby bag (I have a gorgeous Kate Hill bag!) there are some handbags that are damaged/faded/worn out that I know I will get rid of once baby arrives. These are the bags that I use for work as they need to be big enough to carry all the essentials during my commute but I know I won't really need or want them - and when I return to work I would like to do so with a handbag this isn't damaged or worn out!

My partner has also given me 'permission' to organise his clothes once we purchase a chest of drawers to share. Currently my drawers are only big enough to hold my clothes but have been in need of an upgrade for some time. I plan to set aside some time with him so he can help me organise his clothing to suit his preferences and flow.

xx Emily

Social Media Clean Up

Something I've found easy to do in between everything else in life is to clean up my social media when I get a few spare minutes (and remember to do so!).

When my partner and I were ready to announce our pregnancy on Social Media (like Facebook and Instagram) I first wanted to check who I was friends with and who was following me as I felt this kind of news really should be reserved for those people we wanted to know.

I removed quite a few people from Facebook - mostly those 'friends' who I have little contact with other than seeing their status updates on Facebook and who I felt I didn't really need to have anymore. Thankfully I never had accepted requests from strangers so my friends list wasn't very big.

On Instagram I changed my profile to private first and then by going into my "Following" list I could remove followers whom I didn't know or felt it was their time to go. I'e also been un-following accounts that I am a bit bored with - why would I want to keep seeing things that don't interest me or things that 'Spark Joy' in KonMari's words?

As I have an Instagram account that I sell handmade crochet and knit items from, I put a note in my private profile for businesses to follow this account instead of requesting to follow my private one. I also follow businesses from my business account instead of my private one too - keeping the two quite separate.

It's @chunkystitches --- if you are interested!

Not once did I feel bad for removing people from my Social Media - it actually felt good. It felt like I had more control over my online-life and didn't have to remember who I was 'friends' with or who was 'following' me so I didn't have to second guess or censor any of my posts.

Emails - Not Drowning In!

I know I'm not the only one who has signed up for every. single. website. mailing. list. EVER. But I also open, delete or store every email that I receive constantly throughout the day.

Gmail has answered my organisational prayers and has this really nice feature where your emails can be sorted into separate inboxes like Primary, Social,  Promotions and Updates. 

Yay Gmail - you have OCD too?

I have the Gmail widget on my phone screen set to my Primary inbox so I only see the important emails pop up in this widget and then have the option to check the other inboxes also. As soon as I open an email I decide what to do with it - I delete it, I save it in same inbox for now or I move it to a folder I have made for storage/reference at a later date.

I can receive 40+ emails per day yet whenever I go to bed my inbox has no unread messages.

Unsubscribe - Just Do It! 
More recently I've started unsubscribing from services the minute I open the email. If I regularly delete the emails immediately or feel I no longer want to receive these I make sure I unsubscribe - it saves all that time and energy spent deleting emails later. And I can tell you that I have not missed a single one of those emails that I unsubscribed from. I don't care about sales or cheap holidays (that might sound weird but honestly I'm not currently interested in going on a holiday). 

I have decided this was 'Inspired by KonMari ' because it has definitely felt like I've de-cluttered and tidied an aspect of my life - you could even say it was one of my Komono categories!

Freedom

Now that I've got fewer 'Facebook friends' and I'm following fewer Instagram accounts and have less emails to sift through I don't spend as much time online trying to keep up with everyone. I've never been someone overly attached to my phone but I'm realising more and more how much being online dominates our lifestyles these days and I didn't want that to be where all my spare time went.

Source

I still need to do my technology clean up, like sorting through all my saved photos and files on my laptop and backed up to my Google Drive and I'm hoping to get started once I'm on maternity leave.

xx Emily

I Found KonMari

Hey everyone, how have you been? 

Currently I'm struggling with back pain and lack of sleep and headaches 

but that is the joy of bringing babies into the world and I couldn't be happier.

So, onto finding "The Life Changing Magic of Tidying Up" by Marie Kondo (KonMari) and what I've learnt from reading this book.

One of the first things KonMari talks about how you need to know how to tidy. In my mind, I knew how to tidy - every weekend (or other weekend, if I'm honest) I (and my partner) would do a big clean up of the house. This included dishes that had built up, vacuuming (so much cat hair!), sometimes we'd mop the tiles, sometimes we'd mow the lawn, rarely I'd pick the weeds and every single weekend was my chance to catch up on washing - but not putting away the washing as it would usually sit in baskets for a few days (or weeks, lets be honest again) until we put it away or I needed the baskets!

But, KonMari made me realise that tidying and cleaning are different. What I described above is cleaning! Tidying is something that needs to be learnt and when you have less clutter, this becomes easier and less strenuous. I found that one of my main struggles was finding a home for things so they could actually be put away. Our dining table tends to be the dumping place for everything that doesn't have a specific home and I can't remember the last time we actually ate a meal at the table, which makes me wonder what is the point in having a dining table?

Discard First

KonMari's method states you must discard first. At first this was hard for me to grasp because I like to finish one thing before starting another (except when it comes to knitting and crochet projects!). I thought I'd be happier sorting one room, finishing it off with appropriate storage solutions to fit the room and then I can move on to the next. But, discarding room by room isn't even how its done!

Sort by Category

Not by room! What! Serious! What do you mean that there might be items within the same category in multiple rooms? I have a bookshelf for books and magazines, I have a wardrobe for clothes (well 2 wardrobes) and bathroom cupboards hold beauty and hair supplies. But once again, KonMari knows her stuff. I would take coats and scarves off in living area, hang beanies in wardrobe and behind the door and had clothes in wardrobes, drawers, under the bed and in storage bags. I had books in the bookcase in the living area, in our bedroom and even in the kitchen. By sorting by category, you ensure you don't miss things and you can truly see how much you have accumulated.

Follow the Tidying Order

KonMari has put a lot of thought into the order in which you tidy your home because she has been doing this for a long time and takes on the feedback from her clients. A little Pinterest inspiration is due here:

Source

Storage

Every item must have a designated place - it will feel like it belongs and you will always know where to return it when you have finished using or admiring the item. Storage should be simple and fit in with your decor for you to truly enjoy your storage and de-cluttering efforts. I love that KonMari also points out "storage experts are hoarders". 

You do not need a million different storage solutions when you have de-cluttered your home because you won't have that must stuff to store. You can organise your clutter over and over again or have less stuff or organise and you'll find you'll have less mess and less time will be spent tidying your home.

This means more time can be spent doing things that you truly enjoy and make you happy - things that you believe are worth your precious time and energy! How can that not sound like a great way to live your life!?

xx Emily

I Needed Help

I had heard of Marie Kondo's book "The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up"

and the KonMari method quite some time ago but never really

showed much interest in it until late last year.

I have struggled with anxiety and bouts of severe depression first diagnosed when I

was 13 years old. I know, even I thought I was too young to be diagnosed

with something so serious and severe but its been almost 15 years since and

I couldn't agree more with these diagnoses.

I'm always learning coping methods and how to identify triggers and how my mind works and

late last year I came to the realisation that my mind felt cluttered and my body felt

stressed when I felt like our home was a mess.

I always felt better, calmer and clearer in a cleaner

home but I am definitely not someone who needs the house to be sparkling - it was more

that I wanted things to have their place where I could put them away

when they weren't needed and I knew where they were.

Of course, this isn't the only method I use to cope with my anxiety and low moods -

having a clean house doesn't mean I'm not anxious or depressed -

but I have found it helps my mind and I'm going to continue doing things that I find useful!

"Clutter is not just physical stuff - it's old ideas and

toxic relationships. Its bad and unhealthy habits that hold 

you back from finding your true self"

I had also felt for quite a while that we had way too much stuff for our small little unit and we couldn't afford to

move somewhere bigger so we needed to de-clutter.

The constant state of things not being put away, or what I describe as a messy house

was also starting to cause tension between my partner and I.

While we both work full time, he often does 10+ extra hours a week to help

provide for us to live a little more comfortably. It had been a struggle for me to change my thinking

from - 'he needs to be home more to help me around the house and take care of chores' and 'he never

does anything at home' - to thinking - 'he loves his job (unlike me) and is doing so many

extra hours to help us out in his own way'. He is exhausted when he gets home so doesn't he deserve

time to wind down from his very laborious work too?!

I help our team by cooking dinners, baking treats, mending and washing his clothes

and he helps our team by providing financially - but he does help around the house too!

It wasn't a step-by-step process - the need to de-clutter - finding KonMari - de-cluttering the house, but kind of fell into place.

I borrowed her first book electronically from my local library, started reading and it didn't take long to feel like this way-of-life was going to help me immensely. While KonMari doesn't promote Minimalism specifically - a lot of the lifestyle changes and 'guidelines' are similar and this is how I was led into Minimalism. Pinterest has also been a massive help too.

So just after Christmas 2016 I decided it was time to listen to KonMari's advice and

try to de-clutter and tidy our home.

In my next post, I will briefly outline the KonMari method guidelines in my own words, and then we can move on to how I've started by tidying journey.

In the meantime, if you are interested or feeling inspired, look into

"The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up" and the

KonMari method - you might find it helpful too.

xx Emily