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