Okay, it is confession time…I know I am not alone here…I always have clutter around me. I reach a point where I clean and organize and declutter, but it is just a matter of time before the art projects take over my living room, the books I am reading pile up, the clothes are on the floor or in the drier and the dishes are in the sink. The amount of “stuff” I have is not over whelming, because I used to move every year, which took care of some of the excess. I did some major decluttering, donating and trashing in December. I have been working on my focus and direction in life, as well as, keeping the positive energy flowing in my life.
My progress this year has been slow forward movement, which is good, but I have been feeling a bit stuck. So just like when a truck gets stuck in the mud or sand you need to either back up and add something to get traction. For my work life I have been reading books on improving morale and positive leadership, which lead me to finding the book “Spark Joy, an illustrated master class on the art of organizing and tidying up” by Marie Kondo. This sparked my interest because it hit all happy buttons: joy, organizing, art, beauty and learning a new way of looking at something.
Marie teaches in a very specific way of decluttering based on keeping ONLY the things that spark joy when you see or touch them. She also teaches how to store the things you keep in a way where it shows them respect, and energizes the space. She discusses that a result of her teachings, based on feedback and experience, you will never not be a tidy person again. Also, she has seen peoples lives change: after the class they enjoyed cooking, or their relationships improved, they made major decisions that they where not previously ready to make.
I look at it as when your home is cluttered your mind is cluttered. The idea of being surrounded only by things that spark joy, everything having a place and showing your things respect you end up respecting yourself and any problems are easier to address.
I am embarking on this journey of “Spark Joy” today. The first things she wants is for me to describe my dream living space and take pictures of my home as it is now so I can see the difference. I know that I will be getting rid of many more things, but I thought this time I would try something that Adam Crockett in Passion In Action: Pure Steam RPG mentioned during his interview. I am going to take the things I am getting rid of and going to post them on Craigslist for trade. I want to see if I can trade them for things that do bring me joy.
I will follow up with the Before and after photo’s, pictures of the stuff I am trading and of what I get in return. I think it will be interesting to see if I will be forever tidy and have some new joyful items in my home.
Brenda the Brave 