My KonMari Journey: One Year Later


I can't believe just over a year ago I started 'My KonMari Journey' - it's a surreal feeling, however reading the book 'The Life Changing Magic of Tidying Up' by Marie Kondo and implementing her method in my home has been one of the best things I have done for me, my family and my home . It really has been life-changing! 

When I read the book, I was instantly mesmerised by the 'KonMari Method' and wondered if it would actually work for a sentimental hoarder like myself. I read other blogs and watched videos on YouTube of people who were sharing their own KonMari journey and it inspired me to share mine. And that is exactly what I did and I am really glad because it has inspired so many of you to start your own journey. 

One of my readers asked/requested...


I'd love for you to diarise a "one year on" from each area you cleared and report back with an update, what worked, what you've subsequently got rid of or wished you'd kept or acquired.

I often get asked - 'Do you regret anything you have decluttered?' - and the simple answer is NO. The items I have purged, no longer served a purpose in my home and in my life - so therefore I was happy to thank them and let them go (yes I thanked a few things - if it felt right, I said it). It's amazing how much stuff I actually had to begin with and often thought 'where did it all come from'. I did say in my Introduction post that I was very good at hiding things...and that was evident in the 'before' photos of each category. I was truly blown away at how much stuff I had accumulated or held on to all these years. 


So? How does my home look 'ONE YEAR LATER'...

Let's quickly go through the categories again and see how 'life changing' this method really is...(Remember: the order of the KonMari method is: Clothes, Books, Paper, Komono (Miscellaneous) and finally Sentimental). If you missed any of the posts from 'My KonMari Journey', you can read them all HERE.

Clothes: 

I love clothes, I used to hoard clothes. I kept everything! Since I started the KonMari method, my whole mindset on 'Clothes' has changed a lot, especially in the past year and I never thought I would say that. Read from the beginning: 'My KonMari Journey: Clothes"


One Year Later...
Nowadays, if I don't like something I put it straight in the donate pile. I am also more selective of the clothes I buy, in fact, I hardly ever buy stuff on clearance, just because it's 'on sale' - I have realised that most of the stuff I have bought on clearance - I have discarded. So when I am shopping, I buy things that 'spark joy' when I touch them, even more so, if I try the item on (which I have found I'm doing more of).

Towards the end of last year, I watched The Minimalists documentary 'Minimalism' on Netflix, (which was great), and was inspired by Courtney from Be More with Less - who created 'Project 333' - 'minimalist fashion challenge that invites you to dress with 33 items or less for 3 months'. 

On the first of January 2017, I started my Project 333 journey, selecting only 33 items to wear for 3 months. My wardrobe is less cluttered, and finding something to wear, in the morning, is a breeze because everything I have in my wardrobe & drawers I love and it 'sparks joy'. All that is in my drawers is my underwear, pyjamas and active wear/lounge wear - these items are not included in 'Project 333'. For someone who, less than 5 years ago, could have opened her own op-shop, this is a good reflection on how far I have come in 'keeping life simple' and putting the KonMari method & principles to good use. I'm coming to the end of my first month of Project 333 and so far I am loving this challenge. The only thing I have bought is some new tights, to replace some old ones. 

If you want to know more about Project 333, click HERE.

Books: 


One Year Later...
Since I completed 'My KonMari Journey: Books', the only thing that has changed is that I have added two books to my already small library collection. 

1) 'Spark Joy' by Marie Kondo 
2) 'Be Mindful & Simplify Your Life' by Kate James. 

I absolutely love these two books, and have thoroughly enjoyed reading them over the Summer. I refer to them often when I am looking for guidance or motivation. 

Spark Joy is Marie Kondo's second book, a follow up to 'The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up'. Spark Joy 'is an in-depth, illustrated, room-by-room, guide to decluttering and organising your home' - the KonMari way. I found it very informative as I was nearing the end of my own journey, and as I move into my next series: KonMari With Kids.  I also plan to share how I organise each area of my home later in the year, using Kondo's method & principles. 

Be Mindful & Simplify Your Life is a lovely book with '50 bite-sized tips on how to live a more mindful and stress-free life'. It fully supports my ONE WORD for 2017 too - Balance, which is perfect. (Thanks again Jules for this lovely gift) 

Paper:

Paper! oh Paper! The biggest category of them all (well, Digital Clutter was up there too) and my most viewed post in 'My KonMari Journey' series. I still can't believe I purged 5 x 60L containers worth of paper, and was left with only 3 poly-pocket folders (yes only 3!). Read my full story HERE & HERE



One Year Later...
That system is still going strong...the files are looking a bit fuller with documents I need to keep, however I no longer feel buried in mountains of paper around my home and that is a great feeling. I deal with paper work as soon as it comes into our home. 

We don't get a lot of mail, most of it is sent electronically, so our mail system is pretty simple. Mail is opened in the kitchen - envelope discarded straight away, bills are put on my desk (see below). 

• Junk mail - we have a basket in the lounge where our junk mail goes (I'm actually one of those people who love reading the catalogues). Every Tuesday it is then put out with the rubbish & recycling.

• Bills (snail mail & email) - dates and amount are put on to our family calendar and then once paid, it is filed away with the other important documents. Same thing applies to Electronic bills. They are filed under the folder 'BILLS'. 

• Happy mail - Opened and enjoyed by all x

Having a system like this has prevented the piles from stacking up and our kitchen bench clear of stuff. 

Komono (Miscellaneous):

This category took the longest because it had so many sub-categories. You can read about my Komono journey HERE.

One Year Later...

I am pleased to report that I have kept on top of the Komono items in my home, only replacing things we use regularly, and only buying items that 'spark joy'. If I find something I no longer want, need or sparks joy it's out of my home (either binned or donated).

My parents bought me a cake mixer for Christmas - it was the one thing I really wanted and the fact that it's red, (which matches our kitchen theme) brings me so much joy. I also recently replaced our kettle - both appliances look so good.


- LINEN CUPBOARD - 

One Year Later...
One sub-category that has had a big change would have to be my Linen cupboard. I haven't had my 'click' moment yet but I know I am very close to it, and that makes me happy. I also learnt how to fold a fitted sheet and that for me was a complete game changer in how I organised my Linen cupboard (I even showed my 84 year old Nana - she was very impressed). Up until recently, I had been putting our sheets in the matching pillowcase - which works a treat - now I have the containers to keep my nicely folded sheets in. 



- TEACHER RESOURCES -

One of the categories I added as an extra was 'Teacher Resources' - it was actually a huge one for me, because I had so much stuff I had kept over the years. 

One Year Later...
I have managed to store all of my teacher resources in ONE cupboard in the external office (sorry about the poor quality photo). I don't have my own class, hence why I have my resources at home. I do a bit of relieving throughout the year, so it's nice having a bank of activities to use on those days. I also have a container (not pictured) for my Te Reo Māori resources that I keep inside the house or in my car during the term  (this is my current job) - it's kind of like my portable office. 

I would like to go through the resources again, especially now that I have completed the method and I am getting pretty good at discarding items. I will pass on the resources I don't need to beginning teachers, who are wanting to build a bank of resources for themselves. 


Sentimental:

One Year Later...
No big changes for the sentimental category because the systems I have in place are working really well. Read full Sentimental posts. I have the three boxes for my sentimental keepsakes, cards & letters, and I just add to it when applicable (e.g. I added my Mother's Day cards from the kids, my birthday cards and some of my favourite Christmas cards). I'm really looking forward getting stuck into my kids Sentimental items. 

Photos: I am getting better at deleting the duds before they are transferred to my laptop, and I am keeping on top of the organisation of the photos (and my digital clutter too). I even made my first Photo Book and have a couple in my cart ready to print. 


***ONE LAST THING***
- The Office -

I never shared the before photos of my 'office' - because I was too embarrassed. I didn't want anyone seeing my 'Monica' cupboard (referring to Monica from Friends). However, looking back I wish I did show you, so you could see what I was really dealing with and why I was feeling so overwhelmed and anxious.

Well, today you get to see the BEFORE, DURING and AFTER photos showing the true 'magic' of the KonMari method. 

One of my main reasons for starting this journey:
"I don't plan on moving anytime soon, so there is no reason for me to keep stuff in boxes, and letting it take up valuable space in my home, my life and in my mind!"




This is 'The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up'!

When I started this journey I could barely open the door to my external office and now I can see the floor, about 90% of the floor actually - and it's all thanks to the KonMari method. 

There was stuff everywhere! Before I started my journey, one of the best things I did was go through and sort the items into categories (see 'During' photo). Doing this made it a lot easier than pulling EVERYTHING out. When it came to KonMari'ing a category I would just grab the containers belonging to that particular category and got stuck in... 'Sort by category' not by location'. 

Moving forward, this room is going to be converted into a gym for my partner (bench press and punching bag). I am hoping to hang a curtain of some sort about half a metre, on a beam, in front of my cupboards and bookshelf to separate the two spaces, so they are not exposed, and then it will feel like my partner's space. My job is too keep it like this so my stuff doesn't end up like the before photo, however I pretty positive that's not going to happen. 

The four stacked containers (pictured on the right) contain my kid's Komono and Sentimental items, so they will be taken inside to sort and stored inside too. There will be no sentimental items in this space, mostly work and holiday related items.

***Edited to Add***
For those wondering what happened to my desk? Here it is...

Moving my office desk into our living area was the best decision I made. Everything I need is at my fingertips and every night I make sure it's clean and tidy, ready for the next day. It's nice having my own little space - it makes me feel more productive and the colour 'sparks joy'.

******

What's next?



 "Parents can encourage children to begin the process, but they need to complete 

their 

tidying before working with their kids." 


Now that I have fully completed the KonMari method with my own belongings, I will be starting my new series 'KonMari With Kids' next month (February) - documenting their journey as I go through (with them) the five categories (Clothes, Books, Paper, Komono & Sentimental).

My daughter (Miss B) is 11 years old (turning 12 in March) and my son (Master M) is 2 (turning 3, also in March), so they will be involved in the decision making. 

"Children as young as three years old can decide what gives them joy and the key principle is that each person should be making the decisions for themselves." 

Just like my own journey, I am super excited about my new series 'KonMari With Kids' and I would love for you to follow along in this process, better yet, join us - Subscribe to my Blog, so you don't miss a post. I will also be sharing my Kids journey on my Facebook page, and Instagram, so be sure to follow me there too.


Happy KonMari'ing,
Charlene 


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4 comments

  1. So much awesome! I loved the Minimalist doco too and am totally addicted to the podcast. I'm playing the 30 day minimalism game in February where I get rid of 1 thing on the 1st, 2 things on the 2nd etc. I'm really inspired by your decluttering and I too am looking forward to live more with less. Watch this space!

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    1. How's your minimalism challenge going? If I did, I probably wouldn't have anything left!

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  2. I found your blog through Pinterest, while searching for inspiring "before and after" KonMari examples. Yours is one of many that I found, but has definitely been my favourite to read! Over the past two weeks I have read every one of your KonMari blog posts and I am so inspired! I have already KM'd my clothes and took out seven garbage bags that no longer sparked joy for one reason or another, and am so eager to keep going on this journey! Thank you so, so much for taking the time to post your own journey - I will be referring back to it often :)

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    Replies
    1. Thank you so much Marion! I really appreciate it. Please let me know how you get on with your journey. Email: teacherbytrademotherbynature@gmail.com

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