The art of non-dreaded decluttering
January 25th • Posted in Lifestyle
You might remember me (or anyone really) raving about Marie Kondo’s The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up book around this time last year and swearing by the fact that it drastically changed my way of organizing, storing and, in particular, getting rid of things. Well, last year I had a major wardrobe decluttering session I was extremely proud of after reading the book, and felt extremely inspired to see how I’d get on with maintaining my wardrobe a tidy space (which has never really been in it’s entire existence, really).
As with every January, this time of the year I feel very excited about fresh new starts and feel the urge of renewing everything I can see and think of. I was curious to see the results of Marie Kondo’s technique after one entire year, and so started tidying my wardrobe from top to bottom, and… I can now say I have finally discovered the art of non-dreaded decluttering!
Although I’m not sure how healthy it can be to take everything in Marie Kondo’s book too literally, it’s such an interesting read I can’t help but want to suggest to anyone. I’m especially a big fan of her decluttering method, that helped me get rid of so many things I have accumulated over the years and have never been able to decide what to do with them.
Last year the pile of clothes I was finally getting rid of was 3x the pile of what was going back into my wardrobe. Not only it helped me a whole lot with storing things and finding what I was looking for, but I discovered my wardrobe contained things I didn’t even remember I have bought or I was never able to find before… and I used to tidy my closet twice a year, it’s not to say I’ve never tried!
Not only I didn’t need to tidy my closet in Summer last year, but what’s even better, I was amazed by how quick this year’s wardrobe decluttering and tidying ended up being! I went through all my pieces of clothing and discovered only a very very small pile haven’t been useful this past year, which basically means I have used 90% of my closet during the year and I still love and want to wear every single piece that’s in there!
This basically means this January my only tidying task was getting rid of what I have realized I’m not going to use anymore during the year. And then put everything back in there, in order of what I’ll wear and in which season. I also found very inspiring most of Marie Kondo’s techniques of folding and storing clothes, which I’m still sticking to this time!
Half-an-hour later I was already done with my wardrobe and felt so inspired that I decided it was about time to do some serious decluttering in the whole room. I finally have a nicely tidy bookcase, and you know when they say ‘tidy space, tidy mind‘? Well, I don’t know how I was working all these past months when all I could see was a big overcluttered mess right next to me! I was even able to build a little neat tea section (because that makes me happy!) where before there was only space for randomly piling things up between one shelf and another.
Just in case you are curious, I’ve popped a couple more clothes I can’t quite bear the thought of throwing away (because they’re pretty good in conditions) on my Depop page for only a few ££ (everything under £10), just because I believe they should have a second chance and find a new home!
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How about you and your relationship with decluttering and tidying?
