So, 30 days later. If you know me, you know that I NEVER stick to anything. Never. I love Pinterest and I would spend hundreds of dollars to organize something to look like Pinterest. But did it ever stay that way? Nope. NEVER EVER EVER EVER. NEVER!
I have a LOT of work left to do. So far, the bedroom is the only room that I completely emptied and only put back the things I loved. I haven't been able to do that in the other rooms. But, I need to. But, I also need to not have stacks of crap laying around and I have an urgent need to deal with some of the things. So what I've sort of resigned myself to is doing each category and ultimately, each room and get it to a place that is comfortable. And then DO IT AGAIN. Yes, I said "do it again". I am enjoying this SO much that I want to do it again. I seriously just need to weed out the bulk of it and then do it again and carefully evaluate what I have left and see if I REALLY like and use it.
Here is why I've never been able to enjoy my spaces, in all the time and money and tears and years that I've spent trying to make my spaces enjoyable: Because they were filled with things I didn't love. Even when I bought things that I thought I liked or even loved, it still didnt work because of all the stuff I didn't love. The reason the bedroom worked and continues to work is because it still ONLY has in it the items that spark joy. Yes, I still have a stack of stuff that I couldn't get rid of that doesn't spark joy that I don't want to put back into the bedroom and no, I don't yet know what to do with it. Its "Komono". Komono is the Japanese word for "misc". Its just stuff. Komono is going to be MY hardest category. Most people say the pictures or sentimental things are the hardest. And I know that won't be easy. But I know I have so much KOMONO from years of being unable to organize it, that its going to take a lot of sweat and tears and time to sit down and sort the items one by one and really, really focus on why I'm keeping it.
One thing that has helped me through this process is knowing that what I'm discarding can help others. That suit jacket that isn't horribly out of style that I mentioned in the bedroom post....going to help someone find a job. That pink dress...that will make some young lady's day to find that in the thrift store! She is gonna feel so cute in it. 8 bags of other clothing went to an organization nearby that helps families get back on their feet, transitional housing sort of...a place to stay for people who are getting things in order and have a timeline for being self sufficient. These are people who already have jobs, plans. I'm not going to discount those who are really down and out and don't have a plan and are in shelters indefinitely but we know that they can't carry belongings from place to place and yes, fresh clothing and toiletries is going to make a big difference. But being able to give household items like my extra set of pots and pans to a large family who will soon be in their own home and know that it made such a huge difference, that just makes it almost a privilege to get rid of stuff. Of the 8 bags that I took to that organization, several were specifically sorted and marked for a certain family staying there. This family also has a baby and although I had already sorted and stored my cloth diaper stash (for a possible future child or neice/nephew/grandchild), I was able to pull them back down from my already organized closet, select out some that were in good condition to give to the family. The mom had cloth diapered before but its hard to wash cloth diapers in a shelter and so she had sold her diapers to buy groceries. She was SO happy to have some cloth back now that they could wash again!
The other rooms I have done have been the kitchen, in which I DID pull everything out of every cabinet, wash everything down and then selected what to put back. In my opinion, there is still too much stuff in the kitchen but a lot of it is baking stuff and so there isn't really any way around it. I'm thinking once I finish this process and take a look at the space I have available, I will explore some other storage options for cake supplies. I tossed all my half melted spoons and spatulas, bought a little set of metal ones. Weeded out the knife collection and sharpened the ones I was keeping. I've always been a kitchen gadget person so it took some sorting through all that and getting rid of a lot.
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| Before |
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| After |
I also did the master bathroom but am not happy with it. I will say again, it is absolutely the BEST to follow her method of categories instead of rooms. The fact that I gravitate towards doing a room at a time means I haven't broken my old habits and its not working as well for me as it could be. I got rid of over half the stuff in the master bathroom but honestly, because I didn't pull it all out of the room to sort, I didn't get rid of enough and found myself selecting things to get rid of instead of things to keep. But I decided to move on and leave it as is, and when I finish this WHOLE process, I'm going to reward myself with some new makeup, make up that sparks joy, and toss every last bit of the rest.
My wanna be minimalist nature is feeling so much better these days. I spend a lot of time in the bedroom, mostly because Jeremy is working from home quite a bit so Lucy and I go in there to play or watch tv so that daddy can have quiet for work, but also because its a clean, clutter free, comfortable place to be. And I sleep way better!
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