If You Read Anything...

...then read this!

Nesting for this bubba has made me want to really transform my home - be it decorating or decluttering. One of my favourite things to do, is to watch inspiring videos on youtube of people cleaning and decluttering. Sounds pretty sad doesn't it...however it really is quite a popular thing these days - just google it. I find watching them gets me in the mood for tackling my home and making it a better place. After watching quite a few videos and reading blog posts on minimalism/decluttering I came across Marie.

Marie Kondo's award winning book The Life Changing Magic of Tidying was a real game changer for me. I'll openly admit I really struggled to put this book down, as I kind of wanted to read and digest it all in one go! As I enjoyed this so much, I thought I'd share a few things that I have learnt from Marie. This may inspire you also to pick up her book and give decluttering a go for yourself.

// Spark Joy
Marie asks you in the book to look at every item you have and to ask yourself a simple question - "Does it spark joy?" When you start your journey you will literally say to yourself "does this spark joy" all the time and you might start to drive yourself mad by quoting it all the time. But I promise you it really does help. Does the item your holding spark joy? Does it make you happy? If the answers are no, then why hold on to them in your home? See ya!

// Categories (Not Rooms)
It's strange when you start this process how much you have in each room and how much of the same things you have scattered around your entire house. Lets take books for example...I had them everywhere! Dinning table, book shelf in living from, in a box, in our office, in our kitchen. You get the gist we had them EVERYWHERE! Marie's idea is instead of tackling the books in just room, bring all the books together in one place (by categories). Then sort through them, store the ones that spark joy in one place - a dedicated space. It makes complete sense because if you sort a room at a time you might have more of the same items in other places and it will feel like an endless task of sorting through the same things. Collect the same items then start.

// Folding Is The Way Forward
When it came to clothes (shoes, accessories, jackets your underwear drawer - all of it) this feels like a huge mountain to climb if you're a clothes hoarder like myself. It feels so satisfying to go through everything asking "do you spark joy?". Sorting complete, Marie has a style of folding clothes which really is just amazing. At first you'll think to yourself I don't like it, I can't do this but keep at it. At first I was skeptical that the folding technic wouldn't last for me, but surprisingly I am still going - see a picture HERE of her technic. It's good for a few reasons; 1) you'll instantly be able to see what you own 2) it saves space and 3) you won't use hangers so much which won't cramp your wardrobe.

// Falling in Love Again
I have found you really start to appreciate the items you have decided to keep and enjoy.  We collect so many things over the years.  We store them with the thought of 'I may need you some day', but realistically you're not really ever going to use those old school books from 1995 you are keeping in the loft.  Why hold on to them?  When you throw out everything you don't like, it shines almost a new light on your belongings that do spark joy.  You'll enjoy them more as they will not be surrounded by clutter.

// Cleaning Will be 'Fun'
Sounds ridiculous to say it, but once you've finished this journey cleaning your home won't seem like a mission impossible task - it will be easier. Everything in your home will have its own 'space'. If you move it from there to use it, you'll put it back there after you've finished using it. You're less likely to become cluttered again. Your habits will change.

That's it!  I hope the five little paragraphs above inspire you to start a minimalism / decluttering journey. Mine is far from over, but Marie has certainly helped me love and enjoy the things I have decided to keep so far. She has changed the way I think... "Do I really need that" is something I say to myself a lot now and I believe this is down to Marie and the journey I've been on. She has truly changed the way my brain thinks.

Are you inspired? Have you read Marie's book? Fancy giving this a go? Well you can purchase Marie's book on amazon HERE.

Enjoy Angela x