Decluttering your Home

One of my resolutions this year was to do more with less time. With three little ones at home, the mess can get out of control at times when I’m working. Over the holidays I read “The Life Changing Magic of Tidying Up” by Marie Kondo. Now, I have a pretty de-cluttered existence already but things still get messy (think LEGO) and I imagine this book may only appeal to people who are a little crazy to begin with, but she did have some good ideas. While I’m not going to talk to all my possessions and thank them for their service, and I will never ever fold my socks because they need a rest, my favourite suggestion was “Get rid of anything that doesn’t spark joy”. Now some things are obviously never going to spark joy for you (I’m looking at you, toilet bowl cleaner) but after looking at my things with a new eye, I went through what I thought of as my already well organized home and got rid of 22 BAGS of things, mostly books.

• Some ideas that I came away with and applied to making the house look better:
  • Organize groups, not rooms. Start with less emotionally changed things like clothes, then move forward to things like books, and finally tackle mementos. Start with everything in one category and attack it.
• • Respect your things. Everything looks better when you love it and take care of, especially your wardrobe.
• • Keep the things that you love and that bring you joy. Try decorating a spot with a single piece that you treasure. I used to laugh at the idea of decorating bookshelves but they look much better now with some special pieces of art and only the books I love best.
• • Functional spaces like the kitchen or home office can quickly look disastrous. Unfiled paper is postponing decisions. Put things away in their place and then decorate with a few beautiful yet functional pieces. My favourite bunny cookie jar and my Kitchenaid mixer look much nicer on my kitchen counter now that the kids paperwork is taken care of.
• • If you are a bookworm like me, you may hesitate at the idea of getting rid of books. But after I did this, I discovered that getting rid of books that you don’t LOVE make room for new books yet to read that you do.
• • Tupperware bins can get you into a lot of trouble. I went through my storage room when I put away the Christmas ornaments this year and got rid of four huge bins. I whittled my Christmas decor down to 2 boxes and know I need more silver ornaments for next year.
• • Monochromatic white and grey design is great but but too much can be boring. Add balance with single elegant accents of beautiful art and colour that work together. Try to have those accent colours flow from room to room.
• • I know what holes I have. I hate wasting time shopping and now, instead of running in and impulse buying, I  know I need to replace a couple of broken pieces of china, a picture frame, a tea pot, and high heeled winter boots.
• • I still have to tidy. The only way to avoid that would be to get rid of the kids, but I definitely am having to tidy less and I feel like it has given me a bit more peace out of my busy world.
• • Best take away: thinking about what brings you joy and making decisions about basically everything in your home like that, carries over into life. Decisions become easier too. What to read, what to do on the weekend, what work decisions to make, when to say “no, thank you”, and when to say YES!