It's Almost Fall! Did you totally slack on spring cleaning?

Did you put off your Spring cleaning? Do you find yourself at the end summer and feeling stuck and overwhelmed by the daunting task of decluttering? You are not alone!  Not to mention, since 'spring' lasts about 3 weeks around here, sometimes the idea of Fall Cleaning is a little more palatable since its much more of a weather change.

If you haven’t seen her yet, take a look at Marie Kondo and her New York Times best-selling book, The Life Changing Magic of Tidying Up. Konmari, as she prefers to be called, has established herself as the leading organizing expert. She’s got some amazing tips to help you get started and tackle

1. Tidy in one shot, as quickly and completely as possible. Tidying should not be a daily event where you do a little every day, but a significant one-time event.

2. Sort by category, not by location. Going to organize your clothes? Grab ALL the clothes in the house, not just a particular room, and put them in a large pile. if you put everything in one pile, then you can visually see just how much you have and it will be that much easier to let go of what isn’t serving you any longer. Same thing with books, toys, and anything else that you need to organize.

3. Sort the things into two piles - the things you need and things you don’t need. Ask yourself, Does it “spark joy”? Pick up an item (physically hold it in your hand), notice how you feel when you touch the item - when you pick up something that sparks joy, your body naturally straightens itself and you want to pull it into you; when you pick up something that no longer serves you, you will notice your body becomes sluggish and heavy. If it sparks joy, keep it!

4. Order of tidying: Clothes, Books, Documents, Miscellaneous, Mementos - this order helps build your “joy sparking detector” muscle in a meaningful way.

I read her book earlier this year and while I didn't complete everything, I did get through my clothing and holy cow, I hauled out several large trash bags of stuff I decided didn't spark joy.  My closet is significantly slimmer now.  Though it goes against the message of the book, even if you take on just a chunk of your belongings you'll be amazed at the progress you can make.

What to see more? Check out Marie Kondo on YouTube and Google and find her book.

Here’s a great presentation by Kondo

Her book on good ol'Amazon: The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up