Tidying Up

Okay so I haven't posted in a REALLY long time. Like 2 years long time! I just haven't been inspired. I've been in a pretty blah period in my life. But recently I read a book and feel inspired again. I read the book:

I have to admit, I was pretty skeptical. I have a very Type A personality, at least at work I do. At home, I become like Type Z. Okay maybe not that extreme, but the need to be organized doesn't seem to be there at home as it does at work. So I decided to download the book to my Kindle and try it. As I read the beginning, I honestly laughed out loud as I was reading. "Ask yourself, Does this item bring you joy?" Seriously?! I should feel joy from say my toaster, my hairspray, or even my socks? I had to keep reading.

As I continued, I was surprised at her methods. To categorize items, and declutter in categories rather than rooms was an interesting concept. She suggests starting with clothes, then books, paper, misc, and then mementos and photos.

The author believes that there is an underlying issue which is keeping any one person from being organized. I know for me at school, I have everything under control. Therefore I can be organized at school without a problem. At home though, since we have been waiting in limbo with this adoption, I have no control. We are waiting to be matched. It has been so hard too, because we keep getting presented to birth mothers but no one has chosen us. It really is hard for us to keep being rejected. Lots of prayers and faith keep us moving along, but it doesn't help me to stay organized.

So I took the plunge! Day 1--Tops! So I took every top I own from sweaters, blouses, gym t shirts, etc. and placed them on my bed to begin the tidying process. Oh my goodness. I couldn't believe the number of tops I had on my bed. I'm embarrassed to show you.

Can you see my poor big brown dog? He is trying to find a spot on the bed.

Hi! My name is Wendy and I am a clothes hoarder. I love to shop, but I rarely get rid of things, OBVIOUSLY!I had all different sizes, spirit wear from every school I've ever taught at, as well as shirts from college including all of my sorority letters. And don't even get me started about the number of cardigans I own. Teacher wardrobe staple, right? Oh my! So I picked up the first top, and tried to decide if it brought me joy. I soon found out this was easier than I thought. The KONMARI way says you should never change your closet out for seasons. You should be able to fit all seasons worth of clothes in your closet at one time. Today I did just that! I got rid of two full trash bags and only had enough tops left to fill only half a rack in my closet.

The after picture doesn't really look like I made a dent, but I really did. I was shocked at how easy, and how good I feel right now. Tomorrow I will tackle bottoms.