Tidying Up: Day 5

Well one week down and what progress I have made! Today I tackled socks, underwear, bras, and pajamas. I didn't start off so great since someone adorable kept stealing the socks off my bed. He is lucky he is so cute!

When you are reading Marie Kondo's book, there is a whole section on socks. I literally laughed out loud.

 Treat your socks and stockings with respect

Never ever ball up your socks

This should be a time for them to rest

Do you think they can get any rest balled up like that?

Who knew my socks were under so much pressure! I thought being a teacher was stressful, apparently the life of a sock is very tense. Ha! This was one part of the book where I thought she was off her rocker, but once again she proved me wrong. Not because I think my socks need to rest, but because her way of storing socks saved SO much space. I was actually able to fit my socks, bras, and underwear all in one drawer. 

The KONMARI way also says to place light colored items in the front of your drawer and darker colored items in the back. In your closet, it should be heavier items on the left and light items on the right. I have yet to organize my drawers by color, but that could be something I do later on-not an urgent task in this process.

My closet and my drawers are all organized now. Every piece of clothing I own, has a specific place, and I still have room in my closet, and a whole unused drawer in my dresser. What?! I KNOW! 

This weekend's agenda? Shoes, Books, and Papers, oh my!

Bag Count:

Me: Still 6

My Guy: Still 1

Trash Guy: Still 2 ( I jammed a little more into the one from yesterday. No one wants used socks, underwear, or bras donated...yuck!)

Tidying Up: Day 4

So today was supposed to be socks and underwear. I switched it with tomorrow's task because I'm not equipped to organize those drawers with out smaller boxes to place the items in at the moment.  The KONMARI method does not want you to buy any storage organizers, but simply use shoe boxes or boxes you already have to help organize your belongings. Now as an addict of the Container Store and all things Bed Bath and Beyond, I was once again skeptical. But she proved me wrong again! I have organized my drawers so easily just using boxes. I did purchase one clear three compartment bin for $7.99 at TJ Maxx but I will explain that in a second.Sorry KONMARI gods!

Today I decided to tackle accessories: bags, purses, belts, scarves, and bathing suits. I definitely bit off more than I could chew. Today's joy took me over 2 hours! I am very pleased with the results.

On the top shelf I have my purses. I used my last Stitch Fix box to organize my clutches and smaller handbags. I will probably cover it later with cute wrapping paper to make it more appealing, but for right now it works.  I used one clear three slotted bin for slips, tights, and leggings. It fits right on my top shelf. I used to have these items in a drawer. It was chaotic and when I tried to find tights to wear I would inevitably have to pull out everything in the drawer to find them. I think it was $7.99 well spent.

My closet isn't big so I couldn't get everything in the picture, but on the left is all my fall and winter clothes, divided by my sorter in the middle(already owned this item), then on the right is my spring and summer clothes. I use my sorter in the center to lay my clothes out for the week when I'm working. I find it easier for me if I plan out Sunday night what I am going to wear because I am not a morning person. Some people would disagree with me because I usually am one of the first cars in the parking lot at work, but for the first hour I am up, I am not a functioning adult. The sorter worked well for me this past year, but I'm worried I might just start piling things in it. So I may just take it down and use it in our future nursery (still praying). 

Best thing about tidying up so far, the EXTRA space. I have a whole rack in my closet I am not using plus two more shelves at the top of the closet. The KONMARI method states that all of your belongings should be able to fit in the storage you already have, so we will see what next week brings. I may use my top racks for photos and memorabilia. Items that bring me joy that I don't need to see everyday. 

My next huge accomplishment today was tackling my scarves! I love wearing scarves, but ugh storing them is miserable. I bought a scarf organizer, but it only held 12 scarves. Needless to say, it wasn't working for me. I perused online for different ideas and saw one that used something I already owned...FROM COLLEGE! It works perfectly! I can still see every scarf and each one has its own space. How easy will it be to put a scarf away after I wear it? Brilliant!

The dog really likes my old organizer. I'm not going to donate it yet, because maybe it to will have a different purpose.

Total Bag Count:

Me = 6 bags

My Guy = 1 bag (He still promises to catch up)

Trash Guy = 2 bags

Tidying Up: Day 3

Today I tackled dresses, suits, evening wear (not a lot of that going on here), and jackets/coats. Not as much in my pile in this area.

I think the the big brown dog is over this tidying up stuff every day. Just wait until we get to his toys ; )

It seems to be getting easier to decide what brings me joy and what doesn't. In fact , as I am sorting one category, I am noticing things in other categories that definitely don't bring me joy lying around the house. I am fighting the urge to dispose of those items because the KONMARI method says to stick to the category order. I noticed on Monday it took me 2 hours to tidy up my tops, but each day it is getting much quicker. Today and yesterday took less than an hour. This is progress.

After reading her whole book, there are still a few things that I feel she is a little wacky about in her ideas. The whole greeting your house thing when you arrive home, yeah I don't see myself talking to my house, but hey if it works for some people, great! I also don't agree with emptying my purse every night. I guess it would help my purse from getting cluttered. I am not someone that changes her purse every day to match my outfit. Perhaps in Japan they do, or if you have an abundance of money and purses you do, but for me, who locks her purse up in a teacher cabinet all day, not worth the effort.

My guy bailed last night on his joy. It is much easier for me to tidy up when I am not working right now (Ahh, the glamorous life of a teacher). We didn't get home until 8:30 last night, and he didn't have the energy to organize anything. He promises me he will tackle his categories another night. 

Bag Count:

Me: 5

My Guy: 1

Tidying Up: Day 2

So today the KONMARI method suggests moving to bottoms. Once again, I had a plethora.

Not as bad as tops. Look! You can see the big brown dog!

I actually found it harder to get rid of pants, than it was to get rid of tops. I was shocked! Most of my dress pants for teaching are from Ann Taylor Loft, aka teacher clothes mecca. Since battling cancer, my body did not quite bounce back the same way as before, and therefore, pants that used to fit me perfectly, pull in some areas and are looser in others. The pants are so nice, I just hated to part with them. You know, fully lined, cute patterns, etc. It seems the current pants I've bought at Loft, are not made with such care. I can't find a single pair that are lined anymore either.

Two bags and a happier me later, I was finished. I still can't get over how many pairs of jeans I owned. I also chose to store my jeans in a drawer for the first time ever. They all fit, and they all have their own space. No more storing them on the rack at the top of my closet with dividers between each stack. I mean how many times did they have to fall down before I could see it wasn't working. I also still can't get over that I still have all 4 seasons worth of clothes in my closet and drawers with room to spare. Tomorrow we will tackle dresses, suits, and coats.

I know, I still own 11 pairs, but some are boot cut, some are skinny, some are cropped, etc. And don't even get me started about the different colors and washes. 

On a side note, last night when my favorite guy got home, I convinced him to join me in this tidying adventure. We started with his tops, and let me tell you, I wish I had taken a picture, because his stack looked comparable to mine. I will never buy the guy another golf shirt as long as we live. I couldn't believe how many I pulled out of his closet. He just started a new job about two months ago, and is now required to wear a tie everyday. So that played a major decision into weather or not it brought him joy.

One thing we did come to blows on, were shirts that brought him joy, but definitely did not bring me joy. In fact some were over 10 years old, ripped and pilly (Is that a word?), but he still kept them. And don't even get me started on the t shirts that are so old and worn, I could hold them up and see through them. In the end, we came to a compromise, which actually worked well. We had a lot of laughs, and my guy is still stunned at how much space he has now. I couldn't get him to buy into the KONMARI folding methods, but he made HUGE progress.

Bag Count:
Me= 4
My Guy = 1

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.