Fannish 50 #35: the KonMari Method

[stonepicnicking_okapi]

So I am a fan of Marie Kondo and her books and her philosophy of tidying. I don't have Netflix so I haven't seen the series but I think she makes a lot of sense and so few self-help/self-improvement people do. My humble opinion is the fact that her ideas are rooted in Buddhism and Shintoism and the idea of having respect for the environment (including inanimate objects) appeals to me.

It's fun to poke fun at the 'does this spark joy?' and I did so in a recent BBC Sherlock drabble. Rage but I like the philosophy and it has helped me to feel better about my environment.

Much more about what I like about it and Step #1 clothes under the cut.


I have done one KonMari campaign a couple of years ago and now I am at the beginning of second. I am planning to do 6 posts, corresponding to six chapters in her book Marie Kondo's Kurashi at Home, which is a bit more philosophical (it encourages you to visualize your idea life and how to keep what you love). It has a lot of photos and they are sort of what I think of as Japanese scenes, still lifes of home objects. Clean and spartan but not without character.

I am going to include some quotes I like from Chapters 1 & 2 of the Kurashi book.

Can your things breathe? [clutter--probably less clutter than most of you--makes me feel claustraphobic]

Everything you own wants to help you. So, think about how you can make the space for each one more comfortable [this goes to be mindful about buying things, which I desperately need, and being respectful of your space which I truly believe can be low-grade stressing you out all the time if it doesn't feel right]

To actually do the decluttering I follow a different Marie Kondo book Spark Joy: The Illustrated Masterclass on the art of organizing and tidyingup because it has diagrams of folding clothes and things like that. It gets very specific, with diagrams, and that's helpful.

So the KonMari tidy process goes: clothes, books, papers, komono (which is other stuff) and sentimental items.

I'm behind but I've done the clothes. You take them all out, hold them up one by one and see if it sparks joy. She is right. The more you do it, the easier it is to figure out what sparks joy. I have a black cardigan that is much loved and if I put my robe (a pretty purple but too small now that I am very fat) beside it, it is obvious that the robe no longer sparks joy. So I thank it and put it in a garbage. I did save the robe belt because I use it for yoga. I actually put on my black wings and black-and-gold bird half-mask and wandered round the house to see if they spark joy and it was fun (and obvious that I want to keep them).

You are supposed to organize by material, which was new to me but really resonates. And if you get rid of something to thank that object. It makes me feel a lot better about getting rid of stuff. Rather than just pitching it. And it reduces guilt about getting rid of gifts which do not spark joy but are the fruit of relationships which are very meaningful.

Mindfulness. It encourages mindfulness.

I believe that when we consciously cherish something precious we deepen our relationship with it, and this in turn deepens our bonds with other things in our lives, bringing out the best in them and in ourselves.

She says to treat your bras like royalty (because they cover your heart!) and now my underwear drawer looks like one of those at Victoria's Secret. No kidding. But here is a shot of the other two drawers.

On y va to books!






Fannish 50 #1: Sherlock Holmes
Fannish 50 #2: Many Fandoms - Fannish Items I Own
Fannish 50 #3: Agatha Christie
Fannish 50 #4: Museums
Fannish 50 #5: Hard Boiled Detectives
Fannish 50 #6: Steampunk
Fannish 50 #7: Facial sheet masks.
Fannish 50 #8: J-hope of BTS
Fannish 50 #9: Collage materials
Fannish 50 #10: Holiday blend coffee
Fannish 50 #11: Inspector Rebus
Fannish 50 #12: Postcards
Fannish 50 #13: Jigsaw Puzzles
Fannish 50 #14: Holmesian Poetry
Fannish 50 #15: Miniature rooms
Fannish 50 #16: Jeeves & Wooster
Fannish 50 #17: The ocean
Fannish 50 #18: Audiobooks
Fannish 50 #19: The Tuesday Murder Club series by Richard Osman
Fannish 50 #20: Chocolate
Fannish 50 #21: BVM
Fannish 50 #22: Bees & honey
Fannish 50 #23: Agust D/SUGA of BTS
Fannish 50 #24: BTS
Fannish 50 #25: Snoopy
Fannish 50:#26: Detective Kosuke Kindaichi by Seishi Yokomizo
Fannish 50 #27: Jimin of BTS
Fannish 50 #28: The language of flowers
Fannish 50 #29: Tea
Fannish 50 #30: Lord Peter Wimsey by Dorothy L. Sayers
Fannish 50 #31: Moon
Fannish 50 #32: Jungkook of BTS
Fannish 50 #33: Tarot
Fannish 50 #34: RM of BTS
Fannish 50 #35: the KonMari Method

Comments

[smallhobbit]

That all sounds very sensible - I need to go through my clothes again, so maybe I should try those principles.

What about my black skirt, which doesn't spark joy, but I might need and wouldn't want to spend money going out to buy a replacement?

[stonepicnicking_okapi]

She covers that. When we do feel torn about something there are three possibilities...[the third is] we need to keep it regardless of whether or not it sparks joy. Included within the third possibilities are contracts, formal outfits and mourning clothes, various items needed for weddings, funerals, and other special occasions [this sounds like your black skirt] ...I have a secret for raising our joy level for things we know we need but that fail to excite us: shower them with praise. Let them know that while they may not inspire joy, you really need them.

so give your skirt a pep talk :)