The life changing magic of tidying up
If you’ve ever considered doing a deep cleaning process at home to make more space and reorganize your stuff … I frankly recommend you this book: The life changing magic of tidying up. It describes a set of rules on how to classify, organize and discard things. This leads to a profound change that will reach your emotions and inevitably affect your way of thinking. It seems incredible but in reality, our home is a reflection of our inner self. As simple as that.
I’ve always been an organized and orderly person, perhaps it’s because my zodiacal sign virgin, but the fact is that the order for me has always been a symbol of harmony. I remember my sister laughed at me because I ordered my closet by colors and yet for me was just a practical question that saved me time when combining my clothes to get dress. And not being able to get to study or work if I have a table full of dust or papers. I cannot. The chaos distracts me and prevents me to focus and also slows down my rate to find things. And I’m happy every time I the weekend arrives after cleaning and sorting things out at home because space gives me the feeling that “you have all done,”. All you have to do is enjoy the free time!
When I knew I was moving to India, I began to organize my house to get rid of a lot of things that are no longer used. I began with my wardrobe taking out all my clothes, I started to classify what I would keep, that I would take with me, what would sell and what to throw. Then I continued with books and a few days later I read in the blog Mi casa es Feng an article that talked about this book. Then I bought it and I loved seeing that there is someone else with a much more advanced method to organize than mine, hahaha!
The truth is that I could really feel identify with the author of this book but she is a geek of ordering and am not that much. She is a Japanese who has come to be considered one of the 100 most influential people by Time magazine. Her method is simple and effective for tidying your home to the point that the organization changes the way you think and focus your life. It is normal; when you put your house in order you also put your affairs in order. As a result, you can see clearly what you need in your life and what you don’t, what to do and what not to do. A drastic reorganization of the home causes proportionally drastic changes in your lifestyle and perspective.
In feng shui is essential to get rid of all those things that are not used any more because it causes stagnant energy and to enter the new, it is necessary to get rid of the old.
The Konmari method
Finally I explain her method, it’s quite simple and drastic consisting essentially of:
1st Discard things by category:
First clothes, then books, papers later, various objects and finally sentimental memories. The criteria are as follows:
- Take all the elements of a same category, put it all in a bunch, take everything in your hands and ask the following questions to yourself:
- Do I use it? Do I need it? Does it spark joy to me?
- Internally express your gratitude to each piece that you decide to get rid off for services rendered.
The process of evaluating how you feel about things you have, identify those that have served their purpose, express their gratitude and say goodbye to them has to do with examining your inner self, is a kind of rite of passage to a new life. As from now you will preserve only the things you love, your energy and joy will increase.
2nd Sort by categories:
There are only two ways to sort the belongings: by object type and per person. Start with clothing and continues with books, documents and leave the sentimental objects for the end. The method of organization is simple, there are only two rules:
- Save all objects of the same type in one place.
- No disperses storage spaces.
Finally, I leave you with a paragraph of the book that expresses very well one of the reasons why I wanted to get specialized in interior design for wellness:
“A chaotic room is a reflection of a chaotic mind. The act of mess is an instinctive reflex that distracts our attention from the core problem. If you can’t feel relaxed in a clean and tidy room, face your feelings of anxiety. While it could shed light on what actually happens to you. When your room is clean and organized, you have no choice to examine your inner state. You can see any problems you have avoided and you face it. As soon as you begin to organize, you feel compelled to readjust your life.”
* Photos: Dalalba