Getting Clean

We all have experienced it before. A time in our lives in which something we have read, something someone said, or a challenge received from a friend or loved one changes the course of ones life. I (Kevin) recently completed “The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up: The Japanese Art of Decluttering and Organizing” by Marie Kondo, after Cassie recommended it to me.

Kondo's story is one of interest. Already as a young child she spent the majority of her "free time" tidying up her family’s home, often to the annoyance of her siblings. One could say that already at the age of six she was pruning herself to become Japan's leading expert in Feng Shui. Now as a middle aged woman she is invited into hundreds of homes each year and asked to lead seminars and conferences. Her focus is simple: "keep only those things that speak to your heart. Then take the plunge and discard all the rest."

I decided I would start small, following Kondo's instructions as they are spelled out in her short guide to enjoying the spaces that we live and work in. I stayed after work one day to implement the steps laid out in the text. I began by taking all the items out of my desk and storage closet. I laid everything out on the floor and began to pick up each item determine whether or not I felt joy in the possessing of the item I was holding. At the end of an hour I was done. My recycling and trash were almost full with things that I did not need and that were not bringing me any sort of joy.

At the writing of this blog, I have now been clutter free and extremely happy in my workspace. Cassie and I are waiting for the right moment to go through the same process in our home. Everything has its place and items are assessed and kept or disposed of as they enter into my workspace. I would highly recommend the text. My wife tells me that it is a very popular book at the moment, that people are talking about it via the modes of communique that people use these days. I borrowed it electronically from the Hennepin County Public Library and read it on an electronic device that my daughter calls a glowing book.

Good luck in tidying up!