Hello my Friends!
For those of you who aren’t living in the Midwest, we are currently experiencing one of the craziest ice storms ever! My town is essentially shut down, and the kids have been out of school for approximately 7 days in the past 3 weeks now.
I can’t believe January is already over! This year has brought a lot of positive changes for me. I’ve shared before that my word for 2019 is “FOCUS.” I have been implementing this concept into my life with gusto. January was all about transforming my environment to create more simplicity and of course focus in my life. I don’t know about you, but I am not naturally an organized person. My husband has a place for everything. His keys and wallet go in the same spot every night. I, on the other hand, would prefer to not be restricted by such obligations.
Enter the Kon Mari Method.
I first discovered Marie Kondo in 2017 prior to having Tobias. I read her book the “Life Changing Magic of Tidying Up” and was immediately hooked. I nested and got rid of over 20 bags of stuff that was lying around our house. However, I was still overwhelmed by the thought of having a specific place for every item in my life. My life was very chaotic with 4 children and a baby on the way, and my environment matched that chaos. At that point though, I was honestly just surviving.
Now 18 months later, I have come out of the baby fog enough to be able to identify areas of my life that could use some improvement. As I wrote my goals for 2019, I realized that my environment needed to be more efficient in order for me to reach my other goals.
Conveniently Marie Kondo just recently released a series on Netflix. I don’t know about you, but I am a visual learner and the opportunity to refresh my memory on her organization techniques was so refreshing. This time was different though. I started to evaluate all the items in my home through the lens of gratitude. It was not about getting rid of things just to get rid of them. My perspective shifted to one of practical joy. I started to ask myself and my children, “Does this bring you joy?” If the answer was, “No” then I decided to either trash to donate the item.
Ironically, my children got rid of more items this way then they would have if I had organized their toys for them. This allowed them to keep the items they really enjoy playing with, while also removing “the overwhelm” of keeping their rooms clean. It used to take my boys hours to clean their room. Now it takes them 10 minutes.
I think as Americans we are accustomed to living in excess. Did you know that the global median income is $1,225 a year? The federal poverty level in the United States for one person is 10 times that! We’ve been taught that extra stuff means more value. We are so accustomed to having stuff that we don’t use just lying around. However, I have come to believe that excess stuff leads to excess stress. Simplifying my house has brought a lot of joy to my life! My next goal is to add more routine to my life!
Stay tuned for more!
Shelby