Back in January I started reading the life-changing magic of tidying up by Marie Kondo. I read half of the book in an evening and was so inspired. I immediately threw all the contents of my wardrobe on my bed and began sorting through them, I got rid of so many things! About an hour later, Ruby woke up from her nap, my inspiration and energy lost, I barely managed to stuff my clothes all back in place and placed all of my discarded clothes in the corner of our bedroom. And then had to take the book back to the library. 

Just a few day later, my brother and his wife, Chelsey visited. Chelsey has always been my biggest helper in the world of organizing and making decisions. So, horrified by the pile of clothes in our bedroom, helped me clean sort all of my clothes again. And this time put them away with care. She also helped me declutter, clean, and organize the rest of our bedroom, the bathroom, and our mudroom. Basically, the entire house. Like, you need to hire her. She may be the next Marie Kondo. Thank you, Chelsey. This decluttering made such a big impact on our home. 

The function of our home changed and made keeping our home tidy much easier. However, in these past hectic months, I have barely maintained our house. I'm ready to continue the process of decluttering and simplifying our home in order to make life easier. I'm not at all good with systems or organizing, nor do I like rigid rules, and am not an expert, so I hope to just share my journey of simplifying our home. And to give you some helpful tips from this mama who totally does not have it together.

Yesterday, we made it out in the almost 100 degree heat to visit the library. I picked up the same copy still dog-eared on page 130, along with some Rick Steves' guides to Europe.

I love Kondo's feelings and intuition based solution to decluttering and simplifying. It's different than practical solutions, numbers, capsule wardrobes, or timelines. It comes down to the heart of respecting the items that you love and discarding all the rest. I mean, how simple can it be? Simplifying your home should be simple. 

So, do yourself a favor, rent her book from the library, or buy it off of amazon, and join me, the queen of junk drawers, in simplifying your home. 

I've armed myself with some inspiring words of Marie Kondo, and these are what I'm going to remember as I choose what remains in our home: 

"we should be choosing what to keep, not what we want to get rid of"

"always think in terms of  category, not place"

"discard those that have outlived their purpose"

"what things will bring you joy if you keep them as part of your life?"

"keep things because you love them-- not "just because""

"keep only the things that speak to your heart.
then take the plunge and discard all the rest."

all from Marie Kondo's the life-changing magic of tidying up