The new Netflix show, Tidying Up with Marie Kondo is putting everyone in the decluttering spirit. If you feel like you’re drowning in stuff after the holiday chaos it seems too good to be true. If there was ever a house that can test does the KonMari method really work, it is this one.
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While we lived in our tiny, 2 bedroom apartment we only had some of our possessions. Both my husband and I left quite a bit at our parents’ houses until we could find a house. Fast forward a few years and we move into our new house. Suddenly all of that stuff we lived without made its way here. Tons of it…
Add in a growing family (who have pack-rat tendencies) and we are seriously drowning. After the holidays, we came home with a 1000 new things, at least it feels that way, and now I can’t even get my Christmas tree taken down. No one seemed on board with downsizing our growing possessions.
That’s where Tidying Up with Marie Kondo came in. I put it on immediately and my husband started watching. Having him on board is so exciting and I want to build on the momentum. Since Marie’s show is the catalyst it only seems right to try her method. We’ve bought her book, read it, and are ready to start the process.
The Before
In interest of full transparency, I’m sharing the behind the scenes of how bad it has become. This is probably one of the hardest things I’ve shared with you because it’s scary embarrassing. I promise you, no matter how bad your house looks, it doesn’t hold a candle to ours. Even if we only get rid of a fourth of everything we’ve collected over the years, I will be ecstatic.
Living Room
You can totally tell that this is where we come into the house. It’s a disaster and where all of the Christmas presents got dumped. Some of the boxes are from my mom. She recently switched offices and had a ton of party supplies to get rid of. Since this was right before Christmas, I have yet to go through all of the boxes. (By the way, there are at least 5 more in our basement.)
Dining Room
As you are starting to see, our house isn’t very big. That’s compounded by the stuff sitting everywhere, including in the dining room. The table is relatively clean for family dinners but everywhere else is covered.
Kitchen
Easily the smallest room in the house, outside of the bathrooms, my kitchen is tiny. As such it feels like it is constantly dirty and cluttered. Since I spend so much time in this room, I’d love to see it become a bright and light space I can enjoy cooking in.
Master Bedroom
Our master bedroom used to be a shared room for all of the kids. When we switched it, we never finished clearing out the kids’ old stuff or even their decor. Add in all of the boxes from Christmas shipments and I can’t even maneuver enough to make our bed. It’s an overflowing disaster area that is far from peaceful.
Baby Girl’s Room
My daughter’s room used to be my office and it, too, never got fully cleaned and organized when it became hers. She also adamantly refuses to let go of a lot of things (like the motorcycle rocking horse she hasn’t used in 3 years). Through this process, I hope that she can learn along with me that it’s okay to let things go with love.
Not Pictured:
There are a few areas not pictured. My sons’ shared room doesn’t have much in it. A bunk bed, dresser, and bedside table are all that are in the room at the moment. The biggest area to declutter is on top of their dresser. The bathrooms are also not pictured because they, too, are clean and organized. I guess when everything is getting dumped everywhere else, it’s easy to keep the bathrooms clean.
Lastly, I didn’t include any photos of the basement or garage. Don’t get me wrong, both are complete disasters but getting photos proved difficult. They will be included in our experiment though so don’t worry, you’ll get to see them too.
The Process
Admittedly, when you get to the part in the book when Marie says that 6 months is considered “quickly” finishing the process it is terrifying. That is a daunting proposition. The most important thing is to be committed. This isn’t just cleaning, it is a lifestyle change.
We will follow the steps laid out in The Life Changing Magic of Tidying Up exactly. With so much to undertake, it is good to have a clear road map to follow. This week we start with the clothing. Wish us luck!
I will walk you through every step of our process including before, after, results, and expected/unexpected side effects. At the end of this experiment, you will have a definitive answer to “Does the KonMari method really work” as well as if my family still loves me at the end of it all. Ha! Come back next week to see the first step in our tidying journey.
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