The Life Changing Magic of Tidying Up Published by Ten Speed Press
On October 14th, 2014
Genre: Non-Fiction
Pages: 207
Format: Hardcover
Source: purchased
Visit Goodreads
Buy the Book from IndieBound
Buy the Book from Amazon
Since purchasing The Life Changing Magic of Tidying Up, I’ve been digesting bite-sized pieces in preparation for a giant overhaul. Part of my hesitancy in diving into the KonMari concept was that we were moving and renovating our little cabin in the woods. We are still renovating, so I’ve been mindful of everything I’ve put into the cabin. My sweetheart; however, has not bought completely into the Kondo method – he’s pretty much the king of pack rats!
Recently, my oldest, Erica, turned me onto the capsule wardrobe, which goes hand-in-hand with the Kondo method. If you’re thinking {like I did} that a capsule wardrobe is similar to a time capsule you’d only be marginally correct. Caroline at unfancy.com developed a whole blog around her capsule wardrobe and included handy dandy worksheets for those of us new to the concept.
If you haven’t heard of Marie Kondo’s method of clearing out and cleaning up and if you’re in the market for changing your life, then you need to pick up this tiny book that packs a powerful punch!
If you’re in the market for a life-change, pick up this tiny book that packs a powerful punch!From Japan, Marie Kondo’s claim to fame is helping individuals organize their homes, clear out clutter and ultimately become more productive.
I’ve culled, de-cluttered and donated virtually my whole life it seems, and still, I have allowed the clutter to build up time and time again. Thinking back to when my kids were much younger and all at home, we would go through cycles of de-cluttering and donating their toys and my books and having just about a day of a blissfully clean and clutter-free home.
In The Life Changing Magic of Tidying Up Kondo has developed a specific method to organization and de-clutter that has worked so well for herself and her clients that she can boast to NO client ever falling off the proverbial wagon. Wow! That is what I call an incredible success.
In her book, Kondo goes into a bit of history of how she came up with her clutter-free method. It’s interesting to read how alike yet also how different the Japanese culture is from American. One of the similarities is how we all find ourselves bogged down with clutter and “stuff” I daresay this has become a universal problem the world over.
With all that said, in my circular Southern manner I promise I’m getting to the point!
My daughters and I have challenged each other to develop our own capsule wardrobes and create a bit of breathing room into our lives.
Using the un-fancy.net worksheet and the following questions from Kondo’s book, I have started creating my Spring/Summer capsule wardrobe! I’m saying Spring/Summer because if you’re at all familiar with Georgia you’ll recall that come about May the temperature is hot and by July it is suffocatingly hot and muggy and stays that way through October. So rather than creating a 3-month wardrobe, it made more sense for mine to cover about 6 months or May – October.
In the chapter ‘Tidying by Category Works Like Magic’ we learn to begin with our clothes in the KonMari method; starting with shirts. Laying out all of our shirts on the floor and then picking each one up individually and asking the question “does this spark joy?” If it does, keep it. If not, dispose of it. This is not only the simplest but also the most accurate yardstick by which to judge.”
How does this actually translate into the idea of a capsule wardrobe?
I’ve planned out 46 items that I need in my closet. Now, once I’ve selected those 46 items out of my current clothes and purchased any items that I’m missing, then I’m on a clothes-spending freeze for the next 6 months. I won’t need to shop for clothes because I will have a good number of outfits already planned out. It’s a bit of work on the outset, but I really think having these outfits figured out will save me time in the long run and be so incredibly liberating.
Below is the list of items I decided I would need for the next 6 months. I’m going ‘shopping’ in my closet this week and packing up what I want to go through for my Fall/Winter wardrobe and donating the rest. This way, I will only have 46 items on display in my closet. I also plan to take some photos of outfits I’ve got on hand and tape to the inside of my closet; thus the effortless/easy part of my wardrobe!
My Go To Pieces:
- 1 boot leg jean
- 3 capris {jean, khaki, white}
- 3 shorts {jean, khaki, white}
- 2 sundresses
- 2 shift dresses
- 10 shoes
- 2 bathing suits
- 2 cover ups
- 10 shirts
- 2 lightweight jackets {jean & ?}
- 2 purses {red small one + tote}
- 3 workout pants/shorts
- 4 workout tops
46 total pieces!
I’ve always been a shirt and jeans and, even more recently, a yoga pants and tank top kind-of-gal, but in this year of living deliberately and adjusting to being an empty nester + young grandmother + I can’t raid my daughters’ closets anymore, it’s probably time I get deliberate in an effortless, comfortable style that is ‘me’ instead of always wearing the latest thrift store find. {whew! what a long run-on sentence! forgive my lack of grammar!} Also, according to Marie Kondo “If sweatpants are your everyday attire, you’ll end up looking like you belong in them, which is not very attractive. What you wear in the house does impact your self-image.”
This time next weekend I’ll have some images for you. If you’d like to follow my process of cleaning, clearing, and organizing follow me on Instagram or Facebook. I’d love to know if you’ve ever considered a capsule wardrobe or if you’ve got one currently {my daughters and I can use all the tips we can get!}
and if you haven’t picked up Marie Kondo’s book, it’s an education in Japanese culture, organization and a darn good resource to have on hand if you’re tidying up your home, closets or life.
"SUBSCRIBE TO THE BLOG" Receive an update straight to your inbox every time I publish a new article. Your email address will never be shared
