I am not a naturally tidy person. So I have no idea why this Spark Joy phenomenon interested me so much, but it did. Maybe it was because it was all over Pinterest. Or maybe was it the claim that once you sort the house out completely, you’ll never revert back? Either way, I was fairly sceptical, but all the pictures of beautifully folded clothes pushed me to give it a try. And I’m so glad I did!
What is Spark Joy?
In case you’ve been asleep for the last year or two, Marie Kondo wrote the book ‘Spark Joy’. A method which makes it easier to declutter your home, leaving only objects that ‘spark joy’. There are also lots of nice ideas and tips on how to store everything in a way that both looks gorgeous and is easily accessible. Hint: Baskets. (Or in my case, lots of shoe-boxes!) Now that I’ve decluttered, opening up all my drawers and cupboard doors gives me such a sense of satisfaction and it’s so much quicker to find everything too! Here I’m going to give you a run-down of what I did, so you can give it a go yourself!
Let’s Do This!
There are 11 sections. When you start a section, you gather ALL the items together in one pile. Even if you’re certain you’ll keep it, add it to the pile anyway. Next, you pick up each item individually. If it ‘sparks joy’ you keep it. If not, it goes. It’s honestly that simple. But it truly has to make you really happy. Happy-ish doesn’t count! Even if you’re only left with one jumper!
Here are the sections to cover and I’ve included what was part of each section in my house. You can add or take from these lists to suit you!
What next?
You then make sure everything is stored properly. It’s especially important that items belonging to each section are stored together. This is not always possible but it’s a good rule of thumb. Here are a few tips I’ve learned these last few weeks…
- There are lots of YouTube videos of how to fold clothes etc. and even though the folding of socks DEFINITELY takes longer, I do love seeing them when I open the wardrobe!
- Store items standing up, as much as possible, as they take up WAY LESS space.
- I find that I still hang a lot of clothes, as some materials wrinkle easier than others and I am not a fan of ironing! 😉
- I now have a little basket for my daily morning and evening routine. This includes skincare, deodorant and hair products. In the morning, I take everything out of the basket and add them back in as I use them. It makes the mornings a little easier as I’m not reaching into the cupboard several times. Also, I’ll never leave the house without forgetting to out on mascara….anyone else not a morning person!! 😉
- Have a little section in the kitchen of food that is about to expire and add to it as you notice items nearing their best before date. Gathering it all together makes you focus a little bit more on using it up!
- I have a letter box which I’m using as a paper holder for any papers I must keep. At the beginning of every month, I file them away into my paper folder. This is the pink folder you see below. Every scrap of paper I own is in this folder…bills, receipts, insurance, bank…everything. I was amazed at what I didn’t really need to keep! I mean check out the paper transformation below!!!
- Don’t buy storage boxes until you actually know what you need to store. Otherwise you’ll be left with boxes that are the wrong sizes for what you need.
After you Spark Joy…
But what are you going to do with the huge junk pile at the end of all this? I tried to dump as little as I could. Take a look at the picture below. This was everything I gathered that I no longer wanted. But I only threw away two or three bags. The rest were given to charity shops, recycled and I was able to sell a few bits that were valuable. Check out this post for everything you need to know about what to do with items you no longer want or need. I swear, you’ll be shocked by what can be recycled!!
What’s My Verdict?
In case you hadn’t realised, I’m now a big fan! I’ve told everyone I know to start doing it! It has made me so aware of what I buy now. I only buy clothes and items that put a smile on my face…and now I don’t mind spending a little more money on them!
Even though we are smack bang in the middle of our kitchen renovation, the place still feels so organised. It was especially noticeable when we were emptying our kitchen and living room. Everything was already neatly in a box, so we simply had to pick up boxes and bring them upstairs. SOOOOO much easier!!!
Update
I recently bought this fabric shaver/debobbler on Amazon and it has made such a difference to my clothes! There was a few jumpers that I was going to throw out, but now look as good as new! Love it!