Our entire family read The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up long before we told the boys we were moving onto a converted school bus. This was one of the many things we did to slowly prepare them for the changes that were coming to their lives. The boys both wrote opinion pieces on it when we finished as part of their homeschool and it was interesting to see their personalities come out in those paragraphs. Rylee was ready to embrace it all! He was ready to throw out everything he owned. Elijah was skeptical. He pointed out some of the faults he found in her theories. If I’m being honest, I agreed more with Elijah than Rylee.
I thought it was too extreme. Even my decorating style has a sense of business and clutter to it. See photo above. I’ve struggled with clutter my entire life so this person seemed a bit deranged on so many levels. I’m over here embracing all the chaos and things and she is tossing a closet full of her sibling’s stuff without permission. I wanted to be different, but at the same time I recognized that Marie Kondo throwing out her family’s belongings probably pointed to the fact that she was too intense in her efforts. I strive for balance and this book threw up so many red flags for me.
But I couldn’t stop thinking about it. As we began the process of minimizing our belongings, I thought back to that book on a daily basis. Chris and I laughed together one day when we secretly found out that we were both using some of her techniques. While we didn’t embrace every idea she presented in the book, here are some of the things we did take away and use to help make our transition to tiny living easier.
Thanking Things We Threw Away or Donated
The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up says you should thank your items before you get rid of them. We made fun of this concept when we first read about it. Why would I say thank you to a shirt or a purse before sending it off into the world or the city dump? How is that going to help anyone? At first, we did it to be funny. I would decide to get rid of a purse that I only carried once and loudly, so everyone could hear, I would say, “Thank you for bringing me joy when I bought you. You are no longer serving me well.” We would laugh and move on with our day.
One day, 2 yard sales into the process, Chris and I admitted to each other that this thing that was once funny was now a habit for both of us. So, here it is. The moment you have all been waiting for. You knew we had to be crazy if we were going to move into a school bus, right? You’ve just been sitting back, waiting for the other shoe to drop. Our crazy had to eventually rise completely to the surface and be in full view for everyone to see! We talk to our belongings. We have thanked every item we said goodbye to.
By doing so, we realized how many things we kept around out of guilt. We spent money on it and we should use it. We didn’t need those things though. Keeping it in the closet or a drawer would never bring the money back into our lives.
Does is Spark Joy?
After reading the book, I started looking around the house. I examined each item carefully and realized that most of the things that filled our house did not spark joy. These items were filling up space, but they were not filling our hearts with happiness. There was one area in particular that bothered me the most. My entire life, I have struggled with picking up projects and never completing them. Every time I walked through my garage, I was faced with a pile of homeschool items the boys and I never got around to completing or opening. I hated looking at that pile. It made me feel about that I spent money on items we didn’t use. It made me feel bad that we weren’t the people I expected us to be. We weren’t people who sat around putting together models of the planet or using pottery wheels on a weekly basis. We were people who used the pottery wheel once before leaving it in the garage forever.
That pile did not spark joy. You know what did spark joy? Getting rid of it! I felt so free. The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up talks about how good purging feels. This was my first real taste of that joy. It does feel amazing. Once I made a habit of questioning if things brought joy, the process started moving faster. Goodbye clock I have kept on my mantle for years because I spent too much money on you! You do not bring me joy!
Folding Our Clothes
When we read The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up, we already knew we were on our way to skoolie life. We also knew the chances of having space to hang clothes was slim. The idea of folding the majority of our clothes intrigued us, because learning this skill was a necessity. I will admit, I’m not great at this part. I fold them, but I’m pretty sure Marie Kondo would cry if she saw my version of her folds. It just isn’t important to me like it is to her, but I do appreciate the tips. Since I’m not brave enough to show you my poor attempt, here is a video that explains it.
If you have read the book, leave a comment and let me know what you thought. Were you like Rylee, throwing everything away as fast as you could? Were you more like Elijah and myself? Skeptical yet some how still embracing some of her values?
