Shoes, scarves, make-up and accessories … how much does a gal really need? See how I’m #SparkingJoy with a lot of decluttering and a bit of organization!

Welcome back to week three of our {Sparking Joy} series!

I’m totally and completely over the moon excited to be teaming up with this amazing group of bloggers to bring you …

A Journey to Sparking Joy with:

Anderson & Grant
Making it in the Mountains
DIY Passion
Dwelling in Happiness
Zevy Joy
Cupcakes & Crinoline
Lost in the Found
The Happy Housie

 

Turns out the real magic to tidying up doesn’t come from clever storage ideas or organizing tricks, it all starts with the act of decluttering. Makes sense. The less you have to keep organized, the less work it will be to keep it all in it’s place.

Easier said than done.

Following the principles outlined in the life-changing magic of tidying up, we’ll be working our way through the entire house to get rid of anything and everything that doesn’t spark joy. The ultimate goal of course is to simplify our life. Follow along as we share our journey to declutter … who knows, maybe it will even inspire you to start one of your own too!

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*This post contains affiliate links. For more information, please see my disclosure policy.*
 

My journey to {sparking joy} so far:

Week One: How Decluttering can Change your Life
Week Two: Decluttering the Closet

Have I mentioned how much this book has hit home for me? How life changing I think this experience really will be?

Honestly, just decluttering my clothing, filling my closet only with things that {spark joy} has been SUCH a game changer. Not only has it simplified our mornings, but it’s amazing how much that visual clutter can weigh down your spirit!

And now my friends, we’re onto Week Three and I couldn’t be more excited! This week was sort of a continuation of last week as we worked our way through our accessories and toiletries. It actually turned out to be one of those weeks where I definitely got rid of much more than I kept – and let me tell you, it felt SO good to see it all go!

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So. first let’s chat accessories, shall we?

Somehow, I had ended up with jewelry scattered in several spots around our bedroom, almost all of which hadn’t actually been worn in years, if ever.

Necklaces hanging around my mirror…

 

Earrings (and hair ties and tons of other junk) collected in this pretty little dish…

 

and spread all over the top of and even tucked inside of our dresser organizer…

 

I even had a few pieces tucked into my make-up bag from our vacation this Summer (in July!).

And, on top of it all, I had collected an entire bag of empty jewelry boxes (you know, the ones every pretty piece comes in), which has been camping out in the top of my closet for years – honestly, why on earth did I bother saving those?

Considering I’m not much of a jewelry person, I found it quite easy to pass most of these pieces on to someone who might actually put them to use. There were a few special things that I couldn’t bear to get rid of – a necklace my Dad had given me when I was a little girl, a ring from Brady that goes all the way back to high school – but, they didn’t take up much room at all tucked into a little jewelry pouch that I popped into a little memory box full of all sorts of treasures I can’t bring myself to get rid of. I feel no guilt about this at all (thank goodness Ms. Kondo wasn’t standing beside me as I did this!) – after all, it’s just an itsy-bitsy little box (about the size of a shoe box) that holds SO much sentimental value inside of it. There must be at least some room in our life for sentiment, am I right? Plus, it most definitely sparks joy!

I hung a few of my favourite necklaces on my new DIY Barn Wood Jewelry Hanger!

 

And the few pairs of earrings settled nicely into this sweet little dish that I picked up at IKEA!

 

Well, that took care of the jewelry!

But, I still had more than a few scarves to sort through, which had also inexplicably ended up in several spots around the house (seriously, how does that happen?!). Some I kept in a basket on a shelf in my closet and some just draped haphazardly over the rod. Still more hanging on a pretty little scarf hanger in the closet by our front door ready to throw on as I’m heading out. I pared this down to several favourites and then, I pared it down some more. I love scarves and living in northern Alberta, I must say I have a lot of opportunity to put them to work keeping me warm, but once I was honest with myself about the few I seem pull out each and every time, it was much easier to let a few more go. I ended up with one little basket full that I’ve decided to keep on the top shelf of our front closet so they’re right there, ready to go when I need them.

 

Finally it was time to sort through my shoes and I have to say, this was quite possibly the most difficult part of this journey so far.

The thing about shoes is, they often times have very specific uses as well as times of the year that they can be worn, which means that there is a definite need for more than just a few pairs (thank goodness!). Considering my feet have been the same size since high school, I’ve literally been “collecting” for years (well, not that many years mind you!).

 

Just as I did with my clothes, I gathered all of my shoes into one big pile and got to work sorting. It was pretty easy to recognize a few pairs that had simply seen better days, so into the garbage they went. On the opposite end of the spectrum, there were quite a few pairs that looked brand new because I had hardly worn them at all – perhaps because they hurt my feet or maybe I just didn’t love them as much as the others, whatever the reason, out they went too.

And what do you know, here I was left with a “reasonable” amount of shoes that fit very nicely onto just ONE shoe rack. I don’t think my shoes have fit on just one shoe rack since I was a kid!!! *One quick little note: I think it’s only fair to share that I did not include my three pairs of winter boots on said shoe rack because well, anybody who owns winter boots can tell you that there isn’t a shoe rack in the world that those will fit on!*

 

I may have pared my shoes down enough to fit them on just one shoe rack, but I decided to keep the few I wear on a regular basis (which of course changes with the seasons) in the closet at our front door for easy access – it makes no sense at all to have to run up and down the stairs every time I enter and leave the house.

Accessories done! Whew!

Next it was time to declutter the bathroom cabinets and drawers and this part, my friends, was pretty incredible!

I’m more than a little embarrassed at the sad state of our cabinets and drawers before the #konmarimethod came into my life…

 

Thankfully, with A LOT of purging and just a few baskets to organize what was left (another fab IKEA find!), things were looking SO much better!

 

Unfortunately, the before photos of our bathroom drawers are equally embarrassing.

 

It was all just a matter of getting rid of those things we just didn’t need (and of course, throwing the rest into a few baskets).

 

For me that meant throwing out those make-up samples I never did get around to using, and all the extra make-up and product that had certainly been sitting there well past it’s best before date. I’ve pared it all down to just one little bag!

 

I had a ton of headbands, hair accessories and pins that I never, ever, ever wore. So, out they went with everything else I no longer needed. That was easy!

It didn’t take me long to work my way through each of the bathrooms collecting and disposing of all that unnecessary clutter as I went. Just look at how tidy Carson’s drawer is now!

 

Really, who knew tidying my home could be such an exciting and freeing experience?! I can’t believe how much lighter I feel just getting rid of all of that visual clutter!

 

It’s been like a big breath of fresh air!

 

Be sure to pop in next week to see how I’ve tamed the piles of books collecting around our home (honestly, how does that even happen?!).

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The life-changing magic of tidying up.

Have you heard of it? Read it? Believe in it?

What are you waiting for? Go grab your copy now and join in the fun as we embark on A Journey to #SparkingJoy and make the KonMari Method work for us!
 

 
Did you miss something? Catch my entire journey to {sparking joy} below:

 

Wishing you SUCH a lovely day!
 
 
PS. You can find me sharing here and Savvy Southern Style.