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.

Following the KonMari Method outlined in the life-changing magic of tidying up, we’ve worked our way through the entire house to get rid of anything and everything that doesn’t {spark joy} with the ultimate goal 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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There’s no denying that I had BIG expectations of this journey to sparking joy. I didn’t just want the promises of a simpler life to be true, I needed them to be!

 

When I started this journey, I explained the feelings of stress & anxiety that I felt in trying to keep a perfectly tidy home.

Maybe it’s a bit unrealistic to expect the entire house to be neat and clean at all times … that’s what everyone tells me. And, let’s face it, it’s utterly exhausting keeping a perfect house with everything in it’s place with a three year old son blowing his way through each room like a tornado and a husband that isn’t as crazy about clean as I am. I was starting to face the fact that a perfectly neat and tidy house wasn’t just unrealistic, it was darn near impossible with real life happening within it.

Truly, I’ve spent my entire life hearing about how silly those expectations are. I remember hearing often about how crazy my Mom was for choosing to keep her house SO clean and tidy. Apparently everyone didn’t live that way.

And then I grew up, bought my own house and that talk shifted to me. People have been telling me that I was a bit over the top with my need to keep things neat and tidy for years. They’ve led me to believe that it’s just not normal and even that there is something wrong with me – that because everybody didn’t feel this way, this strongly about keeping things clean and in their place, that I was wrong to.

So, over the years, I’ve worked hard to change my expectations of my family – and, honestly of myself too. I’v tried my best to change who I was and talk myself out of the anxiety that any little mess might give me. And, to some extent, I have. I’d like to think that my family feels less pressure to keep a perfect house for my benefit.

But, honestly, I’d have to say that not so deep down, no matter how much I try to talk myself out of it, that stress and anxiety to keep everything perfect is still there. I may have alleviated the pressure on my family (at least a bit!), but my own stress to keep everything perfect was totally through the roof. Mostly, I think I’d just shifted some of the burden of that perfectly neat and tidy house from those around me to myself.

Then came this book …

 

And I swear, I felt as if it had been written just for me!

I’ve always believed in the power of a clean and tidy space. Not to fix everything that’s wrong in my life on any given day necessarily. I just can’t help but feel grounded and safe in my own, tidy space.

Turns out Marie Kondo and I are two peas in a pod. Except that she’s found a way to make keeping things neat & tidy easier. Less exhausting let’s say.

A little work now to create a more peaceful life for years to come…

How could I resist?

 

I quickly got to work. In fact, I’ve spent the last eight weeks working my way through my home and, with the help of this brilliant book, my home is now filled only with those things that truly spark joy.

Now, typically getting rid of things can be quite difficult – I might need it, I might miss it, you know the drill. Thankfully, Kondo’s black and white approach to it all made the process so much easier! Holding each and every item I own in my hands, asking myself whether keeping it would bring me joy, and then making the choice to either keep it or let it go – who knew decluttering could be so simple?

How to Declutter your Home in just eight weeks:

 

Did I make my way through every inch of my home? No. But, I did make incredible progress. I carted no less than 25 GIANT bags of clutter out of our home and, subsequently, out of our lives. And I’m not done yet!

I have to tell you, ridding our lives of clutter has been so freeing, so empowering. I had no idea all of this extra stuff in our lives had been weighing us down so much. I honestly can’t believe the difference it’s made to our lives! Imagine waking up in a cozy, tidy bedroom, getting dressed in a closet that is filled only with things that you love, preparing breakfast in a kitchen with clear countertops that aren’t cluttered and overloaded with things you never use.

Now, imagine your entire life this way.

Lighter, simpler, tidier, less hurried, less stressful. Happier.

I’m definitely a believer and I hope that through my journey I’ve shown you why you should be too!

What are you waiting for? Go grab your copy now and spark some joy in your own life.
 

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

 

Wishing you SUCH a lovely day!
 

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