I am guilty of binge watching, but this time I’m glad I do because… I watched “tidying up” on Netflix ! Yes the same one, the one with Maria Kondo in it. Yup, the one where you get rid of stuff that doesn’t “spark a joy” for you.
After watching the full season in two days ( with three kids), I started tidying up. I know she said start with wardrobes but I wasn’t gonna touch that unless I knew it would work. I decided I’ll start with “kimono” wrong way around I know.. but it seemed much simpler.
I started with emptying out all the cabinets (not) … ok I did not have the courage to do that.. can you imagine? Taking everything out and putting it back again, instead I opened each cabinet and just looked what “doesn’t spark joy” and what I can store elsewhere better….. I followed the same concept except made a lot lesser mess.
I rearranged everything so that I can see what spices, tins, and other edibles I have. Once looking at eveything that way I was able to make shopping list in my head in a very convenient way, afterwards I sorted out my cutlery . I had way more spoons in the drawer than needed, they still sparked joy ( ok they didn’t, I just needed extra incase guests come over or something ) so I kept them in a zip lock bag and found a spot for them in the pantry. At the end I sorted my fridge and freezer, everything got arranged in a way so you can see what’s in it and how much is left! Now the kids are not allowed to help themselves in the kitchen unless careful ! It’s been 4 days and everything was still organised ! That’s the longest it’s gone.
Basically the idea behind the whole Maria kondo method can be explained in two parts;
- Everything needs a home/ designated place, once used put it back where it belongs.
- De clutter everything . Don’t keep things thinking “I might need it” if you haven’t used anything in 6 months it’s a very low chance that you might not need to use it at all!
I feel very proud of the kitchen, eveything looks so very well organised. Today after dropping the kids off at school I was walking back towards the car and thinking omg! My kitchen is so organised!!
That being said, I also have to be honest! Maria kondo method is effective but extremely messy! The feeling you get once everything is cleared out is incredible but the anxiety I felt when I took stuff out was overwhelming for me, and mind you I didn’t actually empty everything out .
I would recommend you to do it only if your kids are at school, and you don’t have anything else to do that day!
If I’m being honest I’m a little scared to start with wardrobes but also excited to see the finish result! Also I was thinking once all the clothes are out I don’t think any would spark any sort of joy to me.. but will see. I haven’t purchased any boxes and I’m not planning to either.. so I am going to add some Huma Ali way to the Maria kondo way…. will update you with the results and will also share it with pics !
In the meantime if you feel inspired and decide on de-cluttering do share ? And if you already have how do you keep up with it?
Huma Ali 