Hi friends,

I feel like “It’s been a while” is how I want to start most of my posts. I will not say it this time.

Many things have changed since the start of this blog, I’ve moved 4 times since the first post. Wow. No wonder it’s been a while.

We’ve downsized, then upsized, and then downsized again. We’re currently living in an apartment just outside of D.C. Certainly a challenge after having a house and yard of our own this time last year. We went from over 2,000 square feet to a precious 740 square feet. It’s times like these when I realize what I really need in life, and it’s not a bunch of stuff. I purged quite a bit upon moving up to Virginia, but there’s more that needs to go.

So this book. The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up: The Japanese Art of Decluttering and Organizing by Marie Kondo. What a challenging book it is, but I’m loving it. I’m part of the way through the discarding phase. I’ve done the clothing (pictures to come), and I’ve donated about 3 trash bags worth of clothing and handbags. Here’s some notes I have so far:

• Gathering the clothing was harder than I expected. Thoughts that I had, “Wow, I have a lot of clothes”, “This makes me feel guilty or spoiled, or maybe both” “I apparently don’t wear a lot of pants”
• Don’t jump the gun. While gathering, it was hard to not start the discarding process. “I KNOW I hate this sweater, *toss*.” Wait until it’s all stacked up together, then ask if it sparks you joy.
• I got winded. Once I start sorting, it went fast. I went through my knee high pile of shirts in under 15 minutes.
• Sass. I found myself getting very sassy with the clothing. I know this sounds ridiculous. There was something about taking the time to be honest with myself (and my clothing). I said these things out loud, “You’re itchy, but I guess I should say thank you for keeping me warm”. “You make me feel sexy, I like you, therefore I’ll keep you”. “You’re basically brand new, and I shouldn’t have bought you.. but thanks for …. filling my closet up?” “You’re too young for me now, but thanks for the memories”
• It’s a process. I’m working 9 hour days. So there isn’t a ton of free time. I’ve had to break up the process into categories. It’s a little messy in the house, due to this process. It’s driving me a little crazy, but I know in the end, it will be less messy and more organized when I’m done than when I started.

Interesting, right? Well, it is for me at least. I’ve been documenting this process, and here’s some visual proof of how it’s worked out. This is just for the discarding phase, I can hardly wait for the folding and organizing phase to begin.

Tops: For tops, I did everything that I wear up top except jackets/coats. This included sweaters to tank tops.

Discarding Tops

Bottoms: I did shorts and pants, and put the skirts in dresses pile.

Discarding Bottoms

Dresses: Holy Moly. I have a lot of dresses! FAIL. I totally forgot to take photos, unfortunately the dresses are long gone now.

Socks, Underwear, Bras: Pretty low in all these categories, only tossed about 5 items.

Workout Clothing: Mostly discarded old event t-shirts, and those running shorts with paint all over them.

Pajamas: Let’s be real, how many pajama sets does a girl really need? To be honest, I’m really a tank and panties kind of gal for sleeping, so why do I really have this many sets? Got rid of one fleece pair (too hot), one shorts pair (didn’t fit right), and a night shirt/dress that’s way past it’s prime.

Handbags: This was the easiest category for me, I’m not really a purse kinda gal. Plus, I sorted through these before we moved up here, so I really only had a few to get rid of this time around. I can’t even say all of the ones I kept bring me joy, I kept them more out of practicality. My purse game needs work.

Handbag discarding

I’m learning a lot from this book. It’s really made me think about things. Literally, things. I’m interested to see how sorting through the rest of the apartment (and storage?) looks like for me. Things I’ve learned so far:

• I’m at the stage in life where I value quality over quantity, so I’m willing to spend more on quality items that spark me joy that will last for more than 2 wears.
• The job I have right now is the first job that I have not had a uniform for. This is exciting, but oddly stressful when you have few work clothes and mostly summer beach clothes and sundresses (Florida girl FOR LIFE). However, building my new wardrobe needs to be planned and thoughtful, so that I end up with quality pieces that I love instead of bajillion outfits.
• I’m blessed to even have the ability to sort. I’m ashamed and thankful all in one for all that I’ve been given.

More to come folks, hope you enjoy following my tidying journey! Excited to share with you the take aways from this book.

-Rachel