How I Spark Joy in My House by Getting Rid of All the Crap

The boys have reached the happy stage where they are busy planning their own social lives and I am the cheerful chauffeur/ casual supervisor. I actually really love hearing the incredibly-loud sounds of tween boys in the house, and I know that sounds sarcastic but I am in earnest. I hope they always want to bring their friends over to Hang Out.

Meanwhile, when they are off gallivanting in the neighbourhood and hanging out drinking slurpees in the back yard, I have been continuing with my quest to Spark Joy In My House By Getting Rid Of All The Crap.

Also: Sparking Joy By Drinking Beer.

I do not think I am exaggerating by saying that my life has truly been changed. By the Magic of Tidying Up. Holy moly, I have always prided myself on having a very clean and organized house, but I have been in this house for 16 years and there are some spots that have become dumping grounds/ cemeteries for odd items. Things that I never really wanted to deal with, I have been Dealing With. At this time I am up to 25 bags and boxes for donation, 5 bags of garbage (eek) and I don’t even know how much recycling.

Here’s the thing, though: my closet was the least of it. Remember several months ago when I reorganized my closet and I got rid of nothing whatsoever? Well, this time around I kept thinking, KonMari-like, wouldn’t it be wonderful if every clothing item you owned brought you joy? Armed with nothing but a grim determination and also a repression of feelings about fleeting time and the end of summer, I emptied all my drawers containing tops and sweaters on the floor.

This pile is ONLY sweaters and tees. It does not include my yoga wear, beach wear, or exercise gear. I went through everything, earnestly and whole-heartedly. Here is the “keep” pile.

And here is the “donate” pile:

NOTE: I am keeping Barkley. He just was incredibly confused and probably thought I was packing for vacation or something, and so needed to block me in my room.

The take-away from this exercise is twofold: a) my clothing really does Spark Joy, and b) I have a lot of clothes. By the time I finished going through pants, dresses, pajamas, scarves, shoes, boots, yoga clothes, and swimwear, I had two small/ medium boxes full of items for donation. So of my 25 bags and boxes, my clothing was less than ten percent of that.

That felt good, because I do love clothes and shopping, and I liked that I mostly have purchased things that I really loved. A few items that I donated didn’t fit properly anymore, or didn’t suit me as well as I’d hoped, but as a general rule, my shopping habits have been decent and not overly wasteful.

BUT.

I still have a lot of clothes, and so in the spirit of September, Fresh Starts, and New (School) Year Resolutions, I have one big goal, and if I Blog It I Will Have To Stick To It.

Are you ready?

I am not going to buy myself a single item of clothing until my birthday next April.

Eeek! For me, this is a big deal, but I’m going to stick to it. The next time I see something I like I will a) go shopping in my own closet and will probably find something similar, or b) put it on a Christmas wish list, since my husband and kids like to have specific items to look for when it comes to gift shopping for me.

Mental note: keep Christmas wish list small, or the point of this exercise will be lost.

Much, much more to come on my Personal Growth From Kondo-ing (someone is staring at you in Personal Growth*) but for now I have peppermint fudge ice cream to make, kids to feed, and a giant stack of old magazines to purge. xo

*Big kudos to whoever can name that movie. Hint: it is my all-time favourite.

Previously published on Girl in a Boy House.