Around here

In my last post I mentioned that my sister was moving house and it feels so overwhelming with just how much stuff can be packed into our units or houses particularly when you live in the one place for a long time.  I'm always trying to declutter by selling items I don't need, throwing things out and donating things to charity. It's an ongoing process and each year you need to go back to the beginning. The linen cupboard had a big declutter about a year or more ago however I'm ready to tackle that again.  [I've added some photos from my last house move in 2011] and that was huge.

Packing up my sisters belongings has made me more motivated to go through everything in our house and I have way more stuff than she does.   The kids went through their rooms a couple of weeks ago and got rid of clothes that don't fit, and other things they no longer need.  I'm much better at letting things go now than I was 5 years ago and each year it seems to get easier but it's an ongoing process.

Some ants got into our pantry last week and found some sugary sprinkles and then the next minute they were all over the pantry.  I've sprayed and each day there were a few more ants and then I sprayed again.  On the weekend I'm pulling everything out again and reorganizing it and I've bought some new containers to store smaller items in the pantry.  I had some larger Sistema biscuit containers however they take up a lot of room and can be half empty so I need more smaller containers so I'm doing a big revamp.  These containers were half price at Woollies this week so I stocked up.  They aren't cheap but very functional.  Kmart has heaps of great pantry stuff as well so go check them out.  This 6 piece Tupperware look a like is only $12.

I was already motivated to declutter and then my friend told me about Maria Kondo a Japanese Consultant who has a TV show on Netflix.  I've seen her name mentioned 3-4 times in the last couple of days on the internet and Instagram and then my friend mentioned her as well so I checked her out.  She has written two books The Life Changing Magic of Tidying Up and Spark Joy.  I've heard of the first book over the past twelve months but it didn't sound interesting enough for me to look into it any further.  Yesterday I watched the first episode on Netflix of the Friend Family [Friend being their surname].  A typical family with 2 young kids and a husband that works long hours and a Mother who is exhausted.  It was amazing to watch and how their relationship changed over the month of the process and that everything has a place and stuff they no longer use or wear has gone to charity.  I then watched the 2nd show while I was cleaning out 3 of my kitchen cupboards.   Maria also has a special way to fold clothes  so you can see them in the drawer and they stand up by themselves.  This method looks great too.

She has a 5 step process which is different from tackling one room at a time which makes so much sense.  She does everything by category for the whole house as follow:-

1. Clothing
2. Books
3. Paper
4. Komono [miscellaneous}
5. Mementos

I can highly recommend you watch this series.  Being the New Year it always feels good to start fresh and clearing your house of things that no longer bring you joy is what Maria Kondo is all about.

In Australia we have Peter Walsh who is a well known decluttering and organizing expert who has appeared on Oprah and The Living Room TV show on a Friday night. He has written several books as and the biggest thing he comes across when helping families declutter is important memories and treasures in the garage ie mementos.  It could be photos or a special item from their parents who have passed on and they can't part with it.  He says these things deserved to be treated with respect and on display in the house and not in a box in the garage.

So if you have some free time watch the first show of Maria Kondo on Netflix which runs for an hour you'll be up and motivated in no time. Can't wait to watch more.