April's Organizing Tip
A Trend or a Coincidence?
First there were the Minimalists. Then there was the Tiny House Movement. And now there is the Life Changing Magic of Tidying Up using the KonMari method. Could it be that there is some sort of trend towards simple living developing? Or is it all just a coincidence that these “movements” are catching on?
The minimalist movement is all about simplifying your life as much as you possibly can by having very few possessions. Tiny house advocates are all about having your own home for a very reasonable price, having minimal possessions, and using less of the earth’s resources in the process. And then there is the popularity of the new book by Japanese organizer, Marie Kondo (and now she has a second one out which I have to read).
I still maintain that the robust sales of an organizing book have to do with the word “Magic” in the title. I think people buy it under the premise that a little bit of magic will solve all of their challenges with getting and staying organized. Based on the description of her daily “tidying up” routine near the end of the book, I have concluded that Marie also lives in a tiny space.
Add to that the shift in the real estate market from large suburban homes, to tiny urban condos and I think something is up. Are we truly moving away from the pursuit of a bigger home that shows our wealth and success to the world to a simpler life filled with less stuff and a smaller more manageable home? If you want to embrace this movement, here are a few ideas from all three of these trends.
The Minimalists want us to look beyond the stuff and understand why we purchase and ask ourselves how much of that really brings value to our lives? How much stuff do we really need in order to meet the basic necessities? Not much really. And then they want us to ask ourselves what is on the other side of the stuff. Will life be more fulfilling if we spend our money on experiences rather than stuff? As we clear away stuff can we discover our true purpose?
The Tiny House Movement is creating entire communities of people living in a home that is anywhere between 100 and 400 square feet. Many tiny houses are on wheels mostly because of building code requirements that don’t allow people to build permanent tiny houses. Wait a minute, that doesn’t seem quite fair to me. If I agree to pay the same property taxes as the person next door with a 900 square foot house (I hear that is the minimum required in our fair city) shouldn’t I be allowed to build a teeny, tiny house? Adopting this lifestyle allows for very little stuff and will require you to question every single item you own. Check out our local Tiny House Movement meet up group.
The KonMari method of tidying up is two-fold. You start by culling and organizing all of your clothes. Gather all the clothes you own from every closet in the house and pile them all on the floor, Marie suggests. That is certainly one way of getting a good visual and measuring the volume. Then you must pick up each piece of clothing and ask yourself, “Does this item spark joy?”. I ran into a client a few weeks ago who had just read the book and had asked herself if her sweaters sparked joy and since most of them didn’t, she was able to let them go. And then you must hang and fold all of your clothes in a certain way based on weight and color. The folding technique really does work. You can jam a whole lot of clothes into one drawer. And if you live in a tiny space, you may only have one drawer.
Value, joy and simplicity seem to be the buzzwords of the day. Coincidence or a massive trend?
