Last week, I pledged to use Marie Kondo’s esteemed method for tidying up to get help organize all of the random stuff I brought home after my sophomore year of college. It’s been a busy few days, to say the very least.

Before Pics

As promised, here are some pictures of my room before I officially started to ~tidy~

Disclaimer: My room is not normally this messy! I have an excuse! I just got back from my second year at college so I basically just threw everything into the corner because I knew I wanted to KonMari it.

Sunday, 5/12

Cleaning Jams of the Day: 00’s 17

Originally, my plan for today was just to take the before pics and watch an episode of Tidying Up with Marie Kondo for inspiration. However, I had a bit of extra time and I was on a bit of a productivity high, so I decided to get a head start on the actual ~tidying~ portion. I mean, why not?

As stated in my plan, I started off with clothes. More specifically, the clothes in my closet that sit in a box approx. 9 months out of the year. One box at a time, I emptied the load onto my bed and begin the decision process. I picked up every individual article of clothing and held it in my hands before deciding whether it would stay in my closet.

Immediately, I wanted to buy new containers for the clothes and items I’ve decided to keep. However, I decided that this could cause a couple of problems:

1. Bins naturally make everything look more organized than they are. If I rely on this, I will probably be less decisive and ruthless in my tidying.
2. Over the course of this week, I will likely change my mind regarding how many bins I will need. If I go now, I’ll have to make more trips than necessary. Better to just go once when I’m sure. (I made a google doc with a list of things I want to buy so that I can keep track of this!)

So, I pushed through without the bins and instead put the loose items (boot socks, winter gloves and hats, etc.) into plastic grocery bags. I’ll buy real bins later this week.

I got a lot more done on Sunday than I had anticipated and for that I’m very proud! I still had a lot of bins to go through at this point, however, so now was not the time to slow down.

The thing that has been the most frustrating about this process is that I can clearly recognize that I never wear a certain piece of clothing and somehow still insist I’ll need it in the future. I am hoping that this experience will make me a more decisive person overall.

I’m trying to stay positive because I know the process will be extremely rewarding in the end.

The objective of cleaning is not just to clean, but to feel happiness living within that environment.

Marie Kondo

Monday, 5/13

Cleaning Jams of the Day: MAY 19

Monday was incredibly productive….and exhausting. I was really in the zone and I had no concrete plans, so I just kept cleaning until I couldn’t stand it anymore! I started at 11am and finished at 7pm with small breaks in between for snacks and coffee.

Pro tip: Keep snacks on hand if you’re cleaning for more than a couple hours at a time. Also, caffeinate constantly. (Also also, hydrate.)

I started off Monday by unpacking all of the clothing I kept on hangers from my dorm. Since these were all items that I brought specifically to wear over the Summer, I didn’t say goodbye to any of them. Easy.

I also switched all of my rusty-crusty-dusty metal hangers to nice white and green plastic hangers. Having them all uniform makes the whole closet look put-together and neat.

After that, I continued to go through clothes that were boxed away in my closet. Since these are the types of clothes that I wore mainly in middle and high school and either A) did not fit or B) were no longer my style, many of them were placed in bags for donation. The few I decided to keep were put into ~brand new plastic storage boxes~ and decorated with my trusty label maker. (Thanks, Dad!)

I washed these items, refolded them, and put them back in my drawer for everyday use. If I end up never wearing them, I’ll donate them too.

The things I now keep in boxes are mainly winter clothes (sweaters, PJ pants), beach items (swim suits, towels, beach bags, sun hats), and miscellaneous (onesies, old show tees that I can’t bring myself to throw out).

In reorganizing my closeted clothes, I found some pieces that I had previously gotten bored of but now intend to bring back into my wardrobe. For instance, I found some Jack Wills tees — a British company — that I think will be perfect to wear in London. (Hopefully this will mean that all of the Londoners think I’m super fashion-forward and no one will suspect that I’m a tourist. Hopefully.)

Even though the plan was to start working on the non-clothing items next week, I decided to get a head start on them anyways. Sometimes going through nothing but clothes for hours at a time can get boring and repetitive — who knew.

I went through items such as costumes (mostly random stuff for college parties) and seasonal decorations (garlands, Christmas stockings, wooden hearts). After deciding if they ~sparked joy~ or not, I placed the keepers into plastic storage boxes and labeled them accordingly.

Then, I started to go through my jewelry. Good jewelry definitely isn’t something that you just throw away. (Don’t worry, I didn’t.) However, I realized how much cheap jewelry I still owned from my childhood and decided to chuck those. Now, my jewelry box is much less cluttered and overall more ~aesthetically pleasing~.

I also realized that the monogram I had printed from online and framed when I was in middle school was starting to look a bit outdated, at least in terms of my personal style. So, I wrote a little yogi-esque phrase in cursive onto a piece of white paper and slipped it into the frame.

Quite honestly, I might do a bunch of these little cursive phrases — maybe even some paintings — for my dorm wall next year. Pop those babies into a nice white frame and it’s basically from the Urban Outfitters apartment section!

AND since I’m not a robot, I will admit that at times throughout the day I was briefly distracted by the items I resurfaced whilst cleaning my room. For example, I found the purple wig that I thought I had lost after a wild night at Wigma Pi (a wig-themed frat party at W&M). Of course, I had to have a little fun… so I put it on.

I may have been a bit delirious after all the cleaning, but doesn’t the wig kinda make me look like Stephanie from Lazy Town? Cooking by the book, honey!!!

Although Monday went a bit off schedule, it definitely worked to my favor. When I was in the zone, I very well may have been possessed by Marie herself. I was a ruthless tidying MONSTER.

At times, the cleaning process can be overwhelming and pretty frustrating. This is when it’s most important to take a breath and put everything into perspective. When I get frustrated, I remind myself of my progress and give myself a big metaphorical hug. Doing so has helped tremendously and keeps me focused on the bigger picture.

Keep only those things that speak to your heart. Then take the plunge and discard all the rest. By doing this, you can reset your life and embark on a new lifestyle.

Marie Kondo

Looking Ahead

Although I have gotten the big chunks of the work done and out of the way, I still have a bit of small, detailed sections of my room to work through. For example, I have a few small drawers that I tend to throw stuff into when I’m in a rush.

After finishing up the organizing, I want to dust off every flat surface in my room and swiffer the floor. A lot of dust gets pulled up when moving boxes of old clothing from the back of a closet.

I also plan to go to Target with a couple of my friends on Tuesday, 5/14 to pick up some organizers, bins, and shelves. (Perhaps I’ll pick some decor while I’m there, too. After all, it is Target and I’m only human!)

Finally, I plan to invite some friends over to shop in my donation bags later this week/this weekend. Anything they don’t take, I will take to a consignment shop or Goodwill. Then, I’ll take my after pics and I’m done!!

Here seems like a good place to stop my first entry in the KonMari series. So far, I am loving the experience. It’s quite meditative, honestly, to dedicate an entire chunk of your day to organizing your living space. By doing such a deep clean, you take stock of all your belongings and assign them meaning.

I’ve already spoken much about it in my previous post about room decor, but I’ll say it again. Your room should be a place of relaxation and rejuvenation. It’s where you go to unwind after a long day, so it shouldn’t be filled with junk that doesn’t bring you joy.

I’m not saying that full minimalism is the way to go, at least not for me. That said, I already feel so much more calm and relaxed in my living space without all of the distracting items. All I have is what I need, and everything I need has its own designated space.

This process has already caused me to think about the things I purchase: Do I really need this in my life or will I want to throw it away in a matter of weeks? Does it ~spark joy~?

I have to say, blogging about my KonMari journey helps to keep me on track. I recommend to anyone considering to do it themselves: tell your friends, post about it on social media, and/or take pictures of your daily progress. Doing so will make it more concrete and therefore motivate you to keep going (even when it gets frustrating).

If you’re joining me in the tidying up journey, good luck and have fun. May the force of Marie be with you.