Tidying Up With Go for the Glow

I think it’s safe to say that everyone and their mother has been watching Tidying Up with Marie Kondo. It has inspired many people to clean out their homes and their closets. Including us. Today we want to talk about how we attempt to tidy up our own lives and the best practices we have learned along the way.

Sarah: Ok so, first of all, I love Marie. She is the cutest.

Halle: Yeah she has this really nurturing quality that immediately makes me trust her.

S: The way she greets the house… life changing.

H: I wouldn't even need her to help me clean my life, we could just hang out and bake cookies or knit.

S: HA! Same. She’s so damn cute. But honestly her KonMari method was actually really helpful. I haven’t done all the steps but I really needed to go through my clothes and I did it her way. It was amazing.

H: I remember seeing that book pop up on the internet a few years ago and I was like "spark joy" what a crock, okay. And I never really gave it any thought because I like my stuff. But as I've gotten older, and accumulated wayyyy too much stuff, I realize I need to be more aware of the things I'm buying and keeping. I cleared out my room last year and it felt so amazing to have a fresh, clear closet. But now it's messy again and my room feels so small from piles of crap. So now I need to go back and actually take what she says and use it.

H: Also your room looks amazing I'm so proud of you

S: Thank you! About once a year I go through and clear out a good amount of stuff. I’m like you. I like my stuff. But I also love shopping and there’s not enough room for all my clothes. Plus over the past two years I have gained 40ish lbs and then lost 15 again?? So like my body has changes so many times and most of my clothes don’t even fit but I was too lazy to go through and check or too sad to let them go. I kind of thought my weight would fluctuate again and I would fit in them but then they just sat there taking up space which is super annoying.

H: I'm in a similar boat. My weight has gone up and down a lot in the past couple years so it's hard to know what's okay to get rid of and what I should keep. But I've got jeans worn to their last seams so I need to get rid of them and consider buying better quality jeans (even if they're more expensive) because they'll last longer and I won't have to keep buying new jeans all the time. And that's true for all of my clothes. I need to invest in quality basics I can make a lot of outfits with rather than buy cheap pieces that are only good for a season.

S: I once had a pair of jeans rip right down the back at work because I was too big for them and worn them too many times……. But let’s not talk about that.

H: I had a pair of jeans (that weren't even old) rip at my old job but thank god I had a long, flowing top on so no one saw...as far as I know 😳

S: Yea, I was lucky. My boss basically shoved me into the wall and gave me something to wrap around my waist. Also working at the mall was helpful because I just went and got new jeans.

S: Ok so let me tell you (and everybody) how Marie Kondo changed the way I “tidy up.”

I used to just pull out things from my drawers or closets and get rid of them. I always make a dent but it’s a small one. After watching the show I decided to try it her way. Throw everything in a pile and start from there. I definitely think that helped. Probably mostly because I didn’t want to put it all away. LOL. But I was able to see everything in a different way. And I tried the “does it spark joy” thing and it actually helped. I used to feel guilty about throwing out my clothes because I like, felt bad for them. If that makes sense. But seeing what truly sparked joy helped me sort out the ones that I didn’t really need or wear anymore. Plus, I think thanking the clothes like she suggested helped me feel better that I wasn’t keeping them. Now they can go to another home.

H: That's so sweet to think of your clothes having their own energy that should be honored. It makes you think about why you bought something and it cements the mindset you should have moving forward. Like everything has its time and we should thank it, and let it go so we can make room for new things that bring us joy.

S: Yea, I have always been weirdly attached to inanimate objects. Marie just basically showed me a way to make that work for me. It’s weird but it honestly helped so much.

H: The clothes thing isn't the hardest part for me. It's the other stuff. I hoard notebooks and binders and folders and like random papers I don't need. Like my spaces and corners are just FILLED with random clutter of things I never found a place for. So I think that's where she'll help me the most. Once I get my clutter gone, I think my life will be so much more relaxed lmaoooo

S: I actually got rid of all my notebooks from school the other day when I was doing my clothes. As you know, I have a loft bed so I have a about 5 feet of space under my bed. On one side I have a dresser and the other a rack for clothes. But the middle was literally a breeding ground for all types of crap. I went in while I had all my clothes piled up (and off the rack so I had a clear view of my stockpile) and reorganized everything. I put what I was keeping into boxes or bags like she does in drawers. And I organized purses under there in the way she suggests, one bag inside of another of similar size. But all my old notebooks were under there and while the information is valuable, how often do I actually look at that? Never.

H: That's why I keep everything! I'm always like what if I need to go back and look at those notes that was important stuff I learned in that one class I hated in my second year of college 🙃

S: Haha I know exactly what you mean. It was time I got over that. So what are your best tips on how to take on tidying up?

H: For me, I just start grabbing stuff. If it's a notebook, I'll look through it, see if there's ANY reason for me to hold onto it (usually there isn't) and if there isn't, I throw it in a trash bag. The same thing for any random trinkets. I tend to just put things on any available space on my dresser or nightstand or headboard and then NEVER PICK IT UP AGAIN. But then I think, if I were to move, would I take this with me, and if the answer is no, it goes in the bag. I don't do this a lot because it's just so daunting, but that's my mindset going into it.

S: I think that’s a great way to do it. My mom told me when she gets dressed in the morning she will put on something and if she ends up deciding she isn’t going to wear it, she gets rid of it right then in there. Because if she doesn’t feel good in it today, she wont feel good in it ever.

H: If I did that, I would have no clothes. It usually takes me at least two tries to pick an outfit

S: Same. But I think I can tell the difference between, “this doesn’t look good together” and “i don’t feel good in this.” So I am going to try to go by my mom’s advice and filter out the second option.

H: That's honestly brilliant. Because there's something to be said for "this isn't the best way to wear this piece" vs "I don't feel good in this." There's a difference. Like if you have that one piece (or more) that you always try but never actually wear, it probably means you don't actually wanna keep it.

S: Exactly.

So how do you tidy up? Are you a Marie Kondo stan or do you have your own method? Seriously, we wanna know, our rooms are a mess. So send us your best tips pls and thank u!