#Konmari – does this spark joy?

I’ve always thought that asking the right questions are really powerful.

In old-school organising (which is now what I think I do :)), I always asked myself and clients these questions:

do I love it?
is it useful?
(for clothes) does it make me feel good?
how many do I really need?
do I have the space to store it?

All very reasonable and…dare I say, good questions

But then Marie Kondo comes along and asks, “does this spark joy?”

It could seem like a similar question but it’s different.

Where previously we focused on what to get rid of, now we’re asking what we should keep.

I thought it might make a small (like really small) difference to me, so I was amazed when I just went wild and tossed clothes that didn’t spark joy!

In the book she explains that there’s a physiological reaction when you hold something in your hands.

This is true, definitely for me.

I’ve said before that I might see a nice handbag, but if I touch it and it doesn’t feel nice, I won’t buy it. Some others look okay but they FEEL amazing, and have come home with me.

And of course, the goal-setting thing I talk about of putting pen to paper. Making that brain connection between your dreams and goals, and committing to them on paper.

When I held my clothes, some were instant YES.
Some were instant NO.
Some I fitted on and remembered, “oh NO, no joy whatsoever”.
There were a tiny % where I wasn’t really sure (decision fatigue?) so I let them stay but I’ve since tossed another two things.

The result?

I have a lot less clothes and shoes than before.
I actually need a few things in colours other than grey!
Stripes spark serious joy 🙂

The question of sparking joy also works with other areas of your life – I even decluttered my feed reader of blogs that didn’t spark joy.

When I wear my “sparking joy” clothes, I might have felt like I wanted something else (another colour, etc.) but I then don’t worry about how I look or if something is riding up, because the reason the item sparked joy in the first place is that it was comfortable, it fit well and I love wearing it (you might have different “sparking joy” criteria).

Please comment on Facebook or Instagram and tell me if you’ve done a little exercise of checking if your things spark joy.

If not, why don’t you choose a small space/ category (something that’s not going to make you agonise over it) and do some tidying up this weekend?