HAVE YOU TIDYED UP LATELY!

       This past week there was an article written by a Kylie Algeir about a best selling book by Marie Kondo entitled "The Life Changing Magic of Tidying Up." It was interesting reading and I would like to share just one part of this article about "tidying."

       The part I would like to share is the method concerning organizing and getting rid of unnecessary clothing. I used to be in my earlier life really Obsessive Compulsive when it came to especially keeping my clothes orderly. I had all my shirts hanging by color, sweaters by wool and cotton, etc. I could blame all on my mother of course. Isn't almost everything her fault in our lives?My mother, it seemed, was always cleaning or throwing things away. She did keep most what I would call memorabilia. She did keep most stuff that was really important. Even old birthday cards, pictures, fiesta dishes, with the exception of my comic books. Today some of those would be worth a fortune!

       Kondo points out that we should tidy by category and not by room. That is a big mistake. Tackle one type of item at a time. Start with clothes. This somehow "sharpens our intuitive sense of what items spark joy inside us." Somehow putting all your clothes in one big pile is intended to shock you. "Keep only items that seek joy."  Then get rid of all the rest.

       And, before you get rid of it , thank it for its service and move on. All clothes or most should be folded vertically so you can see them all when you open the drawer. You should always put everything back in the same place as each thing should have "a home!" The moral is that "when you put your house in order you put your affairs and past in order. 

     I still do a fairly good job of keeping things in order, but, I don't find myself talking to many of my things or thinking in terms of my socks and their home! I did know an old classmate that used to hang his clothes in his closet and each hanger an item was no closer than two finger widths. Send me $100 and I will tell you his name. Life is too short!!