I’ve kind of given up on escaping Gmail but it’s still not ideal for me functionally – so maybe worth some tinkering. My challenge in Outlook is that out of sight is out of mind so I keep everything in my inbox unless it’s reference; in Gmail I don’t like labels (ironically since they are like tags on a blog). For being a search engine I find the search function in Gmail to be not super great.
Tag: cleaning
Marie Kondo presents the fictional story of Chiaki, a young woman in Tokyo who struggles with a cluttered apartment, messy love life, and lack of direction. After receiving a complaint from her attractive next-door neighbor about the sad state of her balcony, Chiaki gets Kondo to take her on as a client. Through a series of entertaining and insightful lessons, Kondo helps Chiaki get her home–and life–in order.
This insightful, illustrated case study is perfect for people looking for a fun introduction to the KonMari Method of tidying up, as well as tried-and-true fans of Marie Kondo eager for a new way to think about what sparks joy.
This worked well as a manga! I read the book when it came out, and have watched one of the episodes of her shows, so I’m familiar with her method but wanted a refresher. The framing story she used worked well to explain her philosophy and was cute 😊
I got all inspired to start purging stuff while I was reading but once I finished reading it sounded way too daunting of a project to start 😂
I thought it was a little funny they changed the manga to read left to right instead of right to left like a traditional manga, but I guess they were shooting for a broader audience who wouldn’t be put off by a formatting difference.
If you’re looking for a clean slate for the new year, go beyond decluttering to purge your home of regret, guilt, shame, and overwhelm and create more space for joy in the year to come.
Guilt, shame, anxiety, regret: these emotions can take up residence in our homes without us realizing. And while all emotions have a purpose, dwelling on (or with) them when we’re not actively processing them can weigh us down. This is because when triggers for difficult emotions are present in our space, it’s impossible to escape their influence.
Guilt arises out of things that we feel we should do, but haven’t done for one reason or another. I have a tendency to leave things out to remind myself to do them… Guilt can also come from self-betrayal: when you violate your commitments to yourself.
Where to look for guilt in your home:
- Unfinished projects
- Items related to hobbies or habits you haven’t made time for
- Things you bought but never used
- The pile of books to read that you’ve lost interest in
- Gifts you feel like you should keep, but don’t actually like
A major source of regret is spending. If you’ve spent money on something you don’t use, or you’ve overspent, the item can feel like a reminder of lack of self-control or foolishness.
Where to look for regret in your home:
- Things you overspent on, but no longer love
- Things that remind you of choices or hurts that you’re struggling to leave behind
Anywhere where our true selves rub up against the judgments of others, be they family or society, can be a place where shame might creep in. The closet, the bathroom, or the kitchen — places related to the body — are especially prone to being sources of shame.
Where to look for shame in your home:
- “Skinny clothes”
- Clothes you don’t like but feel you need to wear to look “presentable”
- Books, music, or other media that you feel you should like but don’t actually enjoy
If you look around your home and feel overwhelmed, it may be because you have a lot of things in your home that are demanding your attention… each of these is a reminder of an action you need to take… Overwhelm can also come from broken systems.
Where to look for overwhelm in your home:
- Piles that need to be sorted
- Broken things
- Things in need of maintenance
- Places where you repeatedly notice a sense of frustration or friction
- Organizational systems that aren’t working well
Anything that makes you feel on your guard can aggravate anxiety.
Where to look for anxiety in your home:
- Things that are uneven or wobbly
- Awkward things that don’t quite fit or feel uncomfortable to use
- Things that jangle your senses with unpleasant noises or textures
- Sharp edges that you have to be careful around
- Fragile things you’re always worried about breaking
- Formal decor that you worry about messing up
I’m a very mise en place / out of sight is out of mind person, and I do tend to leave things out as reminders for myself. But that’s not in keeping with the kanban method I also try to practice of picking your next work and keeping all my to-do’s in one spot. I used to have a “project shelf” in the garage but stopped putting stuff in there after we had some water and mouse problems — but I think I need to reinstate it, perhaps in a new home.
Right now I’m trying to address the overwhelm factor – and also the equity of housework – by not doing all the little stuff that needs doing myself, but instead making a list that DH and I each spend ten minutes twice a week knocking out. This is in contrast to Gretchen Rubin’s rule that if it takes less than two minutes you should just do it right away — because I can easily blow half an hour doing these little tasks and then feel resentful that I did extra housework when I already do the lion’s share, even discounting cooking time. I still deal with a lot of things immediately to prevent task buildup, but hold off on things like refilling the olive oil ewer and hand soap when it’s low.