Book Review: The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying - Marie Kondo

Okay, I did it. I caved. I bought the book that everyone has been raving about for the past 12 months. I just had to see for myself what all the fuss was about, and whether I could be converted to the dark side that is minimalism. 

Marie Kondo claims that those who use her method (named the Konmari method, taken from her won name) never rebound, and her repeater rate is zero. 100% success rate is a pretty massive claim. 

I found that the book was more about decluttering than it was about "tidying", but I don't think that the Konmari method is about minimalism. Rather, it is about keeping only the items in your home that "spark joy". It is these two words that have been revolutionary; rather than think about what you want to throw away, you think about what you want to keep. Such a simple shift in thinking, yet it makes such a difference in being able to actually get rid of stuff. 

So how do you decide whether something sparks joy? Marie Kondo says you must work by categories (rather than rooms); the true Konmari way is to start with clothes. So, you take all the clothes you own (including accessories, shoes and handbags) and pile them on the floor. This is supposed to be confronting. Then you hold each item and ask yourself if it sparks joy. There should be an immediate response - if that response is no, then the clothing gets discarded. 

There is also the Konmari method of storing your clothes; the "Konmari way of folding" (which I have to point out is not anything new. I've been folding my clothes this way since 2012), and hanging clothes (from light to dark). 

There are a few key points to the Konmari method of decluttering: 

• It must be done in silence; 
• You cannot Konmari other people's belongings (whether something sparks joy is personal)
• Don't let your family see you Konmari-ing
• You should thank your items before discarding them

Generally, I found the book insightful, and it definitely inspired me to declutter my stuff (although I haven't had a chance to properly start). However, I did feel it was slightly too long - the first third of the book was really useful, the final third just seemed to be filled with stories of clients and her own experience which didn't really add anything, and by the end it kind of devolved into full-blown crazy land. 

Marie Kondo talks to all her belongings, she empties her handbag every single day, she doesn't believe in balling up socks because they need time to rest, and she doesn't believe in owning more than 30 books (the chapter on books was really painful to read). 

Of course, I know that not everything I own "Sparks joy" for me. For instance, so much of my furniture is second hand and cheap chipboard. Marie Kondo points out that there is joy to be found in utility, so even though my ugly cutlery set doesn't make me swoon, I find joy in it when I eat my food. I think this is important to remember as you go through the KonMari journey; it would be too easy to get swept up in discarding and replacing, and if you aren't at a point in your life where you can afford to replace all those things that spark joy, this could be dangerous. 

The main thing that didn't sit well with me is throughout the whole book, she goes on and on about throwing out and discarding items. This seems so incredibly wasteful to me. Of course, there are things that can't necessarily be donated, but if your items are in good working order there is no reason why you shouldn't spend a little time making sure you are responsible in discarding them. Whether that's giving them to a local school, charity shop, or local 'Pay it Forward' facebook page. 

Overall, an interesting read, but nothing that can't be learned from the internet.

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6 Tips for Cleaning Out and Organising Your Wardrobe

So, it's now Spring! Spring and cleaning go hand-in-hand; new life, new beginnings, etc etc.

I've done a few wardrobe clean-outs recently, so thought I would share some things I've learned along the way, and things that have worked best for me. Unfortunately, my actual wardrobe isn't that beautiful blog or instagram-worthy - one of the many downsides to renting!

1. Be Brutal
I think this is the most important thing to keep in mind; if you're cleaning out your wardrobe, there's probably a good reason you've chosen to do so. Maybe you have too many clothes, maybe your clothes are uninspiring... whatever the reason, something has made you decide "I've had enough". So hold on to that feeling, don't get sentimental and that will keep you from being distracted.


2. Questions to ask yourself...
These are the questions I ask myself when being brutal and deciding whether I'm going to keep something:


- Do I love it?
- Does it fit me? No? Get rid of it.
- Have I worn it in the last two years?
- If I haven't worn it in the last two years, why? I have some fancy dresses and things that I haven't had a function to attend where I can wear them. Those items stay.
- Is this damaged? Yes? How bad is the damage? Am I willing to pay someone tomorrow to fix it? No? Get rid of it. 
- How many different ways can I wear this?
- If I was shopping right now, would I buy this?
- Which is more valuable - the clothing item, or the space?

3. Decide where the "rejects" go
I usually sort my clothes with the options of "donate", "keep", "sell", and "bin" in mind.
If I love an item then it obviously stays in the "keep" pile. 
If I don't love an item because it doesn't fit me, isn't my style or I'm just over it, then it goes into the "donate" pile. If I don't love it, and think it's worth my time to try selling it (honestly, usually only worth it for expensive name brands), then it goes in the "sell" pile.
If an item is badly damaged, or is underwear, then I'll throw it out. 

4. Invest in matching hangers
I have wooden hangers for my "heavier" garments (such as blazers, longer dresses etc), and then slim plastic hangers for the rest of my clothes.
Not only does this look a lot neater but your clothes will all sit the same way in your wardrobe,  and can save space. I think having matching hangers makes you more inclined to keep your wardrobe looking organised as well.

5. Research space-saving ideas
The built-in wardrobe in our current house is so much tinier than the one in our previous house. And I've been struggling to work out how to fit all my clothes in the wardrobe (side note: although those wooden hangers are beautiful, they take up a tonne of space). So I did a bit of research, and invested in things like underbed storage solutions for off-season items, space saving hangers, and multi-pants hangers.

6. Sort your clothes based on how you get dressed
If you prefer to get dressed by matching colours, then colour-code your wardrobe. I personally sort by type, then by colour. So my wardrobe is:
dresses / coats / short sleeve tops / long sleeve tops / short skirts / long skirts / pants.
Within coats I have: woolen coats / leather jackets / light jackets.
I then have black woolen coats, red wool coat, black leather jacket, red leather jacket, etc etc.





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Nailpolish Storage

Nailpolish storage is one of those things that's taken me a while to work out. I've stored them in desk drawers, only to never use them because I never look at them. I've stored them out in the open but they get cluttered. 

The different sized bottles can also make storing nailpolish difficult. I've worked out that for me personally, storing by colour rather than by brand works best. When choosing what nailpolish to wear, I tend to pick a general colour, then sort through my collection to find the shade I want to wear that week. 

These acrylic shoe drawers from Howard's Storage World, and acrylic nail stand I got off Catch of the Day store my collection perfectly. 

All my miniature polishes fit in a glass vase. 

I love that I can see all the different colours, yet they're still "away" meaning they won't get too dusty and dirty. 

The plastic is quite thick and strong, so I don't have to worry about the weight from all the polish jars snapping the drawers. 

I swap out my recently purchased and favourite seasonal colours into the acrylic nail stand, to remind myself to use them. Top coats, base coats and nail strengtheners also live in the acrylic stand, to ensure easy access. 

How do you store your nailpolish?

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Organisation Tips - Review: Erin Condren Life Planner

 

I am a total Type A personality. This is both a strength and a weakness in my personality. 

I make lists, I write things down, I like to keep track of things. When I broke my wrist last year, I tried the electronic-diary thing. I hated it. It didn't work for me. I'm a visual person yes, but I'm also a tactile person and I like having something physical in front of me to browse through. 

I have kept a day diary ever since I received my first one in year three, at the ripe old age of 7 years old. That's 15 years. I've been through primary school, high school, university and now full-time work, and each time I've had to adjust what I use my diary (or "planner" as they're called nowadays) for, and how I use it. When I was at uni, I kept track of assignments, which days I was working, what uni work I had to get done, social appointments. 

Now that I'm in full-time work, my hours between 7am-7pm Monday through to Friday are accounted for (including travel time) and I obviously don't have to remind myself to go to work each day.  That's just routine. But I did struggle with organising other areas of my life; housework, social events, blogging, to-do lists.

 

I can't even remember where I first came across the Erin Condren planner - probably on Youtube somewhere. I saw it, and thought "this looks perfect for me". I love that the layout is vertical (although they now have horizontal options too if that's what floats your boat) - this totally appeals to my list-making needs. 

I love that the days are split into three categories. The categories "morning - day - night" are not always that applicable to me, but that's where Etsy comes in; I can buy custom headers to utilise each space in a way that best suits me. 

 

There are so many planner addicts facebook groups, and youtube channels, and instagram pages around these days and so many of them are filled with photos of planners covered in stickers and decorated. I much prefer a simplistic look - I hate clutter, and can't concentrate with unnecessary images. There are still plenty of functional stickers available on etsy though, which make the weeks that little bit cuter.

I love that the Erin Condren planner is spiral bound - I can look at half a week at a glance, and the spine won't get bent all out of shape. I love that the covers are customisable (and you can change them out throughout the year if that tickles your fancy) - how cute that I can have a seahorse and my name on mine! I love the big monthly page spreads - these allow plenty of room for writing everything down. I also really like that each month is a different colour scheme. The ECLP comes with a plastic zipper pocket at the back, which is perfect for storing my stickers, and plenty of plain, lined, and decorated notes pages. I like the see-through snap-in ruler/page marker it comes with. 

I love a lot of things about the ECLP. 

What I don't like:

I don't like the text that divides the lines at the bottom of each day with the 3 square boxes. I'm not a huge fan of all the inspirational quotes and some of the colour schemes and images are a bit garish. I also don't like that the monthly calendar spreads have the week starting on a Sunday - this really confuses me. 

These are all small complaints though.

Do you have an Erin Condren life planner? Do you even use a paper planner anymore?

Would you be interested in more posts about my planning sessions and how I keep myself organised?

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Blogging Tips: Organisation

Organisation is one of those things that is crucial for me to get through my day. I have tried so many different ways of planning out my blog posts, and this way is definitely the best for me. I've been using this type of planner for a couple of years, and recently bought this beautiful "dark cherry" colour from kikki.K. 

I use different sections to plan; 

"Calendar" / "To Do" / "Post Ideas" / "Notes" / "Inspiration" / "Projects"

I love that this is a perpetual calendar - I usually plan a month ahead at a time. There's certain posts that go live every week so I fill those in first, then refer to my "Post Ideas" tab to fill in the blanks. 

I write everything in pencil, and then when it's scheduled to go live, I write it in pen - this allows me a bit of freedom to move things around without it getting messy with white-out. 

I create a to-do list table, that allows for me to check off when I have taken and edited the photos for each post, when it's written and then when it's scheduled to go live. I usually plan in my day-planner when I am going to take a whole bunch of photos at once; then another day for editing, and then a day to write and schedule. I find by breaking all the tasks up I don't experience "bloggers block" as often. Blogging can take up hours, so breaking up the tasks also makes it all a bit more manageable. 

In my 'Post Ideas' tab, I keep a couple of lists - one is my 'review list', where I keep track of products I've either been sent or that I've bought that I want/need to review. 

I also keep a more general 'Post Ideas' tab, where I scribble possible future posts - I try to brainstorm here regularly so that I never run out of ideas. 

Sometimes I get inspired from other blogs, pinterest, magazines etc, and I keep track of this in the 'Inspiration' tab - this way, if I do run a post or build an idea I can easily head here and refer back to it

When I'm planning giveaways, or collaborating with other bloggers / instagrammers, I keep track of this in the 'Projects' tab. 

So that's how I plan my blog posts - I usually plan a couple of times a month to try keep on top of everything. Do you plan your blog posts? What do you use? 

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Lately, in Pictures #65

 

I farewell-ed a friend at the Bank at Newtown last weekend - I ordered the Pulled Pork burger. It was really, really delicious. But it really hurt the wallet at $18. It was tasty, but I don't know if I would repeat the experience at that price.

 

Our local Woolies was clearing out veggies, so everything in the above photo was just 50c! We grabbed a little of everything - including rhubarb which we've never tried before. 

I have really been loving making my own smoothies with my George Foreman Mix and Go Pro - it's virtually no-mess, cheaper than buying them and quick and easy. I am mindful of how much sugar smoothies can contain, so I try to have them more as a treat.

 

My friend Rai had her 21st two weeks ago - she hired a Catamaran boat and we went out in Sydney Harbour for a couple of hours. On the way out in the harbour, we went past the Opera House, and the cute Sydney seal that sun-bakes on the steps! The weather was absolutely perfect, and the water was so warm and beautiful. I'm not much of a boat/water person but I would absolutely do that again - it was the perfect Saturday.

Last weekend J and I went mini-golfing. I am atrocious - the children were seriously doing better than I was. Hitting straight is apparently something I find very difficult. It was still a really fun little date-activity - the centre we went to had great props and cool trick-shots, and there was a 'bonus' round with a very narrow ramp, and if you got a hole-in-one then you won a free game, which J was successful at!

 

I am loving my new job - the long hours have taken a bit of adjusting to, so I make sure to regularly break my day up with tea and coffee breaks. A pot of T2's 'Detox' tea on my desk always perks me up mid-morning. 

 

Found Rommy's new hiding spot - in amongst my clothes. He would be impossible to find if it weren't for his big yellow eyes poking out <3 p="">

 

Really making an effort to organise monthly posts - I usually take time out each month to plan the month ahead, but for a variety of reasons those posts don't always go ahead. So I'm also scheduling in time each week to try and get all posts written up and scheduled in advance.



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Holiday Planning...

It's been a while since J and I went on a holiday.
So we've been talking and making plans, and decided we're heading off to New Zealand in the new year!

When I was younger I really wanted to visit New Zealand to go bungee jumping. Now I'm a bit older, I seem to have lost that fearlessness, because that's no longer at the top of my list. I'm so keen to check out the Hobbit Holes, the hot springs at Rotorua, the history at Waitangi, snorkelling off the North Island and taking in the beauty that is that country.

Every pay slip I've been squirreling away money and hopefully soon will have enough to pay for flights and accommodation. I keep the guide books at my desk, and longingly look over them in between poring over my law textbooks. They're providing a nice distraction amongst the crazy that is end of semester exams.

The planning is very much still in its infancy. I've been jotting down notes in my kikki.K 'Travel Notes' planner, and flagging notes to come back to in my guide books, all with just a vague idea of what we want out of this holiday, and how much we want to spend.
It's not only the thought of heading overseas that excites me, but the planning and anticipation excites me too.

What are your travel tips? Have you been to New Zealand? Any places we must check out? I'm taking as many recommendations as I can!




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Organisation Tips: Scarves

I've tried SO MANY different ways of organising my scarves... boxes, drawers, tied to a railing, hanging off the back of my door. None of them have stacked up. When looking to organise my scarves, I wanted something that would allow me to see what I have, and easily access it. I also wanted something that made it really easy to put them away when I'm done with them.

Enter this pants hanger I picked up from k-mart! This has five metal rungs, which means it has plenty of storage for my scarves, and it allows me to see them all at one glance. 

Because it lies pretty much flat, it also takes up virtually no space in my wardrobe either, which is a bonus! 

The metal rungs also unhook and swing out, making it super, duper easier to just slip the scarf off the rung if I don't want to untie it. How genius is that!!

How do you store your scarves and winter accessories?

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Organisation Tips: Dealing with Electronics Cords

I really love technology. I love gadgets and electronics. I hate the cord pile-up that comes with that territory though, and it used to a major frustration for me that they were never organised. Until now, this is what my 'cord box' looked like:

Everything was loosely wound and thrown in. Every time I wanted to find something I had to dig and pull out a million cords to work out which one it was that I needed. Which is time-wasting and frankly, annoying. Not too long ago though, I took a trip to Daiso, and I picked up these cord organisers for $2.80 each:

Firstly, I separated each and every cord and did an inventory of what I owned. I had about 4 'figure 8 cords', and about 6 micro USBs, which is way overkill. So I kept a long one and a short one of each, and then stored the rest elsewhere. This new cord box was all about easy access to the cords I use most.
I got out my trusty label maker, and labelled every cord. I chose to use the yellow plastic labels so that they would stick out amongst the sea of black.
I then evaluated how often I use each cord, and then tied them accordingly.

For instance, the cords for electronics I frequently use, such as my ipod and DSLR got secured together with velcro strips. The pack of velcro I bought was perfect because it was three long rolls in three different colours. I loosely rolled up each cord, and then cut a bit of velcro to the appropriate size. Using velcro also means that I can also secure it around the cord when it's in use, so I won't lose it.

For cords that I don't use that frequently, and don't need their full length, I used cable ties:

These are a more permanent fastener, so I made sure there was enough slack that I could still use it if it was plugged in, but not too much that it tangle.

For me it's enough that I have the lesser used cords to the right, and the more frequently used ones to the left. They're all sufficiently bundled that they won't get tangled and the labels help me to identify at a glance which cord is for what purpose. This way, I can just grab and go. 

How do you organise your technology cords?

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Fit Fridays: What's in my Lunch Bag?

Recently I've made more of an effort to bring my lunch with me to work and uni. This was motivated at first when I realised just how much money I was spending on food...and that I could be spending that on fun things like clothes and make up instead. But I realised as well (which is a bit of a 'duh' moment) that by packing my lunch I'm a lot less likely to impulse eat, and thus pick better foods.

I try to mix it up to keep it interesting. This is just a snapshot of what I brought this week:

I pack my lunch in this cute lunch bag I bought from kikki.K. It's got insulated padding so it keeps everything cool, and it's little enough that it's not a burden to carry, but big enough to fit all my food in.

For my 'main' food item, I'll usually bring leftovers. We schedule in what we're eating for dinner each week, and we usually try to make more than two servings so I can bring leftovers.
Rather than buying packets of chips, we buy a couple of bags of popcorn and I pre-pop it. One bag of popcorn separates into about 4 lunch baggies. Each serving is more than enough to satisfy my salty cravings throughout the day. This works out to be cheaper, but I also think it's a healthier option. Popcorn is definitely not healthy (the triple butter explosion option is definitely not healthy) but it has less of the bad stuff than chips. It's the lesser of two evils, if you will.

I try to bring snacks that I can easily munch on in class without disturbing everyone. I love apples for my daily fruit (I kind of wish I could bring bananas but I hate them). Nuts are a fantastic option as well because they're full of fats, vitamins and minerals. We buy the Woolworths brand "Oven roasted mixed nuts", because I just love, love, love the mix it comes with. Cashews, almonds, walnuts, hazelnuts, macadamias, and pistachios keep it interesting. I also always try to include some sort of cheese in my lunch, to try and get in some extra calcium. Bega stringers are awesome because they're pre-packaged which means I don't have to do any extra work in the morning; I literally just grab a strip and chuck it in my bag and I'm good to go. Also, who doesn't love mozzarella cheese?

For me, a big part of bringing my lunch is making sure it's easy enough to just throw in my lunch bag and go. This does mean I need to do a bit of prep at the beginning of the week, but with a little extra organising this is not really any extra effort.

Do you bring your lunch to work / school? What do you usually eat?




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