About two years ago when I was doing one of my usual Amazon searches through their self help book department, I came across The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying: The Japanese Art by Marie Kondo. Honestly, I couldn’t tell you what twenty-two year old me thought when I put that book on my wish list. Especially considering one of my favorite comedians, Ali Wong, so hilariously says that this book is for women in their thirties who want to turn their life around. Well, in that case, I must be a thirty-three year old unmarried woman trapped in the body of a twenty-four year old, because I indeed bought it. And I read it. And yes, I did like it and recommend it for anyone who wants a little change in their scenery.
The KonMari method is pretty simple: keep what makes you happy, throw away what doesn’t. Don’t keep too many spares and make sure everything has a place. I took the liberty of applying the KonMari method and going through everything that I have here in Taiwan, and plan to do the same when I return to the states in the spring. I ended up with four or five bags and boxes of things that need to be donated, thankfully, and the next task is finding a place to do so. But I found through cleaning out my things, there’s a bit of magic in filtering out and revisiting things we once thought to be of purpose but no longer serve us in the same ways.
Personally, I find that my life is enjoyed in similar ways. Life is about balance, and making sure whatever and whoever is in your life brings you joy, and not echoes of pains and troubles. It’s beneficial–and often required–to take a step back and evaluate where you are, who is around you, and what can be done to improve or continue the sources of encouragement and growth in your life. We walk on this earth, experience the things that we do, and we change as time goes on. At the end of the road, we’re never the same person we were at the beginning.
While The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying: The Japanese Art is just about cleaning at the end of the day, I think we can all agree that sometimes it’s important to stop and look around at all areas of your life. Ask yourself the important questions:
Where is there room for improvement?
What activities or things bring you joy?
What do you have too much of?
What do you not have enough of?
Who makes you laugh and encourages you?
Who brings you down and drains you?
What kind of people do you want to be around?
What kind of person do you want to become?
All of these questions can assist you in becoming the best you can be, and decluttering your life. It’s not only sometimes a fun afternoon spent tossing things into trash bags to take to donate, but it’s a breath of fresh air to change things up. After all, we cannot step into the next chapter of our lives without stepping out of the last, parting with whatever is necessary, and keeping our focus forward on what lies ahead.
