Have You been Konmari'ed?

For years I have wanted to desperately clean and organize my house. I was tired of being a slob. I was tired of picking things up, cleaning under it and putting it back down not knowing where to put it. I would throw stuff out just to look around and feel like I was still surrounded by clutter. I hadn't really done enough, but I was mentally tired. That was when it was just my husband and I! We now have three kids.

As we added children to our lives, we added more clutter. Every single person bought something for our first daughter. We are so loved that everyone in our lives wanted to get her something. The problem is that I didn't get rid of anything. How could I when this shirt was given to her by this person, this blanket by that person, these toys by these people. I couldn't let anything go. By the time our second daughter was born I had everything from the first 2.5 years. She is now 2.5 and we had all of Fiona's stuff and Saoirse's stuff. That means 5 years worth of birthdays, Christmases, Easters and other holidays or just because someone thought of my girls and wanted to do something nice for them.

At the end of my pregnancy I couldn't face yet more stuff being added to my house. My husband already had an overflowing house, then we added two girls and now one more baby?! My nesting instincts kicked in and I started cleaning what I could, but I also had to take it easy so I didn't overdo it in my big pregnant body.

Then came our son. Born on 12/30/2018 my best friend and sister-by-choice flew here to be at the birth. I'd also told her that I needed help with the house during many previous conversations. Briony LIVES to purge. Like me, she had been an unorganized slob for most of her life until she had several kids of her own and hit rock bottom. She became a minimalist and she has helped many of her friends in recent years. It wasn't even a question of whether or not we would purge my house. I gave her the tour and she asked where we were starting. We made a deal, she would do the physical work while I held the baby and made milk. I mean, I did just give birth so I doubt my docs would have been pleased if I did too much. Briony wasn't about to let me either. If I started doing anything I was told to sit down. Sometimes you just get ants and need to move lol.

So where did we start? In my girls' room. I spent months cleaning and purging clothes and avoiding the "dreaded closet". When I say we pulled everything out, I mean everything. There are pictures. I will share. It was horrifying how much was there was. You couldn't walk through our middle room. My poor husband is not used to the chaos. I may be a slob, but nothing is hazardous! We spent two DAYS clearing that little room. From 11 AM- 11 PM. We moved furniture, we cleaned, organized and went through clothes, boxes, and whatever was in the room. Nothing escaped.

When it came to clothes, I had purged so many times that we luckily didn't have to much to go through. It was a lot of mixed sizing though and that is what made it overwhelming. While Saoirse will wear whatever I put on her, Fiona definitely has an opinion. She was so excited to be able to pick out all her favorite clothes. Now each girl has 2 weeks worth of clothing and that is it. They also have a Ziploc Flex Tote with their "grow into clothes". Even Ronin has enough clothes to last through 9 months thanks to some family and a close friend who gifted us her 1 year old son's clothes. Now I have to be strong and not let anyone buy them anymore clothes! If they get something then it replaces an item in the closet rather than adding to it. I can't just hang it up and let it be. If something comes in then something goes out.

So night one ended with us moving the girls beds next to each other, and moving our recliner out. We removed the book case and put all the books into totes and moved them to the middle room.

Day two is going through and organizing what is actually left. Fiona got to pick out her outfits and see them put away. The closet and drawers are reorganized, their play kitchen and just a couple of other toys are in their room. The next several hours were spent going through each piece of all the stuff that was dumped into the middle room. The books were pared down to just two small bins. One stays next to the chair for reading and the other went upstairs to the bookshelf in the kids reading nook. Not even the dog escaped people. Noelle is a 10 pound chihuahua and even her toys got pared down. She has a cute little wagon with her 5 toys in it, and even she is playing more!

The next day we cleaned up the living room and then headed up to the playroom. Y'all, it took me YEARS to finally get in shape enough to resemble a playroom. In a matter of minutes my kids made it messy. Then we added Briony's 2 daughters and it turned into a nightmare. Seriously. I could feel the anxiety hit the second I walked up there.

We started with linens. So many linens and blankets. I didn't realize how many bottom sheets we had that had gone bad. We went through towels, washcloths, kitchen towels, sheets sets, comforters, throw blankets and baby blankets. We got rid of everything that lost it's elastic, lumpy, ripped etc. I'm now down to enough for our family and a couple of guests.

So that night we spent the whole evening up there watching Designated Survivor and going through allllllll the toys. Everything got picked through. If it was broken, missing pieces, not played with, or just unnecessary it was bagged. By the time 2 AM rolled around we could see a floor, we had 5 bags of donate, 2 bags of trash and a box of recycle. The next day we had Briony's girls play in there and see how long it would take them to clean up while my girls were at school. The night they left I had my girls cleanup and it took less than 10 minutes. Wooohoooo. Saoirse is still a bit young so I had to guide her, but still, not bad.

Next up? The kitchen! The room we spend the most time in. The room we love, but hate going through. My counters were filled with appliances and things; one corner just a catch-all of the things we were too lazy to find a place for. Things were purged, or trashed just like the other rooms. No more stuff on top of my cabinets and nothing on top of my fridge. We don't have a pantry so items are moved around to fit "pantry items" and appliances. I now have counters! Don't get me wrong, there is work to do. I need to go through the tupperware cabinet and I'm dreading it. Seriously. I like using them, but I hate storing them. Ugh. Now my kitchen is all turned around, but I can actually find things! I can get into my deep freezer without moving stuff. I can make a sandwich without moving stuff. It's been great.

Now I just have to keep it up and not let things accumulate. Last night I was trying to write this and I kept eyeing my coffee table that had been clear just a few hours ago now with stuff all over it. I couldn't do it. I put the computer away and cleaned the table. I could then go to bed with ease and not think about what was on the table.

It WILL get easier as time goes by. I have to stay strong and not bring in a ton of stuff. I have to say no to most toys (or if anything comes in something goes out), and clothes. Instead maybe have a fivver party, or ask to contribute to experiences. That means I can't just buy something I like either. It will have to have a purpose beyond a single use, or something I may only use a couple of times.

So have YOU been Konmari'ed?? I didn't do it because of the show, but it was fun to watch while we were going through my kids clothes. Now if you'll excuse me I have some things to go through.

Share your stories of getting your house in order!

*You may see some Amazon affiliate links for my favorite products.