I’ve always thought that asking the right questions are really powerful.
In old-school organising (which is now what I think I do :)), I always asked myself and clients these questions:
- do I love it?
- is it useful?
- (for clothes) does it make me feel good?
- how many do I really need?
- do I have the space to store it?
All very reasonable and…dare I say, good questions
But then Marie Kondo comes along and asks, “does this spark joy?”
It could seem like a similar question but it’s different.
Where previously we focused on what to get rid of, now we’re asking what we should keep.
I thought it might make a small (like really small) difference to me, so I was amazed when I just went wild and tossed clothes that didn’t spark joy!
In the book she explains that there’s a physiological reaction when you hold something in your hands.
This is true, definitely for me.
I’ve said before that I might see a nice handbag, but if I touch it and it doesn’t feel nice, I won’t buy it. Some others look okay but they FEEL amazing, and have come home with me.
And of course, the goal-setting thing I talk about of putting pen to paper. Making that brain connection between your dreams and goals, and committing to them on paper.
- When I held my clothes, some were instant YES.
- Some were instant NO.
- Some I fitted on and remembered, “oh NO, no joy whatsoever”.
- There were a tiny % where I wasn’t really sure (decision fatigue?) so I let them stay but I’ve since tossed another two things.
The result?
- I have a lot less clothes and shoes than before.
- I actually need a few things in colours other than grey!
- Stripes spark serious joy 🙂
The question of sparking joy also works with other areas of your life – I even decluttered my feed reader of blogs that didn’t spark joy.
When I wear my “sparking joy” clothes, I might have felt like I wanted something else (another colour, etc.) but I then don’t worry about how I look or if something is riding up, because the reason the item sparked joy in the first place is that it was comfortable, it fit well and I love wearing it (you might have different “sparking joy” criteria).
Please comment on Facebook or Instagram and tell me if you’ve done a little exercise of checking if your things spark joy.
If not, why don’t you choose a small space/ category (something that’s not going to make you agonise over it) and do some tidying up this weekend?
[…] I read the Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up, I literally ask myself this question all the time, “does this spark joy” and truthfully, most of it no longer sparks […]