Like most everyone, I got sucked into Marie Kondo’s Tidying Up on Netflix. After a single episode, Michael went through his closet. I cleaned up our kitchen. After the second episode, I bought her book.
I’m still working my way through the process, but the one principle that really help guide my way is visualizing the destination, which Marie writes a lot about.
Before you start getting rid of things, take the time to think this through carefully. This means visualizing the ideal lifestyle you dream of… The whole point in both discarding and keeping things is to be happy.
– Marie Kondo, The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up
What Is Our Dream Lifestyle?
Hoping to get Michael fully on board, I asked him what his picture-perfect version of our home would be so I could combine my vision with his.
His answer: I want our home to be cozy.
I agree with that 100 percent. And I think it’s very achieveable. After all, our home is, at its best, very cozy. Probably the coziest. Physically, our house is comfortable and small. Our sofa is layered with the softest blankets (and, consequently, cats). The light is soft, the living space is open and ready for visitors, though it feels full with just us. And most nooks and crannies are full of mementos that make us nostalgic and happy.
Of course, this cozy vibe is often harshed by clutter – I’m talking mail, laundry, craft supplies. So it’s not always the picture of comfort and warmth. But we try. Maybe after going through the full KonMari method, we could be consistently cozy (or mostly). I feel like coziness, as a goal, is definitely within our grasp.
My Ideal Vision of Our Home
When I asked myself what my ideal lifestyle in my home would be, though, I paused. Yes, absolutely, I want a cozy, comfortable and welcoming home. But what else? A creative space? I mean, sure. A place to entertain? Yes, we like to host parties and get-togethers. A retreat from stress? Yeah, that’d be pretty good. But these didn’t really fit.
But then it hit me. What I really wanted on a practical level was for those things – creating, baking, entertaining – to be easier because – clutter or not – I’m going to do those things. But as it stands now, working on projects and entertaining aren’t really effortless (or at least as easy as they could be).
Baking means having to clean off the counter, dragging the heavy KitchenAid from the closet. Crafting means pushing aside all the coats and digging through drawers. Certainly, those things aren’t that hard, but they weren’t really that easy, not for something fun, at least. It was like my old light table. Sure, it worked fine, but the process of using it made the project – something I should love – a chore.
So this is my goal: To make my hobbies and everyday chores easier and more joyful. This means reconfiguring my home to be more functional. Does that mean that where I store my food and where I keep my cooking gear should swap? Maybe! Does that mean that I have to reorganize the coat/craft
And that really doesn’t bother me too much. I’m looking forward to a life where baking is a joy, not a pain in the butt. A life where I manage to keep my craft supplies organized because putting them away is simple and not some outsize task that requires me to rearrange the whole closet.
And with all that stuff working for me on a functional level, maybe I’ll be able to reduce the clutter so I can be ready to entertain or just stay in and be cozy at any time.
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