Sorry, Marie Kondo, I can't

I posted before Kid #2 arrived about the room switcheroo that we were doing (Kid #1 being evicted from our room). I haven't posted any photos. And I will not. I should have posted right after Kid #1 moved to his room so that everything is fresh. And clean. And orderly. But now, it is all a mess. Even our room is.

Kid #1 really took over his room. And I can see a few years from now that is going to be worse. At 8 years old, his clothes and toys are everywhere. Blotches of lotion on the counter, swirls of lotion on the mirror. Tsk. Every weekend, I tell myself that I will fix and clean up his room. But ....

Our room is another story. I need to purge. We need to purge. I will try this spring. Problem is, I don't know what to do, where to put them. Debating whether to send them back to Philippines? Donate them? Give them to somebody else?

Everybody seems to be joyfully decluttering their homes, their lives, or so they say. I don't think I can do that. I am realistic enough that, that is just not for me. Although it is really appealing and joyful to see a clean and organized drawer, a spotless counter top, letting go of things that do not spark joy. I just can't, just not for me.

screen cap from Marie Kondo, official website

While I haven't really read the book, I've read some online reviews and analysis and noted that some of her styles were already used by other 'organizing' techniques. And I have used some of it too. Like instead of stacking up the clothes vertically, they should be folded and stack horizontally, in a way that you can see everything at one glance.

Well, it's like a diet. There are a thousand ways to  lose weight. I guess there's just no one way of tidying up, of decluttering and organizing your life. For now, KonMari is the fad, the juice cleanse of the month. But I didn't say I will not try to declutter, I will. I will find time. One area at a time (Marie Kondo says it should be by Category). Whatever works. And I will start with this: