Frogs of JOY!

Before I continue on with my PURGING from the ONSET- I would like you to know where I am right now.

See, I did get through the clothes, and I did get through the books ( which is the next category in Marie Kondo’s KonMari Method)- and I even got through all the documents- which is a hell of a lot considering the fact that I am a professional writer- and have been writing and publishing for over twenty years.  There were papers of all kinds.

Some had to do with ideas I had for stories or articles, some had to do with programs I had published and the tools I used to get me there.  I often draw pictures of my stories or cut out pictures of scenes and people to give me fodder for later.  All of this was ready to go.  There were also my personal papers for business, and health, along with mortgage, insurance, scans, reports, and end of life documents.  Sorry, when you live a life, there is an end to it.

After all the purging up to the documents, I hit a wall, and was absolutely exhausted.  I felt no JOY!   I decided to take a break.

At this point I am getting ready to get into komono, which is the Japanese word for miscellaneous stuff.  I have a LOT of komono ;-) - this brings me no JOY.

But, JOYFULLY - it did give me a FROG!

Clothes & Folding JOY!

Starting with the categories - Clothes & Folding

In Marie Kondo’s book, The Life Changing Magic of Tidying Up- she advises decluttering by category and gives specific instructions on how to discard, fold and put away.   The defining factor in Kondo’s book is JOY!

I began with clothes as specified.  Before I begin to tell you about my clothes purge, I must interject that I don’t find much JOY in clothes.  For me, they are just to cover me up so no one gets sick when I go to the grocery store.  Periodically my children and grandchildren come by to visit and its nice that grandma is clothed then too- but frankly I could give a rats ….

The instructions stated to take every piece of clothing in your home out and place them on a pile in your home.   I went pale with shock!   I just did not realize I had so many clothes.  Since I live and work out of my home there were many places that the clothes had gone.  I had also adopted the habit of wearing just a few items unless I decided to go to an event or out to meet friends for exercise or a meal.  

Anyway, this pile of clothes was a big monster. I was afraid!

When I began this part of the KonMari Method, I had not yet gotten the book so I was kind of flying free.  I did follow her advice to only keep those items that gave me joy.  But, I didn’t really go from top to the next item type of clothing- just kept touching and seeing if there was any joy in those clothes.  Now, I had one item that gave me a spark of joy.

It was an old, holey shirt that I had worn when I first started exercising at the YMCA about 9 years ago.  It was unwearable, but it had given me so much joy, I had a hard time discarding it.  Maybe its category was really sentimental. 

Once I had gone through all the clothes, I had received the book and that was great because I was able to learn Kondo’s method of folding and putting away. 

Quite a process!  

https://youtu.be/EIjGlMD0Nz8

When I Began Chasing JOY

It was the middle of April 2015 and I had been getting depressed.  It seemed that my life consisted of going to get infusions, watching kids, keeping up with old reruns of Grey's Anatomy and maybe writing an article or two.   I knew it really went deeper than that.  I was going to turn 62 and I had been living with lung cancer for over two years.  The first year had been frantic.  The second revealing and as I entered my third year with this diagnosis I was also involved in a clinical trial that was working.  And working well with few side effects.  So why did I feel so stuck?  What the hell was this about?

Listen, I know the reality of this disease, but I had worked hard not to let it get me down.  Now, it all seemed to be running at me.

Then one day, I was researching online for an article I was writing and got involved in reading about the KonMari Method.   This is a decluttering and organizational method devised by Marie Kondo, a Japanese business consultant.  The KonMari Method is now a world wide phenom- there are groups all over Facebook, people are tweeting and liking this method like nothing I have seen in a long time.

I decided to read a little more, and then I ordered the book.  I accumulated enough information to begin with though, to start with the first category.

Clothes.

As I began  what was to become a VERY BIG project I had no idea I was going to be chasing joy- and finding it in little bits along the way.  

Anyone who knows me knows I am kind of cynical, and look at life with a sideways glance.  This was different.

Saying goodbye to two thirds of my clothes gave me enormous joy.   Saying thank you to them for being there when I needed them and taking a hike when I didn't was a party in itself.  I'll tell you more about purging all these clothes and what I did with them next time.