My KonMari Journey: One Year Later

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I can't believe just over a year ago I started 'My KonMari Journey' - it's a surreal feeling, however reading the book 'The Life Changing Magic of Tidying Up' by Marie Kondo and implementing her method in my home has been one of the best things I have done for me, my family and my home . It really has been life-changing! 

When I read the book, I was instantly mesmerised by the 'KonMari Method' and wondered if it would actually work for a sentimental hoarder like myself. I read other blogs and watched videos on YouTube of people who were sharing their own KonMari journey and it inspired me to share mine. And that is exactly what I did and I am really glad because it has inspired so many of you to start your own journey. 

One of my readers asked/requested...


I'd love for you to diarise a "one year on" from each area you cleared and report back with an update, what worked, what you've subsequently got rid of or wished you'd kept or acquired.

I often get asked - 'Do you regret anything you have decluttered?' - and the simple answer is NO. The items I have purged, no longer served a purpose in my home and in my life - so therefore I was happy to thank them and let them go (yes I thanked a few things - if it felt right, I said it). It's amazing how much stuff I actually had to begin with and often thought 'where did it all come from'. I did say in my Introduction post that I was very good at hiding things...and that was evident in the 'before' photos of each category. I was truly blown away at how much stuff I had accumulated or held on to all these years. 


So? How does my home look 'ONE YEAR LATER'...

Let's quickly go through the categories again and see how 'life changing' this method really is...(Remember: the order of the KonMari method is: Clothes, Books, Paper, Komono (Miscellaneous) and finally Sentimental). If you missed any of the posts from 'My KonMari Journey', you can read them all HERE.

Clothes: 

I love clothes, I used to hoard clothes. I kept everything! Since I started the KonMari method, my whole mindset on 'Clothes' has changed a lot, especially in the past year and I never thought I would say that. Read from the beginning: 'My KonMari Journey: Clothes"


One Year Later...
Nowadays, if I don't like something I put it straight in the donate pile. I am also more selective of the clothes I buy, in fact, I hardly ever buy stuff on clearance, just because it's 'on sale' - I have realised that most of the stuff I have bought on clearance - I have discarded. So when I am shopping, I buy things that 'spark joy' when I touch them, even more so, if I try the item on (which I have found I'm doing more of).

Towards the end of last year, I watched The Minimalists documentary 'Minimalism' on Netflix, (which was great), and was inspired by Courtney from Be More with Less - who created 'Project 333' - 'minimalist fashion challenge that invites you to dress with 33 items or less for 3 months'. 

On the first of January 2017, I started my Project 333 journey, selecting only 33 items to wear for 3 months. My wardrobe is less cluttered, and finding something to wear, in the morning, is a breeze because everything I have in my wardrobe & drawers I love and it 'sparks joy'. All that is in my drawers is my underwear, pyjamas and active wear/lounge wear - these items are not included in 'Project 333'. For someone who, less than 5 years ago, could have opened her own op-shop, this is a good reflection on how far I have come in 'keeping life simple' and putting the KonMari method & principles to good use. I'm coming to the end of my first month of Project 333 and so far I am loving this challenge. The only thing I have bought is some new tights, to replace some old ones. 

If you want to know more about Project 333, click HERE.

Books: 


One Year Later...
Since I completed 'My KonMari Journey: Books', the only thing that has changed is that I have added two books to my already small library collection. 

1) 'Spark Joy' by Marie Kondo 
2) 'Be Mindful & Simplify Your Life' by Kate James. 

I absolutely love these two books, and have thoroughly enjoyed reading them over the Summer. I refer to them often when I am looking for guidance or motivation. 

Spark Joy is Marie Kondo's second book, a follow up to 'The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up'. Spark Joy 'is an in-depth, illustrated, room-by-room, guide to decluttering and organising your home' - the KonMari way. I found it very informative as I was nearing the end of my own journey, and as I move into my next series: KonMari With Kids.  I also plan to share how I organise each area of my home later in the year, using Kondo's method & principles. 

Be Mindful & Simplify Your Life is a lovely book with '50 bite-sized tips on how to live a more mindful and stress-free life'. It fully supports my ONE WORD for 2017 too - Balance, which is perfect. (Thanks again Jules for this lovely gift) 

Paper:

Paper! oh Paper! The biggest category of them all (well, Digital Clutter was up there too) and my most viewed post in 'My KonMari Journey' series. I still can't believe I purged 5 x 60L containers worth of paper, and was left with only 3 poly-pocket folders (yes only 3!). Read my full story HERE & HERE. 



One Year Later...
That system is still going strong...the files are looking a bit fuller with documents I need to keep, however I no longer feel buried in mountains of paper around my home and that is a great feeling. I deal with paper work as soon as it comes into our home. 

We don't get a lot of mail, most of it is sent electronically, so our mail system is pretty simple. Mail is opened in the kitchen - envelope discarded straight away, bills are put on my desk (see below). 

• Junk mail - we have a basket in the lounge where our junk mail goes (I'm actually one of those people who love reading the catalogues). Every Tuesday it is then put out with the rubbish & recycling.

• Bills (snail mail & email) - dates and amount are put on to our family calendar and then once paid, it is filed away with the other important documents. Same thing applies to Electronic bills. They are filed under the folder 'BILLS'. 

• Happy mail - Opened and enjoyed by all x

Having a system like this has prevented the piles from stacking up and our kitchen bench clear of stuff. 

Komono (Miscellaneous):

This category took the longest because it had so many sub-categories. You can read about my Komono journey HERE.

 One Year Later...

I am pleased to report that I have kept on top of the Komono items in my home, only replacing things we use regularly, and only buying items that 'spark joy'. If I find something I no longer want, need or sparks joy it's out of my home (either binned or donated).

My parents bought me a cake mixer for Christmas - it was the one thing I really wanted and the fact that it's red, (which matches our kitchen theme) brings me so much joy. I also recently replaced our kettle - both appliances look so good.


- LINEN CUPBOARD - 

One Year Later...
One sub-category that has had a big change would have to be my Linen cupboard. I haven't had my 'click' moment yet but I know I am very close to it, and that makes me happy. I also learnt how to fold a fitted sheet and that for me was a complete game changer in how I organised my Linen cupboard (I even showed my 84 year old Nana - she was very impressed). Up until recently, I had been putting our sheets in the matching pillowcase - which works a treat - now I have the containers to keep my nicely folded sheets in. 



- TEACHER RESOURCES -

One of the categories I added as an extra was 'Teacher Resources' - it was actually a huge one for me, because I had so much stuff I had kept over the years. 

One Year Later...
I have managed to store all of my teacher resources in ONE cupboard in the external office (sorry about the poor quality photo). I don't have my own class, hence why I have my resources at home. I do a bit of relieving throughout the year, so it's nice having a bank of activities to use on those days. I also have a container (not pictured) for my Te Reo Māori resources that I keep inside the house or in my car during the term  (this is my current job) - it's kind of like my portable office. 

I would like to go through the resources again, especially now that I have completed the method and I am getting pretty good at discarding items. I will pass on the resources I don't need to beginning teachers, who are wanting to build a bank of resources for themselves. 


Sentimental:

One Year Later...
No big changes for the sentimental category because the systems I have in place are working really well. Read full Sentimental posts. I have the three boxes for my sentimental keepsakes, cards & letters, and I just add to it when applicable (e.g. I added my Mother's Day cards from the kids, my birthday cards and some of my favourite Christmas cards). I'm really looking forward getting stuck into my kids Sentimental items. 

Photos: I am getting better at deleting the duds before they are transferred to my laptop, and I am keeping on top of the organisation of the photos (and my digital clutter too). I even made my first Photo Book and have a couple in my cart ready to print. 


***ONE LAST THING***
- The Office -

I never shared the before photos of my 'office' - because I was too embarrassed. I didn't want anyone seeing my 'Monica' cupboard (referring to Monica from Friends). However, looking back I wish I did show you, so you could see what I was really dealing with and why I was feeling so overwhelmed and anxious.

Well, today you get to see the BEFORE, DURING and AFTER photos showing the true 'magic' of the KonMari method. 

One of my main reasons for starting this journey:
"I don't plan on moving anytime soon, so there is no reason for me to keep stuff in boxes, and letting it take up valuable space in my home, my life and in my mind!"




This is 'The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up'!

When I started this journey I could barely open the door to my external office and now I can see the floor, about 90% of the floor actually - and it's all thanks to the KonMari method. 

There was stuff everywhere! Before I started my journey, one of the best things I did was go through and sort the items into categories (see 'During' photo). Doing this made it a lot easier than pulling EVERYTHING out. When it came to KonMari'ing a category I would just grab the containers belonging to that particular category and got stuck in... 'Sort by category' not by location'. 

Moving forward, this room is going to be converted into a gym for my partner (bench press and punching bag). I am hoping to hang a curtain of some sort about half a metre, on a beam, in front of my cupboards and bookshelf to separate the two spaces, so they are not exposed, and then it will feel like my partner's space. My job is too keep it like this so my stuff doesn't end up like the before photo, however I pretty positive that's not going to happen. 

The four stacked containers (pictured on the right) contain my kid's Komono and Sentimental items, so they will be taken inside to sort and stored inside too. There will be no sentimental items in this space, mostly work and holiday related items.

***Edited to Add***
For those wondering what happened to my desk? Here it is...

Moving my office desk into our living area was the best decision I made. Everything I need is at my fingertips and every night I make sure it's clean and tidy, ready for the next day. It's nice having my own little space - it makes me feel more productive and the colour 'sparks joy'.

******

What's next?



 "Parents can encourage children to begin the process, but they need to complete 

their 

tidying before working with their kids." 


Now that I have fully completed the KonMari method with my own belongings, I will be starting my new series 'KonMari With Kids' next month (February) - documenting their journey as I go through (with them) the five categories (Clothes, Books, Paper, Komono & Sentimental).

My daughter (Miss B) is 11 years old (turning 12 in March) and my son (Master M) is 2 (turning 3, also in March), so they will be involved in the decision making. 

"Children as young as three years old can decide what gives them joy and the key principle is that each person should be making the decisions for themselves." 

Just like my own journey, I am super excited about my new series 'KonMari With Kids' and I would love for you to follow along in this process, better yet, join us - Subscribe to my Blog, so you don't miss a post. I will also be sharing my Kids journey on my Facebook page, and Instagram, so be sure to follow me there too.


Happy KonMari'ing,
Charlene 


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My KonMari Journey: Questions and Answers

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Before I move on to my next KonMari series - 'KonMari With Kids', I wanted to do a quick 
Q&A post, answering questions my readers from Facebook & Instagram had relating to the KonMari Method or my personal KonMari Journey.

You asked...I answered. 

1. My question is more about time. I see you go to Playcentre, work, up keep this wonderful blog and look after your family! How do you manage all of that? Thanks from a fellow Playcentre and blogging mummy of three. 
When I started 'My KonMari Journey' in January 2016, my son was having day naps (up to 2 1/2 hours long), so I dedicated that time to KonMari - sorting, purging, taking photos, blogging etc. Other times I did what I could when my son was happy playing in the playroom, or when he was having his lunch. As the year went on, I put my son in home-based care for an extra day, so I could have time to get things done, like housework, KonMari, planning, blogging and Playcentre work. I also used that day to get a bit of extra relieving work too. I did what I could, when I could. I would spend a couple hours each night writing the KonMari posts for my blog, which was actually more time consuming than the purge itself, however looking back, I'm really glad I shared my journey. Right from the beginning, I was fully committed to completing this KonMari method and my determination and dedication to the method got me through. 


2. How can I get all my kids to sleep thru every night so I can get the energy to do this??? I do find your posts motivating tho. 
I can't help you with the kids sleeping sorry. All I can do is continue to motivate you in the hope you have the energy to make a start. I'm happy to work with you as a support person, if you think it would help. Send me an email teacherbytrademotherbynature (at) gmail (dot) com or PM me via Facebook. 


3. When it comes to the bits and pieces (I can't remember what she called it! {KOMONO}), how did you know where to start!? 
Komono (Miscellaneous) was a huge category! It had so many sub-categories attached to it. I simply followed the structure Marie Kondo mentions in the book. A lot of my 'Komono' was scattered in containers out in the external office, so before I even started this category, I actually spent a couple of hours sorting through the chaos first, corralling like things together according to her list, and worked my way through each one.
  1. CDs, DVDs 
  2. Skincare products 
  3. Make-Up 
  4. Accessories 
  5. Valuables (passports, credit cards, etc)
  6. Electrical equipment and appliances (digital cameras, electric cords, anything that seems vaguely 'electric')
  7. Household Equipment: Stationery & Crafts
  8. Household supplies (expendables like medicine, detergents, tissues, etc) 
  9. Kitchen goods/food supplies - EATING - COOKING TOOLS - FOOD - FOOD STORAGE
  10. Other - 
EXTRA POSTS
Komono - Miscellaneous Items 2

I added Teacher Resources as an extra category.

4. I'd love for you to diarise a "one year on" from each area you cleared and report back with an update, what worked, what you've subsequently got rid of or wished you'd kept or acquired... 
Great idea! It's actually a year this week since I started My KonMari Journey .I am hoping to do a ONE YEAR LATER post soon. Watch this space.


5. I'm thinking about purchasing this book, do you find it useful? 2017 I'm aiming for a more meaningful, clutter-free life. Watched the 'Minimalism' doco, loved it!!
I love the book, and refer to it often. I do recommend reading the book first, so you can fully get the gist of Marie Kondo's method, however I have heard people have done the method based on blogs and YouTube video tutorials - there is a lot of inspiration out there (You can read all of my KonMari posts HERE (including checklists for each category).  The Minimalist documentary definitely gives you something to think about. 


6. How can I start Konmari, what are the basic principles.... Basically everything!
Like I said above, I do recommend reading the book first, however if this isn't an option for you - you can always read my KonMari series (HERE), and there are plenty of blogs and YouTube videos & tutorials available to provide inspiration. Janine from A Young Mum is one of my favourites.

In a nutshell, Marie Kondo has four rules she recommends people follow when doing the KonMari Method:

1. Tidy in one shot, as quickly and completely as possible
2. Sort by category, not by location
3. Selection Criterion: Does it 'spark joy?'
4. Order of tidying: Clothes, Books, Documents (Paper), Miscellaneous items (Komono), and Mementos (Sentimental)

Good luck! Let me know if you need any support - I would be more than happy to help you through your KonMari journey.


7. How did you sort old photos? This is the one thing I have boxes of, unsure what to do. Thanks for your help. 
Photos can definitely be overwhelming. Read all about how I sorted mine, and hopefully it will inspire you to start yours >>> My KonMari Journey: Sentimental - Photos


8. What to do with partner's stuff? Especially when he doesn't get the whole spark joy concept.
My partner doesn't get the whole 'Spark Joy' concept like I do and that is totally okay. That being said, I have encouraged him to go through a few of his things - clothes, paper etc.  Most of his stuff is in his garage, which is a no-go zone for me, and I respect that. I don't have to see it, so it's all good with me. I do KonMari fold his clothes, which he likes, so I'm happy with that and I get him to sort through his paper work regularly so I can file it away properly. He won't be reading the book any time soon, so all I can do is continue to encourage and motivate him to discard things he no longer needs, wants or likes, especially if it's taking up space in our home.


9. I have a question! And afraid it sounds silly, but do you miss anything you have thrown out? I keep thinking, what if it sparks joy next year... Do you keep things you are unsure on? Also, this question is mostly related to my wardrobe! 
There are a few things that I do miss, however at the time it didn't spark joy so it was discarded. I have to move on and not dwell on the things I have purged. I admit, I did 'thank' quite a few things of mine and this actually helped with letting go - Marie Kondo suggests you 'thank' your possessions before discarding. It may sound a bit crazy, but it does help. If an item spark joy - keep it. If it doesn't - let it go. Be honest with yourself. Good luck! 


10. Aside from wondering the same as above, I got the book last year when you started your journey but I am so overwhelmed by the thought of sorting my stuff out that I have put the book in a drawer. How did you get started? Is it a bite the bullet kinda deal?
What you are feeling is totally normal. I felt overwhelmed every time I walked in to my external office, which was home to numerous containers full of stuff. I was nervous and excited about getting started. Sharing my journey here on my blog made me accountable and I couldn't wait to start my journey. You can read about how I got started HERE. 

When you are ready, you will start. It took me a while to get started, however once I did - I didn't want to stop. This method is truly life-changing. Good luck! I will be your Number 1 Cheerleader.



11. I read both books and completed the Kon Mari method up to photos. Mine are out of control. They are in boxes, tubs, on my phone, on CD/DVD's, on the computer, in frames and in albums. Some have dates on the back, some don't. Some are somewhat divided into photo boxes, some are not. I'm not sure how to start or where to start. I was going to make each daughter (I have 3) scrapbooks or photo albums but that isn't anything they are interested in. If I give them photos they said they would like to decide which photos to hang and would choose their own type of photo album. They would like the photos sorted and given to them all at one time if possible. I was thinking because of the time and money involved to develop and copy that I would give photos to them at Christmas. It will take me every bit of 2017 to complete this project but I don't know where to start. Any suggestions?

My advice is to split it into two sub-categories: Printed Photos & Digital Photos. Start with collecting all of your printed photos and putting them in one place. Decide how you want to sort them - by person, by year, by event etc and start sorting through your photos. Sort your photos in the way you want to - what works for YOU first, then you can reassess how you are going to sort them for your daughters. Good luck! 

Remember Kondo's rules: 
1. Tidy in one shot, as quickly and completely as possible

2. Selection Criterion: Does it 'spark joy?'

Once you have finished the printed photos, do the same for the digital photos. Remember to only keep the photos that SPARK JOY. 

If you haven't already done so, read how I KonMari'd my Printed Photos and Digital Photos, hopefully it will inspire you to sort through yours. It is a massive job, emotionally, physically and mentally - however once it's done - you will feel amazing! 

******

Thank you all for your questions regarding the KonMari method, and My KonMari Journey. I do hope you found this helpful. If you have any questions for me, please feel free to contact me HERE.


Until next time, have a wonderful week, 
Charlene


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My KonMari Journey: DIGITAL CLUTTER

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Welcome to 'My KonMari Journey' series. This year I have been sharing my progress, as I make my way through the KonMari Method, based on the best-seller book 'The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up' by Japanese organising enthusiast, Marie Kondo.

Today I am sharing: My KonMari Journey: DIGITAL CLUTTER

If you are new to my blog, Welcome! In case you missed it, be sure to read my Introduction and Getting Started post, so you know what the KonMari Method is all about and the reasons why I am doing it. You can also read all of my KonMari posts HERE.

In a nutshell, Marie Kondo has four rules she recommends people follow when doing the KonMari Method:

1. Tidy in one shot, as quickly and completely as possible
2. Sort by category, not by location
3. Selection Criterion: Does it 'spark joy?'
4. Order of tidying: Clothes, Books, Documents (Paper), Miscellaneous items (Komono), and Mementos (Sentimental)

As suggested in the book, I will start doing the KonMari Method with my own 'stuff' first, then I will work through the kids items, because I am too sentimental and would find it hard to part with their things right off the bat. I also need to get my head around this new process of de-cluttering, tidying and organising, so hopefully when it comes to purging my kids stuff, it will be a lot easier (well, let's hope so).

*******
-THE BEGINNING-

Now that I have organised my Clothes, Books, Papers, and Komono (miscellaneous) and Sentimental items - CARDS & LETTERS & Journals, Awards & Achievements Keepsakes & Photos, it's time to tackle the category that everyone tends to put in the 'too hard basket' or 'I will do it "later"' pile, that's right...I'm talking about DIGITAL CLUTTER.

Digital clutter has been, hands down, the hardest category to date. I have had a love/hate relationship with this category and wanted to throw in the towel a few times because it was just too darn hard. However, I snapped out of it and powered through it, and you know what, I am really glad I tackled it. This post has been in my draft folder for almost 3 months, and today I finally clicked the 'PUBLISH' button and it 'sparked joy'! I get to share with YOU my journey of using the KonMari method on my DIGITAL CLUTTER...here we go.


- DIGITAL - 

Before you begin, I highly recommend you do these TWO things:

1. Back up your computer
Regardless of how organised or disorganised your computer is, there are going to be many changes, so take a moment to ensure that there is a current back up, once that's done, pause them while you are doing the KonMari method, otherwise it will try and sync everything as you go and you will be chasing your own tail. If you use Time Machine, iCloud, DropBox, Google Drive etc to back up your devices then pause these too.

2. Make a note of your hard drive usage stats (e.g. Storage)
This will be your token 'BEFORE' photo and hopefully by the end of this process you will see how much free space you have once you completed the KonMari method. Also it's a good time to empty the 'Trash', so you are starting with a clean canvas.


BEFORE






I can't believe I started with over 60,000+ items on my computer and over 50,000+ of them are photos!

Before I started the purging process, I took screenshots and wrote down the stats of what was currently on my laptop (note: I have an Apple MacBook Pro). I have had this computer since 2012 and I rarely delete anything from it, 'just in case' I need it one day - but we all know that ONE DAY never comes, right? I have been an Apple user for 7-8 years, due to the schools I worked in used them, and I quickly converted.

Each year when I changed teaching positions or schools, instead of transferring all my digital files & photos etc to an external hard drive, I would just put it all on the new laptop. It was organised chaos (and often disorganised) - there was just so much on there, I didn't have the motivation or time to do it, but now I really wish I did! 


As you can see my Hard drive was completely FULL! I even got the pop-up message prompting me to delete some items (a few times actually), to make space...now if that's not a sign to de-clutter your computer, I don't know what is. Don't put it off until tomorrow...start today!

Like the other KonMari categories, I have decided to break DIGITAL CLUTTER into sub-categories - this ticks the box of 'Sorting by Category, not by location'.

The sub-categories for Digital Clutter are: 
  • Programs/Applications 
  • Media Files 
  • Web History 
  • Bookmarks 
  • Email 
  • Documents/Files 
  • Social Media 
  • Photos

Programs / Applications

This category was pretty quick and painless, I went through my programs and applications, purging any I have not opened or used in the last two years. I regularly check my updates and when the notification pops up, I let my laptop do its thing. I am currently running Mac OS Sierra (Version 10.12.1).


Media Files

I don't actually keep a lot of media files on my laptop. I tend to listen to the radio, CD's or YouTube. I do have an iPod, but my daughter has claimed it as her own - I might need to invest in another. For the media files I did have on my laptop, I only kept the ones that sparked joy...the rest went into the Trash. I KonMari'd my CDs a while ago, you can read all about it HERE...one day I hope to transfer all of my CDs to an iPod and discard the CDs once and for all, but for now I am happy with the system I have.


Web History

Delete...Delete...Delete! Go to your history and delete your browsing data from the 'beginning of time' - that's what I did and you know what - it feels great! I deleted over 40,000 items in my web history! How crazy is that? Now I clear my browsing data and cookies/caches regularly - this means if I do come across a site I want to see again or refer to, I will either PIN IT or save it to my bookmarks - which are now organised. 


Bookmarks

My Bookmark Manager was a hot mess. I bookmarked websites and blogs regularly but didn't have a proper system in place. This made it really had to find things. So like my documents (see below), I saw a pattern in the pages/blogs I was bookmarking, and created folders for each. I went through ALL of my bookmarks - there were over 800 (since 2012) and I have purged 3/4 of those pages - some were no longer available or were broken links, so they were deleted straight away. For some of the pages I pinned them on Pinterest instead of having them in my Bookmark folders, the remanding pages are those I refer to regularly, so they are easy to find and open. I have limited each Bookmark folder to have no more than 30 websites, otherwise it becomes overwhelming. 

I have my frequently used pages e.g. bank, social media and blog etc, on my Bookmark Bar for quick reference. 


Email 

I have had a love/hate relationship with my my email inbox for quite some time. At one stage, I had over 1000 unread emails and it became overwhelming very quickly, until I came across Unroll.me - this was an absolute game changer for me. You simply sign up with your email address, Unroll.me goes through ALL your emails and splits all of your subscriptions into alphabetical order.

I went through the list and managed to unsubscribe from 233 emails subscriptions (eek) that no longer 'sparked joy' or were relevant to me anymore. I decided to keep 3 in my Inbox and rolled up 37...now whenever I get an email from any one of those 37 subscriptions, I get ONE email from Unroll.Me with a snippet of the newsletters etc - it only sends you something when the subscriptions have something to share.

Now I don't feel overwhelmed when I open my emails, Unroll.Me lets me know if they find any more subscriptions and I go through the process again, whether to 'Unsubscribe, Roll Up or Keep in Inbox' - it's great and has made life so much easier. If you haven't already, give it a try! You will love it.

Documents / Files

This task was overwhelming to begin with because I had random files and folders everywhere. My folders were originally organised by YEAR then MONTH and within each month I had three sub-folders - Home, Personal and Blog, however as months went by those folders quickly became "TO SORT" folders and I pushed them into the 'too hard' basket, that is until I decided I was going to KonMari my laptop.


The first thing I did was set up folders that I would use regularly - BLOG, DIGITAL LIBRARY, HOME/PERSONAL, PLAYCENTRE AND WORK. Now, doing the KonMari method on a laptop with over 60,000 items isn't going to happen over night (well not for me anyway), it's an ongoing process...and I had been working away at it, on and off for about two months. There are still a few documents I need to purge, however at this moment in time, just having the new system in place has helped me immensely and I am able to find documents quickly and easily.

I purged any documents that I had not opened for a couple of years, and/or didn't appeal to me or my life. Knowing that those documents are no longer taking up space in my digital world, makes me happy. The simplest way of doing this is - go to Documents and order by DATE MODIFIED. I had documents dating back to 2011/2012 when I first got my laptop, so a lot of them were deleted.

Now I have a better system in place, it's a matter of making sure I save documents/files etc in to the correct folder or sub folder. When I need something, for example, for my blog, I know it's going to be in the BLOG folder, instead of wrecking my brain to figure out what month I created it! 

Social Media

This category was a tricky one for me, especially as a blogger because I use social media daily. That being said, I now have systems in place that I am using each day to purge anything that no longer sparks joy. 


FACEBOOK
Over the past couple of weeks, I have been scrolling through my newsfeed and unfriending or unfollowing any pages that no longer appeal to me, as a blogger and personally. Because I am a blogger, I follow quite a lot of blogs, however these tend to take up majority of my personal newsfeed and I miss out on important statuses and photos from my friends and family. I have a selection of my favourite bloggers that I get to 'See First' and the rest I have these set on 'Default' or turn notifications off and will view all the PAGES via https://www.facebook.com/pages/feed - it's the one stop shop for all the blogs I love & follow. 

INSTAGRAM & TWITTER
I have used the CrowdFire app on my phone to filter through accounts who a) don't follow me, or b) no longer appeal to me e.g. following pages for giveaways etc. This is going to be ongoing process, and my goal is to go through each and every person/page I follow and make a decision whether or not they still spark joy.

PINTEREST
Oh I could spend hours on Pinterest, pinning and perusing the amazing boards. Pinning is good, however having hundreds of random boards is not. Last year I actually took the time to sort out my boards so I can find things and pin. It's more pleasing on the eye when everything is in order. My boards are ordered alphabetically, with my BLOG board and current events (e.g. Christmas) at the top (this will change throughout the year).

Photos

Saving the best til last - well, should I say 'saving the hardest til last' - 5 years of photos sitting on my laptop, over 50,000 photos...I didn't know where to begin.

The first thing I did was buy a new external hard drive just for my PHOTOS - to use as another form of back up (using my birthday money from my parents - thanks Mum & Dad). I currently use Time Machine and iCloud (although I'm not 100% how iCloud works - all I know is that my photos are there and I pay a certain amount per month for 1TB) - I can't put a price on my photos, so I am willing to pay whatever it takes to keep them safe.

A while ago I made a start on organising my photos - creating a main folder called 'DIGITAL LIBRARY' and then creating a folder for each year 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, and 2016. Within each of these folders, I created sub folders for each month of the year, numbering them first so they were organised in numerical order. From these folders, I started to create folders for specific events, so it's easy to find photos to print or share. 



Then I realised something - I have two Digital Libraries - 1) in Photos (on Mac) and 2) via Finder. Are these duplicates? I was on the verge of an anxiety attack. So I walked away from the laptop and took some deep breathes! After a few days, I finally got into the right headspace to get stuck into these digital photos once and for all. I moved the photos from Finder to Photos (on Mac) - so I had ALL my photos in ONE place! (I deleted the empty folders once it was done).

On the 16th September, I had 51,324 photos stored in Photos (on Mac). 

I remembered Kondo's rules...
1. Tidy in one shot, as quickly and completely as possible
2. Sort by category, not by location
3. Selection Criterion: Does it 'spark joy?'

Just like the folders I created in Finder, I decided to make ALBUMS for each year in Photos (on Mac) - 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015 and 2016.

The Albums 2012 and 2013 were fairly small, so all the photos were dragged into the album, not folders. For the Years 2014, 2015 and 2016, I created sub folders for each month (1/ January, 2/ February...) and simply dragged and dropped all the photos that belonged in the corresponding folders.

This is what I was working with...
BEFORE
2012 - 434
2013 - 1,922
2014 - 18,556 (Birth of my son & new DSLR camera)
2015 - 22,525 (New home, Milestone birthdays and iPhone 6s)
2016 - 7,887 (as of 16th September 2016)

TOTAL - 51,324

AFTER
2012 - 387
2013 - 1,342
2014 - 12,370
2015 - 13,840
2016 - 5,810

 TOTAL of 33,749

Please note: this was a very time consuming task. I was working on this task, on and off, for almost two months and I needed to get through 50,000+ photos - I was very proud of myself to getting it down to 33,749. I know I have still got more to purge, but for now - I am happy with what I accomplished - it's work in progress!

I backed up my laptop again, using Time Machine - with the new changes to my Photos, then I started moving each album to my PHOTOS External Hard drive. Once all the albums were moved from Photos (on Mac), I moved them to the Trash! Eek This was really hard for me to do, however I knew it needed to be done. I had to step away from the laptop a few times because I was getting really anxious and overwhelmed by it all.

Once all the photo albums (2012-2016) were moved to the external hard drive, I then clicked EMPTY Trash! It was overwhelming and liberating at the same time. I kept reminding myself I was doing the right thing - I had my photos saved in 3 places (External hard drive, Time Machine back up and in iCloud.

Once everything was removed from my laptop, and the Trash was empty - I restarted my laptop and checked my Storage stats again....

AFTER
Wow! Look at all that available space. I am so proud of myself, for finally letting go of the digital clutter. It's an amazing feeling and I know my laptop is thanking me too. 

This category has been really hard, simply because it has been time consuming - finding time to sit and go through 60,000+ items isn't going to happen overnight, unless you have no interruptions whatsoever. I did what I could, when I could and it has finally paid off. 

MY KONMARI JOURNEY IS COMPLETE

I have finally completed 'My KonMari Journey'  - WOOHOO! I would love to pop open a bottle of Champagne to celebrate, but instead I am going to take a moment to look around my home and admire the 'life-changing magic' that has truly taken place over the year. 

I want to THANK YOU all for following and supporting me throughout my KonMari journey. I have had moments where I wish I didn't blog about my journey, because it was actually more time consuming than the categories themselves...however I am really glad I did, as it has inspired so many of my readers, new and old and that 'sparks joy' for me! I love hearing all about your KonMari experiences, and seeing your progress, your journey - it means a lot.

x Until next time,
Charlene


Coming Up Next: New series - 'KONMARI WITH KIDS' starting in January 2017.

Stay tuned as I work my way through the KonMari method AGAIN, however next time it will be with my KIDS items! (Note: I have an 11 year old daughter and a 2 year old - so this is going to be interesting)

You can read all of my KONMARI posts HERE.

*******

I am super excited about this journey and I would love for you to follow along in this process, better yet, join me - Subscribe to my Blog, so you don't miss a post and together we can tidy our homes and change our lives, once and for all. I will also be sharing my journey on my Facebook page, and Instagram, so be sure to follow me there too.

If you would like to give the KonMari Method a go, but don't have the book - You can view and print/save all of my KonMari checklists HERE. Here is the printable for Digital Clutter







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