When I was very young, I loved organising everything meticulously in my bedroom. I always found myself feeling calm with a tidy space but as I got older, started buying more stuff and having children, it all went a bit wrong. Overwhelmed with toys, clothes, and lots more, our house would shift between looking relatively tidy, messy and the aftermath of a tornado. This was often daily but sometimes on an hourly basis. As an adult I'd always struggled with clutter and letting anything go.
Presents from family and friends, expensive designer shirts bought 30 years ago that didn't fit me anymore and kitchen appliances that I was definitely going to use soon. I'd been saying that since I bought it years ago and all it had done was take up space in the kitchen. One day I picked up, "The Life-changing Magic of Tidying Up!” by Marie Kondo and it changed everything. Actually, do you know what, you can read all about it here. I got rid of about 60% of my clothes straight away and my journey towards a mostly uncluttered life began.
So Marie Kondo was my initial inspiration but over time I've discovered different ways to declutter and stay that way. There are people who complete training to work the Marie Kondo method. Just to clarify, that's not me although I do use some of her techniques. I could see how much better I felt without the clutter and that wasn't just physical. When my spaces are clear, I feel calm, relaxed and able to focus more clearly. It's like there's some weird magic happening!
So, with a lot of choice out there, why choose me? Apart from my lovely qualities on the home page, I’ve been there. I understand the difficulties, not just with the decluttering process itself but with actually finding the motivation to start. For me, this was mainly about feeling overwhelmed and paralysed to do anything. Today, I'm not going to lie and say our home is a constant oasis of calm, resembling a show home. The reality is that I can still find it hard at times to let go of things, particularly sentimental ones. For me, it's always progress, not perfection. Here's a secret, there is no perfection!