What do you do when “spark joy” doesn’t work for you anymore?

Friday, 2 October 2020

When Maria Kondo first popped up on Netflix, I was mesmerized. Not only was her show was binge worthy, it was inspiring and the catalyst for decluttering our home.

Every weekend for a month, we went at a room, holding items, asking ourselves if it sparked joy. Piles were made, bags filled and slowly we made our way through to the other side. The kitchen was the easiest. My bedroom was the hardest. But it worked and we became lighter, happier, and organized. I could find things easier and quicker because everything had a place. We kept only the items we used. No more junk drawers.

Someone once told me, for every item you bring into your house, you need to give away five. Seemed a bit drastic to me at the time. Now, however, I’m thinking they were on to something. Decluttering has to be done on a regular basis or you end back up to where you started.

I’m back to where I started. Actually I bypassed the starting point some time ago and am now drowning in stuff, again.

I have a lot of stuff. I’m not going to deny it. I have a lot of hobbies and interests and each of them comes with stuff. For example, I’m into photography. I have a DSLR camera, several lenses, tripod, filters, batteries and a camera bag. I make greeting cards with my photos, so I have greeting card paper, adhesive, and photos. I make soap, lip balm and healing balm. I have ingredients and supplies for that. I also make paper and seed paper…more supplies and equipment. I paint. Imagine the supplies and equipment for that, both acrylic and watercolour. Then there’s yarn for crocheting, wood burning kit, jewellery making supplies and equipment… You get the picture!

It’s become a little overwhelming. So we’re tackling it again. Except this time, the spark joy isn’t working for me. So I’m changing my approach. My goal is buying a home in the next couple of years. With that goal in mind, I look at the stuff and ask myself, do I really want to pack this and haul it to the new place? Do I really want this is my new home?

We have boxes, bags, and bins set up in the basement to help organize the stuff. When I sit back and look at it all, it’s overwhelming. But, if I tackle one small corner at a time, it’s much easier. That’s what I did tonight. One corner at a time, one box at a time.

I started with sorting my hobbies, office supplies, etc from garbage and donation items… just to get things more manageable. Once that’s done, I’ll go through each hobby to determine if I need 100 paint brushes or if 3 will suffice!

It’s not easy but so rewarding. Especially when the energy is able to flow freely through the house. One baby step at a time.