Have you heard of “The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying-Up” by Marie Kondo?
If you haven’t then you’ve either been living under a rock, or you’ve somehow avoided acquiring any junk and are easily able to let go of things once they no longer serve their purpose.
The premise of the Konmari Method, as it’s known to the now devout followers of this book, is that you should only keep items that “spark joy”. Are you rolling your eyes? Stop rolling your eyes.
The popularity of this book stems from the fact that EVERYONE has stuff in their home that they no longer need or use. We have all bought a t-shirt or item that we’ve never worn or used but yet, because we paid money for it and have assigned it value, it now must stay in our home- FOREVER.
This makes no sense and usually just causes us to accumulate so many possessions that we begin to feel ourselves suffocate under all the stuff. Or at least, that’s how I’ve been feeling when it comes to my kid’s toys. Let me tell you, it stresses me out!
I grew up in a home with a very busy mother who simply didn’t have the time or the resources to help us keep our rooms clean. My floor was usually completely covered with clothing, toys, stuffed animals, and whatever else I tossed when I was done using it.
Because of this, I know how much anxiety it can actually cause for a child to have too much stuff.
I have made it one of my priorities to keep my kid’s room clean and organized especially since they share a room and it isn’t that big. An easy way for me to do this is to constantly stay on top of the toys they have.
Once I notice something is no longer being played with, I bring it out and see what happens. Do they immediately start playing with it excitedly and often, or does it get taken out of the box and tossed around for a minute or two and then discarded? Is it sparking joy for them?
I can say, without a doubt, that LEGO sparks joy for my entire family. It may cause a fight here or there, but the hours upon hours of quiet play time, imaginative creations, not to mention my husband secretly loving it as well has made it our favorite toy. Too bad we have 186537243386 pieces of it in our home. We keep it as organized as we can though, so it works.
As for the other toys, I sort through them often and I ask the boys, “Do you play with this toy anymore? Do you like this toy?” If they both say nah, we don’t care. I get rid of it. I know this is pretty crazy, right? No! It makes perfect sense.
If you don’t need it, don’t want it, and seeing it makes you feel NOTHING, then you no longer need this item in your house. Konmari it, as they say.
Easy as that. With the gift giving season coming up I will be donating toys we no longer need to make room for new toys that will hopefully spark joy. I am also being more mindful about the amount of toys we are buying for the kids, as they simply don’t need 20 new items.
What do you think about the Konmari method of decluttering your home? Have you read the book or applied these principles to your household? I’d love to hear about it!
