Upon reading that the renowned Marie Kondo was dropping a new Netflix series earlier this year, I got way too excited. I'd recently been wallowing in my worry over having to move all of my belongings at the end of the school year and this seemed like the perfect solution. With my eyes practically suctioned to the screen I figured, "okay...my life is a mess...I watch this TV show... no more mess...poof goes my stress!"

Flash forward four episodes and about four hours later, the contents of my drawers spilling onto and recarpeting my dorm floor. I was in the thick of it, but it was exhilarating. I was looking at streams of things I really just didn't want or know I had in my life anymore.

This was not the first time I'd attempted to go through my belongings. In fact, I'd tried at least a few times this past school year, increasingly aware that the more stuff I accumulated, the more I'd have to deal with when I graduated. Each time I'd pull a few clothing pieces to sell or donate and then just reorganize everything (or more realistically shove everything back in drawers.)

 For some reason, it's easy to browse through your clothes and junk drawers and say "eh I'll use it sometime, maybe I'll need it soon", then proceed to exile it back into the cavernous depths of whatever closet you were excavating. But, this time I followed what Marie said, and laid everything out where I could see it. Then I started playing Where's Waldo for things that "sparked joy" and started being able to differentiate what I actually enjoyed in my life versus what I'd been holding on to for those "what if?" days.

In a pile were clothes I never wore, never took the tag off of, wore for the sake of having it in the first place, and so on. But, instead of reluctantly fishing them back out, I now made my peace, thanked the object, and accepted the fact that my life would be better, and lighter if I didn't have to carry it around till the next purge.

After cleansing, the next step was folding. The glorious act of making your dresser look like a filing cabinet. I'd already been doing this from an earlier pre-quarter life crisis, but this just made me do a better job of it this time around.
Now some of you may immediately be thinking of all the crazy Marie Kondo memes that have been floating around on the interweb for some time. In a way, the internet has taken Marie and turned her into the new Ina Garten. To clarify, she's not out to brainwash you into throwing away your most precious belongings just to have "less things". Contrary to popular belief, if you have 60 books on a shelf, but cherish each and every one, that's something worth keeping if it makes you happy. But, if you just have 60 books for the sake of having 60 books, it may be worth considering scaling down.










So where am I now? - In a happier space with less things. 

Do I have like only ten items in my life? No... but my drawers are less likely to explode at any moment and I can really see what I have. I truly believe that at the base of Marie Kondo's method is the idea of appreciating what you have. In today's society many of us seek happiness and instant gratification with material items, but by taking the time to appreciate what you do have, it fosters an overall feeling of contentment.

So if you're feeling like you're drowning in your own nest of meaningless items, I highly suggest giving Marie a chance.


(Image via Netflix)