Yep, I read that decluttering book & it has sort of changed my life (at least a little)

I am not immune to the irony of reading a book about decluttering in order to figure out how to declutter my life. I get how silly it is to buy something that helps you get rid of things, but I couldn't help it when I saw Marie Kondo's The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up. This book is such a beautiful object--no dust jacket, small size, lovely textured cover--that I wanted to own it anyway.

Which should explain exactly why I need a decluttering book in the first place.

Lots of folks have reviewed Kondo's book and her method. It's a gazillion seller, she's basically a rock star in Japan and all the major newspapers and magazines have covered it. What I can tell you is the part that affected me which is Kondo's assertion that one should not sort by geography, ("today I will clean out the closet"), but rather by type. You need to pull every like item into one place and then gaze upon what you've got and then go all the way through that pile.

Don't stop.

This means you don't go through the clothes in one dresser or room, you gather all of your clothes, all of your shirts and socks and gloves and coats and whatever, and you put it all on the floor somewhere and then you, I imagine, freak out as you gaze upon just how many shirts and socks and gloves and coats and whatever you actually own. Then, with the realization that you have way too much staring you in the face, Kondo tells you to start going through that pile and get rid of everything that does not work for you. (Or in her words, "gives you joy".)

I don't have a ton of stuff (I swear), but I have now gone through the homes of multiple deceased relatives and I am so tired of sorting through piles and piles of stuff that just ends up in the donate bin or the trash can. I am tired of that being my job - to clean up the messes that my relatives did not get to when they were alive. The thing is, as I listen to a lot of relatives bemoaning the fact that they never can get to dealing with their stuff, I'm sure I'll be doing it again and again in the future.

And again.

My frustration over all of that has few outlets, which is where Kondo's book comes in. At the very least, I can better sort through my own stuff and at least feel like I am in control of that part of my life.

Plus, I think I have way too many pairs of socks.

[Post pic of Kondo's method of vertical folding from Modern Mrs. Darcy .)