What I'm "Giving Up" for Lent

 Sarah Combs bedroom, designsponge.com

This image came up when I searched for "Spanish minimalist decor." My home is decorated in a Spanish Mediterranean/Mexican hacienda style, with the goal of a colorful and cozy but uncluttered, minimalist aesthetic. Though I don't care for white walls, this bedroom presents the balance of color and interesting objects with a peaceful simplicity that I love. It is, however, lacking in books, which isn't to be tolerated, and I'd add a bit more artwork and personal effects. I find that one must begin with a vision for one's home, beyond the general desire that it be clean, beautiful, and orderly. What does this have to do with Lent?

For past Lenten seasons I've given up clutter, but I was not specific enough regarding how to make that happen in a systematic way. A couple of weeks ago I was contemplating conservative media in a blog post, and I felt at a loss as to how I might give up certain aspects of internet use for Lent. Immediately following that post, I spent a whole day internet free. 

That was a glorious day. I felt much less stressed. I was more productive, finishing all of my daily routines without feeling rushed. I spent plenty of time in contemplative pursuits--praying the Rosary, spiritual reading, and creative endeavors. It was, like, the perfect day! 

Instead of trying to limit internet use each day to a certain amount of time, and/or cutting out particular things entirely, like social media, I'm going to make Wednesdays and Fridays internet-free for the duration of Lent. These are traditional Catholic days of fasting and abstinence. 

As I'm a vegetarian (I don't even eat fish), I don't need to abstain from meat on Fridays. I will replace that with abstaining from internet use. I think we only have a couple of obligatory fasting days during Lent, one of them being tomorrow, Ash Wednesday. I'm going to extend Wednesdays as days of food fasting, in addition to internet abstinence, throughout this liturgical season. This practice will mitigate some of the internet-produced clutter, which is mostly involving that of the mind, but it also clutters up my time. This leads to my next plan for giving up clutter. 

I will work on decluttering my home for a minimum of three hours a week. I initially thought I'd set it at five, but I want to set myself up for success. Five hours is my true goal, but three will suffice. I will keep a log of the time spent decluttering, and use a timer for 15-minute chunks, so as not to overwhelm myself. The time I'm giving up for decluttering will be in addition to my regular housework. 

I think that between the everyday duties for mental health outlined yesterday and this giving up of time away from the internet and toward decluttering, I will grow in virtue, which is the point of Lent. These small sacrifices will have the added benefit of bringing my vision for my home to more perfect life. I will outline my plans for spiritual devotion for Lent later this week. 

Happy Fat Tuesday everyone, and have a blessed Lent!

The Oppression of Things | FlyLady's 31 Baby Steps with Diane in Denmark

jennifergrace.com

I awoke in the night and this phrase came to mind: the oppression of things. We do not sleep well when we're feeling heavy. Perhaps I'm simply feeling burned out from all of my efforts to get my home in order. I'm seeing definite results. I'm seeing spaces clearing and clean surfaces, the formation of good habits and routines falling into place. But there is still so far to go, and I wonder if I'll be able to keep it up. I wonder, will it be worth it? Will the monumental change in my life come that is promised by all the decluttering gurus? 

In November I began the FlyLady system's 31 Baby Steps, following Diane in Denmark on YouTube. Diane has been a godsend. I had dabbled with FlyLady in the past and adopted some of the strategies, but it seemed too complicated and just didn't stick. Diane simplified it for me, and I finished the 31 Days on the last Sunday of Advent. Since then I've just been working on implementing the ideas learned in the Baby Steps, trying to resist the urge to go too far beyond that until I have the habits firmly established. Maybe it's time to scale back just a little, to rewrite my morning, afternoon, and evening routines to the bare minimum of items to accomplish. 

When I was a Mary Kay beauty consultant, I learned that Mary Kay would make a list of the six most important things she needed to do each day, and I found that habit to be helpful. Six is a manageable number and does not feel overwhelming. I think I'll scale back my three routines to just six items each. I'll reconsider what Diane in Denmark emphasized as especially important. I'll tweak the ideas to suit my individual household, personality, and values. 

It's time, once again, in this New Year and also new decade, to pull focus. Every kind of clutter results in the oppression of things. The physical things that we don't really want or need in our homes, the activities that drain us of energy and waste our time, the constant striving, the lack of clarity produced by a cluttered mind, a body cluttered with toxins and the wrong food, the weight of sin, even the clutter of experiences, which are supposed to be superior to stuff--all of this is heavy baggage that we no longer need to carry.

I suggest beginning with Diane in Denmark's approach to the Flylady's 31 Baby Steps. Watch only one video each day, and suspend your disbelief over whether shining your sink or dressing to shoes will really make a difference. Just jump in where you are and do it. Do NOT sign up for the emails at the FlyLady.net website, as you'll receive an overwhelming deluge. Here is the first video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=11_wvZoQPTc.

I'll keep you up to date on my progress, and you can keep me up with yours. Together we'll learn to let go.  

40 Bags in 40 Days Lent Plan

I stumbled across the idea on the internet to give up clutter for Lent via the "40 Bags in 40 Days Challenge" (see https://www.whitehouseblackshutters.com/). Basically, you remove 40 bags of stuff from your home during the course of Lent, through giving away, throwing away, recycling, or selling your possessions. In terms of simplicity, this plan hits the mark! Last year I tried to give up multiple things at once, form entirely new habits, and overhaul my life in one fell swoop. This year's plan is uncomplicated. 

I think I've decided to ditch using a particular method. Each decluttering/tidying approach is proclaimed to be The One, isn't it? They can't all be The One. I'm just going in with a bag, buckling down, going through stuff, filling the bag, and then either emptying the contents in the trash or recycling bin, or taking them to a new home. There's enough clutter available that I can just tackle whatever I feel like on a given day. 

Have I filled a bag every day in the last week? No. But I aim to reach the 40 bag goal by Friday of Holy Week. I had the thought that at the end, I may have barely made a dent in my clutter, and that would be so disappointing! That's the devil talking. Why bother to begin if you will never reach the end? he taunts. Flick him off your shoulder.

With each bag I fill, I'm coming out of hiding. I'm rediscovering lost bits of myself and my life, and I'm letting go of what no longer serves me. 

Personally, I don't want to make the effort to sell my stuff. That could easily turn into procrastination. The exception would be homeschooling materials that are worth a substantial amount of money that my husband could put on Ebay. Otherwise I'd rather donate, and it is the prime season for almsgiving, after all. 

How large should your bags be? I recommend small bags so you can quickly see the clutter leaving your home. I don't want to let bags sit for days on end, waiting to be filled and then getting too heavy for me to haul out on my own. Yesterday I filled a plastic bag with paper clutter, dumped it into the recycling bin, and took the bag back to the room to use again. However the plan works best for you is the best plan. Maybe don't even count your bags. Just spend 15 minutes a day letting go of things that you don't find to be either useful or beautiful. When you figure out what you really need to keep, you'll have only what you truly need to live your best life. Isn't that an end worth pursuing? 

Hacienda Dreams

This year Advent is a short season, and it's speeding by. My home is decorated for the rest of winter, so I can nestle in and enjoy the cheerful colors and lights. My teenage daughter inherited the decorating knack from my mom, and she is a wonderful help with beautifying the house. I can now dream of the new interior colors and decor I'll start implementing come February, when the crocus flowers usually appear in my yard, the first sign of spring! 

I'm feeling very drawn to a Mexican country palette and style. I already have some decorative items for this motif, so with a renewal of wall colors, my hacienda dreams will come to fruition. I began with my kitchen over the summer, painting my cabinets a vivid blue, but it didn't go so well. My back can't handle it, and the paint wouldn't stick because of the humidity and easily chipped. I'm going to hire a friend of my husband who loves to paint to take over the project! I will be the visionary artist...

To update on my housekeeping goals, I definitely like this plan of having specific days for certain chores. And you don't necessarily have to do the chore on its day if it doesn't need to be done. If there isn't visible dust on the shelf or dirt on the floor, skip it! Just check what you're supposed to do on that day, and do what you can or what most needs attention. Remember, housework must have boundaries. When you are finished with the day's assigned tasks, be done! Progress, not perfection.

I started going through my jewelry to pare down and give away, or throw away if necessary. That's another lesson I'm learning--that it's okay for some items to go in the trash. We recycle or give away everything possible at my house, so I feel guilty tossing things that will go into a landfill. But maybe that painful lesson has its place. Be very intentional about what you buy, and you won't have as much to put in the trash in the long run. 

I hope you're all having a blessed and Spirit-filled Advent season!  What are you dreaming for spring?

 

Advent Housekeeping Plans!

Happy Advent 2018! This season of the Church Year is a special time for spiritual preparation leading to Christmas, but I'm approaching it a bit differently this year. You may not think of housekeeping when you think of Advent, but I assure you that there's a connection. Stay with me a spell. 

Typically, Lent is the season when I and many others focus on decluttering and deep cleaning, but I have decided that Advent is the perfect occasion for a mini version of this idea. Usually when I decorate for Christmas/winter, I put away some of my regular decorations; but in many cases I work the holiday items around them. This year I've taken down the vast majority of the regular decorations on the walls and surfaces and then dusted and cleaned those areas thoroughly. 

Those items which I don't want to keep are being given away to thrift stores, and the rest are going into the boxes that the holiday decorations came out of. They'll stay in the attic until it's time for winter to wrap up. Last year that was Groundhog Day! February (and Lent) can then be spent with a deeper cleaning and painting of the walls, a big project of redecorating that I have planned, and the regular decorations can be put back in place. No doubt some items will go on to the thrift stores, and a few new things will be purchased. 

This Advent I'm also establishing some basic housekeeping routines. Yes, I've changed my mind about implementing these! Someone finally provided me with a good reason to do so--Cheryl Mendelson, in her book, Home Comforts. Cheryl has a PhD in philosophy and approaches keeping house from a philosophical perspective, as an art and science well worth pursuing. What clicked for me was her argument that house work should have an end. 

By this she does not mean that housework should be done once and for all and never tackled again. Rather, there should be an end to housekeeping for the day or the week, or for a particular task. For example, she advises choosing one or two days as laundry days. The laundry then has an end in sight and isn't something you have to do every single day. Each day of the week has its appointed chores, and that's that. My personal goal is to be done with housework for the day as soon as I've cleaned up after dinner. And over break, I'm going to start assigning the dinner dishes to my teenager! 

So look here ladies, you don't need to wait until the New Year to establish better habits and routines. You can gradually build up to it during Advent, and by January you will have established a workable system. Advent is also a good time to clear out your possessions, because they might make great Christmas gifts for someone else to pick up at the thrift shop. You see, then, that your housekeeping efforts can be purposeful and will pay off in the peace you get from a well-ordered and lovely home. Subsequently, you can more easily schedule time to relax by yourself or with friends and family. The manic days of keeping house are over, my friends. This is a spiritual mission, and the Lord is our strength.

Do you have Advent plans that include housekeeping? If so, please share in the comments! I'll be posting regularly on my progress and giving specifics of my daily and weekly routines. I hope you will be inspired to find your own path to holiness through making your home a clean, clutter free, orderly and beautiful domestic church!

Winter Deep Clean 2018

Happy New Year, everyone! I'd like to invite you to join me for a deep cleaning of our homes this winter. Typically you might think of spring as being the season for a thorough house cleaning, but I can't wait that long. Sure, some tasks, like washing windows and painting, will need to wait until warmer weather. But as it is so very cold right now, and you are not likely to be spending much time outdoors, why not clean the cabin and perhaps avoid cabin fever in the process? We'll be too busy purging and scrubbing to notice how cooped up we are, and we will be loving our homes again!

I spent Christmas and my birthday sick and in bed, so I had a lot of time to plan. I watched way too many youtube videos, but some of them did inspire me and helped me discern the tools I will need for this project. It seems that the minimalist challenge groups for this year are focusing on spending 15 minutes per day on a particular zone. A zone might be a room or set of rooms, or just part of a room. I decided to start with my upstairs bathroom. 

I gathered my supplies and set a timer for 15 minutes (see grimy vintage timer in pic at top!), planning to work on the medicine cabinet only. I figured it would take more than 15 minutes, but the idea is that once you get going, you build momentum. 

The first thing you want to do is throw away (or set aside to give away) whatever items need to go. I tossed expired medicines, products I wasn't using, and old nail polish. Unfortunately one of the bottles broke in the waste basket, creating a strong smell and making a mess. Dealing with this added extra time to the project, which leads me to the next point. Plan for your project to take longer than expected. 

Just the medicine cabinet took 55 minutes, and later I realized that I had forgotten to wash the outside of it, so it was really a full hour. I took everything out, discarded certain items, cleaned all the shelves and woodwork, and put the remaining things back inside, in an organized fashion. This is a built-in cabinet and has quite a bit of storage space. There is room to put some additional items in it, which may end up meaning that I need less storage space in other areas of the bathroom. 

 

Bring paper and a pen into the zone you are working on so you can take notes of anything you need to replace (like those expired medicines you threw away) and any additional supplies you may need to finish the job. I did the medicine cabinet on Jan. 1, then took my list to the store the next day. One thing I really needed was rubber gloves for cleaning. Yesterday's job, hanging a curtain on a new rod, cleaning the window frame, and cleaning the pedestal sink, also took longer than expected. 

Once you get started, you may feel more overwhelmed that you did initially, realizing how much work you actually have ahead of you. So just set that timer for 15 minutes. Do what you can in that time. Choose only a small zone to work on. When the buzzer goes off, set the timer for another 15 minutes if you still haven't finished the job. I'm not going to work past one hour each day, because I don't want to injure my back. 

Here's a recap of the steps:

1. Choose what zone you will begin with (think small).
2. Gather the supplies you will need, including your paper and pen for note taking.
3. Set your timer for 15 minutes (reset as needed).
4. Purge first. Pare down duplicates, throw away expired items, give/throw away products you don't use/don't like. Be relentless!
5. Thoroughly clean the area. 
6. Organize your remaining items.
7. Reward yourself with a break!

So who's going to join me? What zone will you begin with first? Imagine having your home decluttered and shiny clean by spring!!
 

The Home as Sanctuary.

Clutter is a bummer. So are crumbs on the kitchen counters and dust bunnies in the hallway. Between the clutter and the dirt, keeping house can just seem like too much. Here's the thing that we must accept: Housework never ends. It never, ever ends. It's an everyday pattern of doing the same things over and over again. Some would call that insanity. I call it LIFE, plain and simple. But there must be a better way to live.

Maybe my house is too big. But I knew a woman in Columbus who lived in a large Victorian with her husband and two small children, and it only took her about 45 minutes a day to clean her home. Having a smaller space means less to take care of, sure, but if we don't have good habits, we have the same exact problems, only crammed into a smaller space. Having a smaller place to live doesn't necessarily equal less stuff. 

One reason I can't let go of Charlotte Mason is her emphasis on habit formation. Good habits are key to enjoying life and living it to the fullest. What can we do?

On Sunday I returned the master bedroom to a state of sanctuary. I dusted and removed some items. I pared down the books again. It feels better. Today I'm considering that the entire house could be a sanctuary. Can you imagine?

That's exactly what we must do--imagine. Dream. See how we want our homes to be in our minds. See how we want our selves to be. 

I got caught up on the laundry pretty well since my last post, but today my goal is to finish all of it, even if that means that a load is not completely full. 

Yesterday we went to the city and unloaded what the used bookstore was willing to take. I sold some books at our homeschooling co-op and will have another chance at that when we next meet. 

Slowly but surely, it's happening. The key is to refrain from bringing more unnecessary stuff into our homes once we clear the clutter. 

With the holidays fast approaching, the time is now to get our homes in order. Wouldn't you love to live in a space that needs only to be maintained by good, daily habits?
 

Summer Declutter

Hear me now, oh, thou bleak and unbearable world
Thou art base and debauched as can be
And a knight with his banners all bravely unfurled
Now hurls down his gauntlet glory
I am I, Don Quixote, the Lord of La Mancha
My destiny calls and I go
And the wild winds of fortune will carry me onward
Oh, whither soever they blow
Whither soever they blow, onward to glory I go!

One of the speakers at the IHM homeschooling conference I attended in May was Colleen Billing, who runs her own company for home organization called Peaceful Interiors. Charlotte Mason wrote that education is "an atmosphere, a discipline, and a life." Atmosphere is a full one third of a child's education. So we can deduce that our homes need to be clean, well-organized, and beautiful. Colleen reminded us that our God is a God of order; that we are created with hearts that crave and desire order. Decluttering our homes is paramount for providing a Catholic CM education!

Home organization is not merely utilitarian; it is spiritual. What we see on the exterior tends to reflect what is going on with the interior life. And we are affected spiritually by the quality of our surroundings. As I have written about before, Marie Kondo, in The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up, goes so far as to say that once we have cleared our clutter, we will be able to uncover our life's purpose!

But decluttering takes time, and time is a luxury that many homeschooling families do not possess. Of course, "discipline" comes right after atmosphere in the CM motto, and by discipline Charlotte meant habit formation. With good habits, your children should not be accumulating clutter. They ought to be in the habit of picking up after themselves and keeping their rooms and possessions tidy. Encouraging them to give unused and unloved items to charity is a great practice to instill. In the same vein, we adults need to model good habits. There is one room in my home in which I have failed in this regard dismally.

Colleen suggested that we choose one room and work on it from start to finish. She shared that the average room takes between four and twelve hours to declutter! So if you are wondering why you can never get that Terrible Room under control, most of the problem is likely that you haven't taken enough time to diligently put in the necessary hours.

My Terrible Room is part of the master bedroom suite, separated from the sleeping quarters by a set of wooden French doors. I know, I am a lucky woman! This room contains my husband's dresser and his closet. The rest of it is my stuff. My dressing table, a bookcase, and a cabinet. Multiple storage boxes and 3,000 magazines.

Marie Kondo says that before you can organize anything, you must clear out the clutter. She counsels us to touch each object and ask ourselves, "Does this bring me joy?" That is the entire criteria. Believe it or not, you can do this with books and magazines without even looking inside. Colleen adds that we should question whether we use the object on a regular basis, meaning at least yearly. This criteria can work with items which hold no sentimental value. Luckily sentimental items are the last things that we declutter in Marie's method. Again, the bringing of joy gets the last word.

Colleen recommends designating a specific time to work on decluttering and burying your phone and computer away from yourself. Marie admonishes us to get to it and do it all at once, rather than the proverbial "a little at a time". She promises that if you declutter your entire home in one fell swoop, you will have such great practice in making decisions about what stays and what goes that you will never have to go through this decluttering process again! I would add that we have to keep up those good habits we have established in our children and ourselves. Marie insists that we must begin with our own stuff, and no one else in the family can help us decide. Since most of us are on summer break from homeschooling lessons, the time is now to get it done!

A couple of final notes on the spiritual side of this topic. Colleen recommended John Michael Talbot's book, Simplicity. Our homes are like little monasteries. Monasteries are very simple but very beautiful. Come up with a vision for your home. Go from room to room and write it down. Dream a little bit. She was also very enthusiastic about flylady.net for additional tips.

It might feel like you are dreaming the impossible dream, but perhaps it is, after all, not so difficult so slay that windmill.

Simplify, Simplify, Simplify.

A popular slogan used in 12 Step groups is keep it simple. This is great in theory, and so many of us would love to simplify our lives, but we don't know how. Recently I've taken some steps that have made a difference, so I'll share them with you.

I went through my email inbox and removed myself from several mailing lists. So my first tip is, unsubscribe. If a blog sends you notifications of new posts too often, it can be overwhelming, and you may feel obligated to read each post. So you keep them in your inbox to read later, and soon you have several accumulated messages. If you really love the blog, you will go there without reminders. Jennifer Scott posts to "The Daily Connoisseur" every Monday, so I visit her blog each week without being notified. I only post here at Organic Mothering 2 or 3 times a month, so I promise not to clog your inbox if you do wish to follow me via email!

One of my biggest hassles was an overabundance of emails, with numerous attachments on each, that I received several times a week from the Catholic school where Beezy takes a la carte art and gym classes. It suddenly occurred to me to ask the principal to take me off the list. I told her it would be fine to send a paper copy of the weekly newsletter home with my child, and that would serve our purposes. I am now receiving hardly any email messages at all, and it's wonderful!

You can do the same thing with paper magazines. If you don't absolutely adore the publication, cancel the subscription, or do not renew it when it runs out. I have so many magazines that have accumulated in my home that it's difficult to know where to begin, but I am paring them down. Donate old issues to a thrift store or to your local library. Make sure that you also deal with snail mail immediately. File any bills and recycle the junk. Do not allow piles to grow.

I deactivated my primary Facebook account. A couple of years ago I had deleted it altogether, but after my grandma died last year, I wanted to be able to stay in touch with family members. That has been a great thing, but to be honest, most of what I see in the newsfeed is uninteresting. Not the personal stuff, but all of the "cute" animal videos, asinine memes, and general nonsense. It's too easy to get sucked in and waste valuable time. There is also the issue of being offended by what someone wrote, or feeling obligated to respond to someone else's offense over something I've posted. It's just not worth the stress. Real life throws enough curve balls at us, like when I was at the park yesterday and desperately needed to use the restroom. It was locked up for "painting," though I saw no signs of painters. Then when I hurried to the outhouse, I discovered it was out of toilet paper. Thanks be to God that I noticed this before I went ahead with my business. We don't need Facebook on top of daily life. Really.

I do still have a pseudonym FB account in order to remain active in a particular group that is important to me. Even here, I find myself getting too caught up in my advocacy for Charlotte Mason homeschooling and spending too much time thinking about what to share and how to get others involved in edifying conversation. The idea of letting go of my "baby" is almost unthinkable. But I'm thinking about it. I have caught myself designing posts in my mind, and this can become habitual. I know you know what I mean. This is no way to live.

So there you go! Consider just one thing that you can do today to simplify your life.

This and That

One thing I have been needing, especially with my lower back issues, is new living room furniture. While I was still single I bought a vintage red velvet couch from a close friend for a steal, and that has been the centerpiece of our living room since our marriage. Last evening we had a sectional delivered from My Furniture Place in Bryan. It's mostly a used furniture and home decor store, but this is a new piece. I am now changing the decorating scheme in the room to be in harmony with the couch. I will feature pictures soon!

I have been steadily working on paring down my wardrobe. I only have pajamas and workout wear to go through, and then I will move on to accessories. One thing I have noticed is that the clothes that have gotten to stay feel more respected and special. I don't mind ironing them, and I really don't like to iron! It is looking as though I won't have to pack away off season clothing, either. There are always those cool summer nights when it's cozy to throw on a sweater and sit on the porch, especially during a lightning storm. And in winter if we went somewhere warm for vacation, I wouldn't have to dig out my summer clothes. It's an experiment, and I'm excited to see how it works out.

My belly dance clothing is mostly getting packed away. I may still be able to dance, though! I have training in various forms of Gypsy dance, and there is a new style I'm going to be working on. It's a Spanish folkloric style with a lot of floreos, foot work, turns, and skirt work. The hip work is minimal, and I think the movements will be safe for my lower back. I'm going to demonstrate for my chiropractor and get the okay first!

We're going on an Easter egg hunt at a friend's house today, and later we'll color eggs for the Easter bunny to hide. I'm looking forward to this season of the liturgical year, celebrating release from the bondage of death, a time of rebirth, new life, salvation, and energetic joy. Behold, the tomb is empty!

Happy Easter, lovely doves!!

To Simplify & Frenchify--S & F Series Introduction

I'm so excited this morning, because I just received Forever Chic: Frenchwomen's Secrets for Timeless Beauty, Style and Substance by Tish Jett. I've been wanting this book for a long time, which is geared toward the 40+ woman. I've also had an idea for a blog series brewing in my mind, and spring is the perfect time to get down and dirty in the pursuit of a simpler, more meaningful life. Ladies (and gentleman if you are reading), it's time for a merciless decluttering! But we aren't going to think in terms of "spring cleaning" or getting rid of stuff. We are going to pull focus instead on the idea of keeping in our homes and our lives only those things which bring us joy.

The weather is supposed to warm up to the low 60s today, so windows may be opened! I have both my front porch and upstairs balcony already cleaned out and ready for sitting. It's time to live al fresco, but with the protection of screened spaces. A porch can serve as an outdoor cafe. The cafe, in Paris, is the place to see and be seen. In my case, the passersby may not be incredibly chic, but I can be a role model nevertheless, and so can you. Bring up the chic factor in your own neighborhood! This includes walking to as many destinations as possible. Walking is tres French.

Spring is wardrobe transition time. Before you put your winter clothes in storage, go through each piece of clothing you own, actually touching it meditatively in the way of Marie Kondo, author of The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up. I began with the tops and bottoms in my dresser drawers and have moved on to the closet. After tops and pants will come sweaters, skirts, dresses, and jackets. Right now I have enough transitional pieces that I don't need to pull my warmer weather clothing out of storage yet. When I do, I will immediately pare down to only those items that warm my soul. We are going to declutter by categories, and categories within categories, as Kondo strongly suggests. And you start with your own belongings. So your own clothes first!

If you don't have good feelings when you handle a particular item, no matter what the reason or for no discernible reason at all, off to charity it goes! If you are currently a size 12 and believe that you will soon be a 10 but know that you will never realistically see a size 8 again, get rid of the too small clothing. Those pieces that you love but that don't fit quite yet can be tucked away for a time but should not remain with the clothes in current circulation. Sentimental items are sorted last, so put pieces that you don't wear but that tug at your heartstrings aside for now. (That's a relief, huh?)


Voila! You have a place to begin. But you must begin it. Today. Throughout this series, I will share with you where I am at in sorting my categories of stuff, and we will explore Tish Jett's Frenchy wisdom. We will be chic--simply, beautifully, and substantially chic--in every area of life. Are you ready to finally meet the real you?