February Update: Sparking Joy

It's Saturday, it's rainy, and I'm giving myself permission to have a lazy Saturday. I slept in a bit, which was lovely -- and highly necessary, since I came back from a concert in Berkeley around 2am. I made my first acai bowl, which was delicious but soupy. Next time I'll put in way less liquid.

A photo posted by Katherine Goldman (@onehappykat_) on Mar 5, 2016 at 10:39am PST

February was my month for tidying, and I think it turned out really well! Having 4 entire days to devote to tidying was perfect. I got a lot done, and though I didn't finish tidying the house the way I wanted to, it was the perfect headstart. Tackling my clothes, books, and papers really got me on the right track! I'll tackle the miscellaneous stuff at another time, once I actually have the time.

Before:

A photo posted by Katherine Goldman (@onehappykat_) on Feb 16, 2016 at 12:23pm PST

Bottom: all the clothes I own. Definitely didn't realize just how much clothing I had!

The Closet

A photo posted by Katherine Goldman (@onehappykat_) on Feb 17, 2016 at 10:11am PST

I love my closet now. I forgot that I have many nicer blouses that I enjoy wearing, because they were squished in the middle of the closet. I had lots of dresses but didn't wear many of them, but now I've downsized to my favorites and am trying to wear them more often. (Hard to do when you are choreographing kids every day, but I'm trying when I can.) I put all my clothes on one side of the closet, nearest to my dresser, so I have a dedicated clothes corner in my room. The other side holds my bags and shoes, and I love the way it turned out. I can see everything and get to everything easily, since I have a lot of bags (and love them all).

The Other Clothes

A photo posted by Katherine Goldman (@onehappykat_) on Feb 16, 2016 at 6:38pm PST

Aren't the little clothes bundles adorable? :)

Donations...

A photo posted by Katherine Goldman (@onehappykat_) on Feb 16, 2016 at 4:29pm PST

Thirteen bags of donations!! And that's just in clothes, shoes, and bags!

Books

Part two of #Konmari week: #books! I'm a total #bookworm (pic #1: all the books I own). But I'd just gone through my books and purged a few I didn't want (pic #2). Turns out I didn't want way more than I realized... (Second set of book donations: pic #3). But now they all fit beautifully on 3 shelves, instead of needing 2 bookcases! #sparkjoy #konmarimethod #anyonewantbooks

A photo posted by Katherine Goldman (@onehappykat_) on Feb 18, 2016 at 3:38pm PST

This was funny. Top left: all the books I own. Middle left: I'd gone through a book purge before doing the Konmari week so I figured I wouldn't be getting rid of many more. I had just one box to donate. Bottom left: I was wrong... the books that didn't spark joy, and are going to the book buy-back store. Right: My bookshelf, looking so clean and lovely!

I didn't post Instagram photos of sorting through my paper: it wasn't super exciting, but it does feel good to have my papers all organized and in one place. I consolidated my files into one drawer of my file cabinet, instead of two, and my teaching paperwork is all organized and labeled in binders. 'm choosing to keep way more paperwork than Marie Kondo recommends -- but it's a system that works for me, and it felt good to organize it and get rid of duplicates!

I have more photos that I didn't put on Instagram, but maybe I'll get another post up with more details and photos. If that interests you, let me know!

Next time: an update on my March mission and some big, exciting news!