So you have "Kondoed" your house. What next?

Photo by Norbert Levajsics on Unsplash

Of course I loved Marie Kondo's new show on Netflix.  I'm a bit obsessed with getting rid of stuff (much to my family's frustration, "I guess I can't find that because you THREW it out Mum...").  Five years ago I went through my own process of decluttering.  I'm also fascinated by how to efficiently use space and to consider the impact of our carbon footprint.

It's not just that we have five (increasingly) growing offspring in a three bedroom house, but that accumulated clutter adds to my stress levels.  I think a lot of it stems back to growing up in a third world country and accumulating very little because we moved a lot.   Plus our neighbours were often fairly poor so having lots of material wealth wasn't helpful in that context (we still looked SO wealthy though).  Interestingly I'm not a particularly tidy person, so the decluttering also stems from a desperate desire to just have less chores.  Less stuff.  Less tidying.

Anyway.  You've sorted out your stuff and chucked lots out.  What next?

I was interested that the show didn't address the underlying issue of why people have so much stuff.  Why we all have SO. MUCH. STUFF!

The minimalist movement encourages you to ask other important questions that move beyond, "Does this spark joy?".  It helps you to consider, "Do I really need this?".  And, "Why am I keeping this?".

Do I need multiple items when I only use one?  Do I actually need to have so many clothes sitting in my cupboard that I never wear?  Why do I keep buying things when I already have all I need?  Why am I not content with what I already have when it serves me perfectly well? And why do I still have my blue taffeta formal dress?  (even if you wanted to wear it to an 80's party you'd have to be desperate...).

So if you want to rethink your spending and accumulating habits here are some resources that I'd recommend having a look at/read of:

1. Netflix Minimalism:  A documentary about the important things.

2. Blog Becoming Minimalist by Joshua Becker.  He's also written some books but having read one or two I'd recommend just reading his blog.  It's all covered in there.  He also links to lots of other minimalist bloggers.

3. Challenge 1.  Project 333 started by Courtney Carver.  Choose 33 clothing items for 3 months.

4.  Challenge 2.  Buy Nothing New Month (or year).  Worth giving a go to see how much you have to think carefully about your purchasing habits.

5. Christian perspective.  I found this piece by Stephen McAlpine brought some richness to pondering this question of why we crave order.

6.  Book and TV.  I really like the Australian declutterer Peter Walsh.  Similar to Marie Kondo in that he focuses on the process of decluttering but he's also interested in these questions of why the stuff made into your house in the first place.  He's often on the Australian TV show "The Living Room" and he's written a lot of books (which of course you won't be buying but requesting at your local library ;)...

7. Book.  Low carbon and Loving it: Adventures in sustainable living from the slums of India to middle class Australia by Mark and Tom Delaney (2018).  This is one to really challenge your thinking but it is so worth reading.  Not long.  Practical and super interesting.

I'd love to hear other's recommendations.