new year, new joy

Ahh, January. The time when goals are lofty, confidence is high, and energy is in full swing. The time when retailers and magazines tell us spring has sprung as if they have replaced the groundhog. The time when we are culturally drawn to all things organization. And, is it just me, or is it also the time when we want to purge all the things?

Several years ago, I got it in my head on New Year’s Day that I was going to Marie Kondo the crap out of my house. Mind you, I had not (and still haven’t – shame on me) read “The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up”. I had seen a multitude of Pinterest and blog posts about the concept and figured I could rely on the boiled down version of the concept (seriously, I can’t believe I’m admitting that here) – does it spark joy? I started in my kitchen and it was like a light was turned on. William Morris was definitely onto something when he advised us not to have things in our homes that either aren’t functional or we don’t believe to be beautiful. So why not both? Why not make sure that the things in our homes are both beautiful and functional?

That simple kitchen clean-up on New Year’s Day has permanently changed how I look at my home. It may well have also been the push I needed to finally go to design school. “Does it spark joy?” became a guiding principle for me not only in how I clean my home, but in how I purchase things for my home. I spent that year exploring doing things differently. Fewer purchases, more experiences.

When you look around your home, does it spark joy? Does each room feel as you want it to feel? I can honestly say that mine does not always feel like I want it to feel. Joy is a moving target. It changes as we change. This is why decorating is a process of collecting things over time. I’m working on that as we remodel our little bungalow. What will you do this year to make your home a place of less stress, more joy?

P.S. The link above to Marie Kondo's book is an affiliate link. If you are the only other person on earth who has not read this book, and intend to buy it thru this link, know that I might make a few pennies off of the sale. And thank you for supporting this blog!