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The Life Changing Magic Of Tidying Up

I was at a bookstore this weekend and was browsing through the best-sellers, and came upon this book by Marie Kondo. I was intrigued and am still thinking about the book on this Monday morning, so I decided to buy the Kindle version. I’m excited to get to reading it and hope that it will give me the bit of inspiration I need to get my spring organization into action!

Here are some things I have learned about the book from around the web:

WHAT IS THE KONMARI METHOD?

The Konmari Method was created by Japanese organising expert Marie Kondo and is described in her book The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up: The Japanese Art of Decluttering and Organizing.

Kondo’s theory is that we are happiest when we are surrounded by things we love. The Konmari method consists of gathering together everything you own and then keeping only those things which ‘spark joy’. You hold every item before you decide what you want to do with it, and items that are not kept are thanked for their service, which, believe it or not, makes it easier to let things go. Key points in the Konmari method include decluttering by category and using efficient storage methods.

DECLUTTERING BY CATEGORY

The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up espouses a specific order of decluttering by category. You begin with clothes, then books, then papers and finally Komono, or miscellaneous items such as CDs, skincare products and electrical items. You finish up with photos and other sentimental items because they are the most difficult to part with.

EFFICIENT STORAGE METHODS

Marie Kondo advocates carefully storing items so that they are well cared for and easy to find. For example, she suggests folding clothes so that sit upright in your drawers and allowing socks to rest by not rolling them up into balls.

{a short video of Marie folding an underwear drawer}

BASICS OF THE KONMARI METHOD

{source}

1. Discard first, store later.

You cannot organize clutter. The first step is to get rid of everything you don’t need.

2. Tidy a little a day and you’ll be tidying forever.

“Tidying is a special event. Don’t do it every day.” If you do the job right, once and completely, you won’t have to do it again.

3. Storage experts are hoarders.

“Putting things away creates the illusion that the clutter problem has been solved.” But organized clutter is still clutter.

4. Sort by category, not location.

“Tidying up by location his a fatal mistake.” Sort by category instead, in the following order: Clothes, books, papers, miscellany, and then things with sentimental value.

5. “Does this spark joy?”

If it does, keep it. If it doesn’t, get rid of it. (Important documents not included, but there are fewer of these than you’d think)

6. Never pile things.

Vertical storage is the key. Stacking has two problems: you can stack much more that you can store vertically (not a plus if you’re aiming for clutter-free:, and stacking is hard on the things at the bottom.

7. Learn how to fold.

Kondo is adamant about proper folding technique, which enables you to store things standing up rater than laid flat. This method is amazing for visual types, because you can see everything at a glance, much more effectively than you can if your clothes are hanging or vertically stacked.

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I’m eager to read the book & will let you know if I use the techniques.

Does this appeal to you? Have you read the book?

For more KonMari inspiration, check out these Kon Mari Pinterest Boards.

Christmas/ FUN/DIY/ Holidays/Parties/ HOME/ Organizing/ Simplifying

Simple Christmas Decorations

Every year I find myself keeping Christmas decor more and more simple. It is amazing how freeing it is! Less bins, less mess, less dusting, less time setting the house up & less clutter.

I’ve been pleasantly surprised to find that ‘less is more’ when it comes to Christmas decor. My home feels just as festive, cozy and meaningful as it did in past years. I know this is because I was purposeful with what I decided to keep around.

1.Keep the Twinkle & Sparkle

I adore anything that has a twinkles and sparkles, especially around the holidays. Even my nail polish gets a bit of sparkle around this time of year!

Christmas lights are a great way to add amazing atmosphere in a simple way.

2. Use Books

Books are a practical way to add meaning to your decorations. We had a tradition when the girls were young to buy a Christmas book each year. We now have a collection of about 13 amazing Christmas books. I used to read one every evening when the girls were younger. Now that they are teens and preteens, we save it for Christmas morning, after stocking are emptied but before bigger gifts are opened. It is a great reminder as to why we celebrate Christmas. Every time I pass the book in the picture above, I am reminded of THE gift of this season.

3. Keep Things That Make You Smile & Bring Tradition

It is hard to know what to keep and what to get rid of when downsizing Christmas decorations. This fun pillow was a no-brainer for me. It was given to me by my Mom which makes it automatically meaningful, it adds a pop of color, texture & whimsy to our couch, the kids love it, and it makes me smile. That pillow will be around for years to come.

I must touch on the subject things that are kept because they were gifts from loved ones. Your loved ones do not want their gifts to add clutter, work, stress and extra dusting to your life. It is ok to let things go. If it does not make you smile, get rid of it.

Getting rid of things can bless others. Whether you give your extra items to a local mission or to someone in your life that you know might like it, it can be a super meaningful thing for everyone around.

Here is an example. For years I have drooled over nativity sets every time I would go to Hobby Lobby during the holiday season. Yep, I would lust after shepherds and 3 wise men. I just love nativity sets…but I do not love their price. I settled a few years ago for this little snow globe that has sparkly glitter that floats when shaken and plays music. It brought our family much joy.

This year, my Mother-in-Law texted and said she was downsizing her decorations and asked if I wanted a nativity set. She had 2 to choose from. I get a bit giddy, but asked for a picture as I know I would only want to accept something I would love to keep around and matches my esthetic & taste. I had my fingers crossed for a very simple, all white nativity set.

She sent a picture of 2, and sure enough, one of them as all white. It is so precious to me. It is worth every bit of dusting and packing it up with care that I will need to do. It has brought such a feeling of peace to look at in the midst of a pretty challenging December. I will share a picture of it below, but it brings me to my next point:

4. Know When to Say Yes To Gifts Offered

The new items in our home this season is the nativity set I spoke of above, and these two chairs. I love that both items that pack a punch. I brought this table out from our kitchen in to the living room. In the world of laptops, I love having a sitting area with a table in my living area. Todd’s Mom, Sharon, knew I needed chairs for it, and my birthday happened to be at the end of November, right when I was rearranging and decorating. She suggested gifting me a chair for my birthday and a chair for Christmas, and even let me pick them out.

These chairs make me so happy! I have already had some amazing heart-felt moments & conversions while sitting in them. I love that the silver embellishments add just a bit of shine. They can be found at Target.

4. Candles, Candles, Candles

Todd and I were at a Christmas party thrown by my sweet mentor. There was a gift exchange and I stole this candle from another person at the party, as it was one of those fun gift exchanges that you are allowed to be selfish at. Love it! This candle smells so, so good. It is a bit of a unisex scent, not too girly or fruity. I want to go grab a couple more up before they sell out for the season. It can be found at Bath & Body Works.

I light candles every day during December. I love having a candle burning, both for the scent and the warmth they bring.

6. Be OK With Using Inexpensive Decorations

I’m all about the dollar store! This little tree and those silver balls both came from the dollar store a couple of years ago. They add a ton of sparkle to a dark corner of our living room. I sprinkled those little glitter balls in a couple of areas, which made that dollar stretch! I like that I am more free to get rid of items if I know they didn’t cost a whole bunch of money, and I like it when things don’t cost a whole bunch of money!

The candy canes also came from the dollar store. Hooked onto a vase, they are super festive & add fun color to my dark book shelf.

7. Add Meaningful With Whimsical

The HOPE photo above was taken by my dear friend Megan Newsom. She used to be a contributing author here at New Nostalgia & she was such a gift! She is an amazing photographer and has such an eye for creating and capturing beauty. It is crazy to think I have never met her in person, as I have such a heart connection to her. She sent me this photo in a care package when I was going through surgery. It was the perfect word & perfect gift. When I look at it, it brings back all the emotions of opening her care package & the love I felt from her in all of the sweet details of it. It makes me very happy!

8. Don’t Take Your Decorations Too Seriously

This is important especially if you have young ones. Cherish every one of those homemade decorations. Notice I didn’t say you have to keep them all! I said to cherish them. Notice them. Display that amazing kid art your kids are so proud of. Use the refrigerator to group them together or even tape them into a collage on a door. A key to keeping things organized and easy on the eye is keep in mind the idea of a group. Kids are packs a sweet punch when grouped together, verses spread out all over the house. When everywhere, the eye doesn’t know where to look. A grouping tells the eye right where to go.

We have the tradition of making a gingerbread house every year. My 11-year-old youngest is the only one still interested in that tradition. She made the one above. I love displaying them every year! I love how they look with our Nutcracker. He is one of the few decorating items I kept from when the girls were young. I remember little chubby fingers playing with it, making his mouth open and close.

The great thing about gingerbread house is they can be thrown away at the end of the season.

8. Wreaths

I only have one wreath, and one is enough. I love that it is large-scale, which makes a statement. I also love any Christmas decorations that I can make stretch through the winter season. My wreath is plain enough to keep out until spring, as it just has a few pinecones added to it.

I do the same with a few evergreen trees. They, too, are simple enough to keep out as winter decorations until spring. This year I have two of them at our dining room table. You can see them keeping my Colsie girl company as she does her homework in the picture below.

9. Pops Of Color

My pop of color choice for Christmas is red. It is a no-brainer. It will never go ‘out- of -style’ at Christmastime.

The round, red candle holders below are from my sister-in-law. They add red, shine and sparkle. I have had them for about 5 years now and I love them.

Another way to add a pop of color at Christmas is to use wrapped gifts. The silvery gift wrap you see is so very pretty under the tree as the tree lights reflect off of it & create a sparkle under the tree. I love it so much I will be purposeful about buying reflective gift wrap again this year at the after Christmas sales.

10. It Is OK To NOT Have Christmas Dishes

I got rid of all Christmas dishes, except one festive platter,one red mug, and those little tea bag holders. I love drinking hot chocolate out of my festive mug, and it is made double special as it was a gift from a friend. I use the platter when we are asked to bring a sweet treat to parties.

I do not miss packing up a bunch of Christmas dishes.

What do you think of my new stackable Starbucks mugs? I used some birthday money I was given and splurged on these awesome mugs. I ordered them on black Friday where Starbucks was having a deal of free shipping and $25.oo off every $70 dollars you spend. They were a steal.

I have very little kitchen cupboard space so I got creative with a cabinet that we brought into the kitchen from the living room. I took the doors off and am using it for storage. I freed up a ton of cabinet space by getting stackable, matching mugs. These mugs feel so nice sturdy in your hands, & make me very, very happy!

11. Don’t Decorate Every Room

I used to go nuts and have Christmas decorations in every room. Not anymore. I now keep it to my living room, dining room, a couple pops of sparkle in my kitchen & a festive candle in my bathroom. That is it.

It is what works for me. I no longer dread packing and unpacking Christmas decorations.

The little evergreen in the kitchen window was a birthday gift from a friend. I love!

Notice how even marshmallows in a jar can look festive. Finding ways to decorate yet still be practical is rewarding for me. I love making the mundane beautiful, and my kids love just grabbing the jar of cocoa mix and marshmallows when in the mood for a warm drink. Accessible warm drinks are a must in my kitchen during the holidays!

Whoops…I forgot about this guy in our home office. He has a matching friend on the other side of the desk. These nutcracker’s were kept purposefully and will be given to my girls when they move out. They were gifts from their Grandpa Don which he bought them when he took them to the Nutcracker a few years ago. It was a super special night and it was when I was sick, so I remember being so touched that he would love on them in that way & create such a beautiful memory. I think they look great with our new office painted wall treatment.

Do you see my ‘new-to-me’ nativity? Isn’t it just wonderful?

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How about you?

Do you feel like simplifying Christmas decorations?

Why or why not?

HOME/ Simplifying

The Best Way To Pack A Lunch

I’ve written a couple posts on packing lunches. It has been something I have done every school day for the past 7 years, and I think I have finally found the best way to pack a lunch.

Last year I ditched plastic baggies and bought containers with lids. It was a step in the right direction, but not quite what I wanted. I quickly found washing out all those small containers and keeping track of their lids made lunch making more of a chore than it should be. I’m all about efficiency, working smarter not harder, and keeping things simple. A bunch of lids and containers was not smart, simple or efficient.

This year before school started, I was on a mission. I wanted to find something different that would keep me from going back to baggies but that would be just as simple as baggies. These lunch kit containers from Sistema were the perfect find. They are affordable and a huge plus– BPA free!

The school lunches I make for my girls 90% of the time start with sandwich & something crunchy–tortilla chips, crackers, pretzels–free from artificial colors, preservatives, and high fructose corn syrup. I think this habit stems from the school lunches I had as a young girl. I always loved a crunch along with my sandwich. The other 10% of the time I throw soup or leftovers into a thermos.

These containers have a large area for a sandwich, with an attached lid/divider that keeps the sandwich safe and your chips from tasting like peanut butter. My girls favorite bread is an oat bread & I use a peanut butter with no hydrogenated oils or corn syrup in it. If you make a cheese or meat sandwich, this small blue ice pack is perfect for putting right on top of the sandwich. I place a paper towel in between the sandwich and the ice pack, but I have found it is not necessary as these ice packs do not ‘sweat.’

I use the second compartment for something crunchy, and the 3rd area for some type of bar (store bought or homemade) or cut up veggies. A cut kiwi with a spoon fits nicely in there–I just cut it in half, unpeeled, and my girls scoop the fruit out with a spoon, using the peel as a bowl when they eat it. Carrot sticks are another great item for that compartment.

I like to add a piece of fruit on the side. A nectarine, banana, or apple. Having a fruit and veggie gives my girls a head start on eating their daily rainbow.

See how the container shuts so nicely into a compact square. Hearing the ‘snap’ of the lid after packing their lunch in the morning gives me such a satisfied feeling.

This BUILT Neoprene Lunch Tote bag is really cute. It belongs to my now FRESHMAN girl. When did my Teagan get so old?

When did I get so old?

This water bottle fits nicely alongside the sandwich container. Usually my girls just get a cup of water at school, which leaves that area free for fruit.

This system is the best, most efficient way I have found to streamline the chore of not only packing lunches, but also emptying them out and cleaning the containers for the next day. They can be placed in the dishwasher, but I find a quick rinse is easy and enough, making sure they get cleaned with hot water and soap at least a couple times a week.

Do you pack lunches? What do you use to hold the food?

What are your kids favorite foods to eat in their lunches?

Would you like to try out the Sistema Lunch Cube lunch container? If so, Amazon has a great deal on them, and if you order them through this link I will get a small percentage which would support New Nostalgia & make me happy!

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Ok…I said I didn’t want a bunch of little lids to wash…but I might make an exception with these super cute sauce-to-go containers! My girls would love them filled with ranch dressing for dipping those veggies, and I would love that I can control the portion size.

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More on school lunches at New Nostalgia:

14 Healthy School Lunches Your Kids Will Love

School Lunch Smoothies

How To Make A Note Into An Envelope–Perfect For School Lunches

HOME/ Organizing/ Simplifying

Organizing A Small Pantry

I have a very small kitchen with very little cupboards. I am thankful that I have a pantry, even though it too, is very small.

I’ve learned some tricks over the years to keep it organized and functional. I find organization in the kitchen is key to keeping me motivated in the kitchen, cooking for my family and feeding them healthy food.

Here are a few tips for keeping a small pantry organized:

1. Only buy what you need for the week — I don’t have the storage space for buying weeks at a time, and honestly I think it keeps life much more simple to buy what we need for the week and start fresh the next week. Obviously some food items last much longer than a week (like baking powder and cocoa) but there are other items that I just don’t need 10 bags or boxes at a time (pasta, cereal, etc.)

2. Keep like with like–always store like items with like items. I keep all my nuts together in a brown wooden box. We have a bin for pasta/rice/grains and a bin for snacks. I have a basket for all my tea items. Keeping tea in a cute basket motivates me to drink it more often. Cereal and oatmeal stay together, as they are both breakfast items.

3. Use functional storage helpers–I love kitchen carousels and mason jars. I like to be efficient in the kitchen, and jars quickly show me what is inside, and a carousels display their items with a quick spin.

4. Create extra shelving with wire organizers — because I lack drawer space, I keep my foil & plastic bags on a wire organizer. The space organizer gives is just the right height for these items, and allows me to store things underneath them.

5. Use hooks– I use hooks for my duster, broom, mop, a holder for my plastic bags, & my girls 3 lunch bags. Hooks are a GREAT way to stay organized and keep things off the floor and shelves.

6. Buy an over-the-door organizer — this is one of the best purchases I have made. It has a tea shelf, a shelf for most used baking items (baking powder, baking soda, cocoa & salt) that I can just quick grab when baking. I have a vitamin/supplement shelf. I keep my straws next to those. The very last shelf is a deep one and holds my dish cloths, again, saving a drawer.

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I hope this inspires you to embrace organization even if you have a small space. Small spaces are a great motivator for staying organized, as one really doesn’t have much choice but to get creative!

What are ways you organize your kitchen space?

Healthy Eating/ HOME/ How-Tos/ RECIPES/ Simplifying

Spiralize Your Vegetables

We have had so much fun with our Vegetable Spiralizer! We have had it now for almost a year and I can’t tell you how it has transformed the way we eat raw veggies around here.

So often kids won’t eat vegetables because of the shape and texture, so what better way to get them munching than by changing the shape and even the texture of the vegetable?

I recently made a fun, spiralized vegetable lunch for my girls. I spiralized carrots, sweet potatoes, and cucumber. I cut up some strawberries and made a quick egg salad for egg salad sandwiches.

I even reheated some beans from our dinner the night before. We try to eat the rainbow as much as possible, to get in as many phytonutrients and antioxidants as possible, and this colorful lunch had us doing just that.

My Avery loved that I made a fun face for her lunch, it brought on the smiles.

Eating vegetables in their raw state is much more healthful than cooked– in most cases. I have found that certain vegetables are more appealing for my kids palate if they are in fun shapes and set out in bowls, ready to eat.

Leftover spiralized veggies are great on salads or in wraps.

You can turn raw zucchini into pasta. Top with tomato sauce.

The back of the box shows you the many ways you can use the spiralizer. It is really easy to use and super easy to clean.

My sweet friend Erin from Home With The Boys recently put a picture up on her Instagram that caught my eye. She has the same spiralizer and turned her sweet potato into spirals.

She then tossed them in a little olive oil, sprinkled a bit of salt, and baked at 400 degrees for 25-30 minutes, or until brown and crispy.

They looked delicious! The above is the ‘before’ picture. We have spiralized our sweet potatoes and eaten them raw, but have yet to try them baked.

I plan on doing it this weekend! Erin has lots of awesome ideas, so take a look at her great blog. She is an inspiration to me & I love knowing her…you will too!

What do you think? Does this appeal to you? Do you think your kids would get into making their veggies spin and spiral? If you are interested in getting your own, use this link and I will get a small percentage for passing it on to you.

Want a way to save all of those great veggies? Take a look at this post where I share our favorite way to store vegetables using a lidded vegetable platter.

HOME/ Homemaking/ Organizing/ Simplifying

How To Rescue A Bedroom

My bedroom recently got a bit out of control. Life has been more busy than normal. It seems like I would be home to eat, change & sleep– but then off to the next thing. Seasons of life are like that. I am always happy when margins are reestablished and life gives a break to rescue the mess left scattered in the path of busyness.

My bedroom is a place I work hard at maintaining a peaceful & romantic environment. It is the place I relax, recharge and connect with my Love, and that is really hard to do in a mess!

Last night I decided to get busy and rescue our room. It surprised me how little time it took despite the mess it had become. Here are the steps I followed to rescue our poor room!

1.) Turn on all the lights & open the blinds/curtains.
It is always best to work in a nice, lit environment.

2.) Turn on music.
I’m a Spotify girl.

3.) Gather dishes.
Put outside of room in a basket designated for ‘things that belong elsewhere.’
Yep, I said dishes. I know I’m not the only one who snacks in bed or has a water cup or tea cup next to my bed.

4.) Gather obvious trash.
This step is important. Get the trash out!

5.) Clear off and make the bed.
Just put whatever is on the bed on the floor. Don’t get caught up in putting things away yet. This will trip you up and slow you down. Just clear off the bed and make it. You will need the cleared off space for organizing the rest of the room.

6.) Gather all clothes. Sort dirty from clean.
This is always what makes up the bulk of my messy room. Clothes. I have a basket in my room for dirty clothes but this weekend it was taken downstairs so dirty clothes got thrown. I can also get lazy with hanging up my clean clothes when life gets busy.

7.) Fold clean clothes. Make a pile of clean clothes to hang up.

Do this on your cleared off & made bed.

8.) Gather hangers from the floor or closet and put them on the bed with clothes to hang up.

9.) Hang up clean clothes & put into closet. Put away folded clothes into drawers.

10.) Gather any towels you might have found while gathering clothes.
Put them in the dirty basket, or if clean, put them in the basket of things that belong somewhere else.

11.) Gather all shoes. Put them away.

12.) Shut drawers and doors.
This is a given, but open drawers and closet doors make a room look messy!

{Side note} While I was cleaning my room, I was typing the steps I was taking into my phone in order to share them with you in this post. I must have been typing too fast, as I am chuckling to myself. Instead of ‘shut’ I typed a swear word that sounds like shut. Whoopsies! Paired with the word ‘drawers’ it hit me quite funny. I’m in a coffee shop with the giggles. {SMH. So inappro-pro…as my middle school girl would say}

13.) Gather all small things and put them in their place.
We started with the obvious and large–trash, clothes, shoes, hangers, towels, make bed. It is starting to look good in here, huh? Now on to all the little things that can make clutter.

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Here are the small things that I gathered & put away.

earrings — I organize mine in a large open egg carton. I keep it in my top dresser drawer.
money/change — Goes in the egg carton or in my purse for coffee refills at my fav coffee shop.
bobby pins — In a container along with elastic hair bands, in my top dresser drawer.
jewelry — I hang up necklaces. All the rest is in my top dresser drawer.
vitamins — I have them in a basket and keep them in my dresser drawer. I take mine at night.

makeup — The small mirror in the pics above is actually a cabinet where I keep my makeup.
books — only keep what you are currently reading in the bedroom. Gather them into a basket.
lotion — I keep this in my mirror cabinet along with body spray & beauty products that I use daily.
pens — I have them on my dresser in a small vase.

fingernail files — I keep them on my dresser in a DIY glittered vase.
tv remote — goes in our nightstand drawer
extra phone charger & cord — goes in nightstand drawer
curling iron — goes in my mirrored cabinet
lint brush — I keep this in a small bin on a shelf in husbands closet, along with shoe polish, and our iron/ironing board. I rarely iron, but if I do, I like to do it in our bedroom.

14.) Dust.
I use a feather duster. Easy breezy.

15.) Sweep/Vacuum.

16.) Light candles.

I love candle light in my room. It is instant calming atmosphere & created a romantic vibe.

17.) Put meaningful photos front and center.
The above was taken on our honeymoon cruise almost 18 years ago!

18.) Change music to something chill.

19.) Put on your p.j.’s & relax!
Even if it is not evening…you deserve it!

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The key to an easy pick up and keeping a clean room is to have a place for everything. Notice what is making up the mess. Ask yourself what objects you want in your room. Only keep the things that are used, and have a designated place for them.

I love how I feel in a hotel room–where things are minimal, but you have everything you need. I try to recreate that feeling in our own bedroom.

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How does your bedroom look right now? Is it an easy or hard room to keep clean?
Leave a comment or come join the conversation at New Nostalgia Facebook Page.

Want more inspiration? Here are 14 Ways To Organize A Bedroom.