Lesson 573: Tidy Up

Good evening, Readers.

Eloise here, 

rounding out rainy and snowy week with 

you weekend starter blog.

Late nights and fear of a wet lens

prevented outdoor photos for this week.

Eloise spent lots of time inside gyms and meeting rooms.

While the weather keeps us indoors,

I use that as a time to get my house in order

before baseball season starts.

My in boxes were blowing up as everyone shared the good news!

My favorite book is now a Netflix series!

Japanese sweetheart Marie Kondo

has charmed viewers into caring for their homes

and cherishing the items within them.

Many of you recalled my life-changing blog from a few years ago.

Sparking Joy in Summer 2015 CLICK HERE

Readers remembered how I used 

the Kondo method to hoe out the Lamp Post.

I fully believe the spark is going to catch fire

now that it can be watched on television.

Marie's method is different from the 

room-by-room method of cleaning that so many of us follow.

You begin with all the clothing in your house,

and follow with this specific order.

By beginning with clothing and books,

the discarding process

will rid your home of weight that bogs it down.

Marie begins by blessing the home

and thanking it for giving her clients shelter and protection.

There is lots of psychology in the process.

I went through the process myself

and can tell you that it works!

I've learned when the feeling of overwhelm 

begins to seep through the cracks 

of what I try to make an orderly life,

I recognize that my closet most often needs weeded out

and reordered.

As soon as I finish,

I feel instantly better.

Handling each item in your home,

is a very important part of the process.

You must hold every shirt,

shoe,

purse,

and panty

and ask yourself the most important question:

Does this spark joy?

The things remaining in your home are important

and deserve to be cherished and treated with love.

Marie Kondo has a specific method for Japanese style folding--

narrow, 

tight,

and stored on end.

A properly ordered and folded closet looks something like this.

The very best part about the new Tidying Up show

is that you see Marie go into homes,

assess the problems,

offer instruction through modeling,

then she leaves!

The students must do the work themselves

and she comes back to check progress later in the week.

Marie is a wonderful teacher 

and I am proud to be a graduate of her program.

The Lamp Post is still is really good order

three and a half years later.

And when it inevitably starts to get bad again,

and I begin to feel overwhelmed,

I block out a couple of hours do what I need to do:

Reset and Reorganize

which really means

hit up my closet and take Hazel for a walk.

I hope, Readers,

that you take some time to help order your space

and that this story inspired you.

I'd love to help you get started.

Give me a holler.

I'm a pretty good teacher.

I've had 25 years of practice!

Teaching is such a wonderful profession

and in my belief,

the most important one.

My colleagues spent the last week reflecting on our careers,

and dug deep to our roots.

Lots of Why I Teach discussions were held

in classrooms,

lunchrooms,

and in hallways.

It was really interesting 

hearing what lead people to the profession.

Eloise is proud of our district and all we achieve as a team.

Do something wonderful this weekend, Readers.

That something wonderful may just be in 

the cleaning out of your own clothes closet.

Eloise