Clearly we’ve been living under a rock because we just found the captivating author Marie Kondo last night after reading about The KonMari Method of tidying Netflix series online.
Both Mrs. CBB and I are fans of having a clean house but there is a difference between clean and tidy and over the years we’ve worked on tidying up to keep things organized.
I’m not sure about other couple’s out there but both of us clean and tidy the house up together. Often when people hear that I wash the clothes, make the bed and clean bathrooms they laugh. I don’t.
I think when you are in a relationship or married that household chores including cooking should be a shared effort whether you both work or not. Add kids to the mix and you have an even bigger chore on your hands.
I still get in trouble when I throw my clothes on the floor or put my muddy boots on the tiles because I’m human but that doesn’t break our bond it strengthens us to become better at being mindful.
Enchanted with organizing since her childhood, Marie began her tidying consultant business as a 19-year-old university student in Tokyo. Today, Marie is a renowned tidying expert helping people around the world to transform their cluttered homes into spaces of serenity and inspiration.- Konmari.com
Last night we fell head over heels with Marie Kondo a renowned tidying expert who helps her clients de-clutter and find joy in the things they owned.
We have pledged to join the KonMari movement and hope to share our #mykonmari moments as we go along, yikes.
KonMari Method
I’m certainly no tidying expert but after watching the first episode, season one of Tidying Up with Marie Kondo I wanted to learn as much as I could about the KonMari Method.
It was the first episode Tidying with Toddlers that sparked my interest in the KonMari Method of tidying up because back in 2012 when I started CBB and designed our budget the 5s method was a process of cleaning up our finances.
Perhaps we can call it KonMari budgeting, the art of tidying up our finances that changed our lives for the better.
The 5s ideology in Japanese is where everything has a place or housekeeping which we adapted as part of our Budgeting Series- How We Designed Our Budget Step 5- 5S Organization.
This budgeting method came about after Mrs. CBB worked in a Japanese organization for many years and 5S was taught to the employees and used in all stages of the facility from the office staff, production to shipping.
Where she worked was immaculate and you could eat off the floor it was that clean. Everything had a place and you didn’t have to waste time looking for what you needed because it was likely in a labelled bin close to where you needed it to be.
This Japanese way of life became ingrained in her mind and transferred over to her home and personal life but it has always been a work in progress.
To be honest I had never heard of 5s before until she taught me about it probably because she lived and breathed it for so many years.
I was intrigued.
Over the years we’ve taken what we learned and shared it with all of you. Just have a look at our printable lists and Ultimate Guides we’ve created that are based around being organized.
Yes, she taught me a thing or two about 5S which is why when I stumbled upon Marie Kondo I knew Mrs. CBB would LOVE to read her book, Spark Joy as well as watch her Netflix series as much as I wanted to.
What is 5S you ask?
The term 5S refers to five Japanese words starting with the letter S; essentially “HouseKeeping“
- Seiri-Sorting
- Seitori-Stabilizing and Straightening
- Seiso- Sweeping or shining
- Seiketsu-Standardizing
- sh*tsuke- Sustainability
- Safety
What is the KonMari Method?
Photo Credit: Illustrations from “Spark Joy,” Marie Kondo and Masako Inoue, Ten Speed Press – WP
The KonMari Method™ encourages tidying by category – not by location – beginning with clothes, then moving on to books, papers, komono (miscellaneous items), and, finally, sentimental items. Keep only those things that speak to the heart, and discard items that no longer spark joy. Thank them for their service – then let them go.- KonMari.com
If you think about the KonMari Method that Marie shares it’s basically the same type of thing as the 5S method but from a household perspective and inner peace and joy.
She focuses on the human aspect of a clean and organized space and appreciation for what you have instead of what you don’t have.
How many times have you found something you’ve lost or packed away in your home only to grab it with joy and happiness when it was found. This is what Spark Joy, Marie Kondo’s new book touches on and I can’t wait to get my hands on it.
I’m sure I will have lots more on the KonMari Method to talk about once I finish reading the book. To be honest it has been a while since I’ve been so excited to read a book that wasn’t strictly finance based.
If you think about tidying up from a financial perspective it does take on a role in the KonMari Method because the less we have the better.
Almost everything we buy or have been given and accepted has some form of meaning to it whether it be you liked it when you saw it on the shelf, it was a gift or perhaps you won it.
Whether you decide that it continues to hold meaning or gives you joy in your life is up to you. If yes organize it and if no, get rid of it but treat it as if it has life.
Rules For Adapting KonMari
I’m in charge of the laundry in our house because I’m far better at it than Mrs. CBB however over the years she’s been teaching me a thing or two especially when it comes to folding clothes.
I on the other hand will sit in front of the television and fold the laundry which is not something that Marie advocates because it takes your focus away from the task at hand.
I never gave much thought to her method but she dumps the load on the bed which forces her to fold the laundry and you will see this in the first Netflix episode.
We had a bit of a chuckle over that but it didn’t end there because we already do lots of what Marie suggests to her clients but never really knew it.
Perhaps it was because of the training Mrs. CBB had over the years in a Japanese environment that changed the way her life was run outside of work.
When you come in our house you will notice that we have organizational bins and everything seems to have a place although we are far from perfect.
Even Marie says in the first series that she is not perfect either and has a space in her garage that is not as tidy as it should be.
We really need to work on the KonMari Method and that’s what the plan is this year because we’ve put so much off since having our son.
Our house needs a reboot and we need to spark joy back into our lives and it’s starting now, January 2019.
So, what exactly are the rules for adopting the KonMari method?
Let’s take a look at what Marie explains on her website, in her book and on her television series.
Rule 01 -Commit yourself to tidying up (Once you start finish the job in a timely fashion)
Rule 02 -Imagine your ideal lifestyle (When you close your eyes what do you envision your space to be like?)
Rule 03 -Finish discarding first (Get rid of what you don’t want first)
Rule 04 -Tidy by category and not location (If you are tidying books get ALL the books in your home)
Rule 05 -Follow the right order
Rule 06 – Ask yourself if it Sparks Joy (This is my favourite of them all because it’s so true)
On a side-note I am what Mrs. CBB states as a fantastic folder when it comes to laundry and if you have a look through Marie’s book she has illustrations of folding clothes which I already do.
What we both don’t do is vertically stack the clothing once it is folded in our drawers which we plan to get started on right away.
The KonMari vertical stacking method not only looks tidy but it’s easy to find what you are looking for especially when you stack the light and dark clothing together as she suggests.
Cleaning out the clothing closet
Last year I blogged about how we were minimizing what we own and that started with going through our closets.
Although we thought we did a good job after learning about the KonMari method we plan to revisit our closets for another overhaul which we are kind of excited to do.
I don’t’ know about you but it seems that after we got rid of what we no longer wanted it took no time at all to fill back up again with other stuff.
Our closet now houses blankets on the floor in a neat pile of course, small book-case with clothing folded on each shelf and boots on top.
None of this is mine as I lost all my closet privileges apart from about 10 hangers of clothing.
I know our walk-in closet needs a massive renovation which includes storage galore which is part of our plans but until then we have more work to do.
We also plan to take everything out of our dressers again and fold it KonMari Method so we waste less time searching and more time enjoying our day.
Oh and when it comes to socks Mrs. CBB has more socks than a sock store which is why I had her go through them all last year and toss out all the socks with holes.
Now, we need to have her do it once again and she has learned the proper way to fold socks and stack them which will make finding them far easier.
If you look in her sock drawer it’s like a sock bomb went off.
Photo Credit: Illustrations from “Spark Joy,” Marie Kondo and Masako Inoue
Sorting our 4 year old’s clothing
In the first Netflix episode if you are a parent you may be able to relate to the couple who struggles to find clothing for their kids. What happened was the kids clothes that were too small stayed in the drawers as more was added.
We had this same problem which we tackled last year and for the most part sold it all. On occasion we still come across a 2T shirt or something from when he was a baby and smile over how big he’s gotten then toss it to the sale or donate pile.
Now our son’s room is organized and we move clothes out as he grows out of them so we don’t end up in the same mess again.
We do plan to KonMari Method his drawers and closet as well since we are struggling with getting his clothes ready for school.
Some time last year we bought a weekly colour coordinated closet organized from Value Village for $3 so our son could pick out his school clothes and stack them in each shelf.
I actually put this up last week but we’re using it for storage which is NOT the purpose of the organizer so that tells us it’s time to focus on tidying up again.
Bottom Line
KonMari is about choosing JOY and if you want to open up the space in your life to let happiness in and clutter out choose KonMari. I know we plan on it.
Marie Kondo has two books you can purchase online: (Affiliate)
The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up: The Japanese Art of Decluttering and Organizing
Spark Joy: An Illustrated Master Class on the Art of Organizing and Tidying Up
Discussion: Have you heard of the KonMari method of tidying up?
CBB Home and Blog Update
Hello everyone,
Happy New Year! If you haven’t heard already this month will officially be the seventh year that Canadian Budget Binder has been live online which means a celebration is in order.
Come visit me on my Facebook page for some upcoming mini contests to win cash via Paypal!!
Christmas was good for us even though we had our ups and downs like every other family but for the most part we had a lovely time with family and friends.
On New Years we had a party and lots of delicious food was made and yes it was Keto food and our guests loved it, especially the loaded pork rind nachos.
In 2019 Mrs. CBB and I have committed to a tighter budget, less spending on new items, renovating more, travelling more and entertaining more joy in our lives. The past year has been terrible for our family so we’re hoping to improve that this year.
I hope you plan to join us again on our journey for joy, fulfillment and financial freedom on CBB.
Mr and Mrs. CBB.
Finance Canada Read of the Week
Mark from My Own Advisor shares his tips for Little Known Facts About Old Age that you need to know this week.
What I like about this post is that people think they know what something is when it comes to their future income but do they really?
It’s important to read about everything you can when it comes to future earnings even the fine print.
Here are some fast facts about OAS – little things you need to know:
- Canada’s largest pension program – funded by general tax revenues. This is not a contributory plan like CPP is.
- A sum of money designed to provide a minimum quality of life for older Canadians.
Frugal Recipe Find
This year we continue the Keto Lifestyle in our household which means more keto recipes coming your way. I’m sorry if you aren’t Keto but I will do my best to bring you a balance of both keto and non-keto for my readers.
Today I found these delicious looking Easy Keto Ham and Cheese Rolls over at Sweet C’s and if you are strict keto you know that almost everything you eat you have to make or bake.
I like how simple these are and the ingredients are everyday keto ingredients that most would have stocked in the pantry.
- Eggs
- Diced ham
- Grated Parmesan Cheese (from the shaker is OK)
- Shredded Cheddar Cheese
- Shredded Mozzarella Cheese
- Large Bowl
- Baking Sheet
- Oven or Toaster/Convection Oven
- Parchment paper, silpat, silpain, or cooking spray
- Fork or spoon to mix.
Mr.CBB’s Motivational Corner
Saturday Search Term Giggles
Every week I get tens of thousands of people who visitCanadian Budget Binderbecause they did a search online and found my blog. (SIC) means I’ve copied the text exactly and it has spelling errors.
Most times funny, Sometimes serious.
- Didn’t receive jury duty notice Ontario– Don’t complain unless of course you failed to show up, haha!
- Why is beef so expensive in Canada?– Maybe because they are grass-fed? Haha. I believe prices should be going down in 2019 so watch out for that.
- Can you find good stuff in dumpsters?– It depends on what you consider good. After what has been in the news lately with related deaths of people trying to get into donation bins I wouldn’t suggest going near any type of dumpsters or bins though. Safety first.
- If you scan twice the bar code is the item free– Hell no. Read more here The Scanning Code of Practice
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