One of my least favorite tasks is sorting, yet by some form of a miracle, I have dedicated the past several days to just that. You’d think after this manner of torture, I would be uncharacteristically difficult to be around, but I’m delighted to report quite the opposite is true.
Approximately three years ago, I stumbled on Marie Kondo’s book, The Life-changing Magic of Tidying Up, and shortly after, Joshua Becker’s book, The More of Less. I began minimizing my wardrobe and removed three-quarters of my clothing. I took each piece off the hanger, held it or tried it on, and kept only those articles that ‘sparked joy’.
Next, I set to work on my bookshelf. It was packed full, dusty with books I’d inherited, a few of my personal favorites, and some textbooks from our university days. I took every single book off the shelf and saved only the ones I adored. I have since done this two more times and recently transferred some keepers to my new ‘studio’ space (formerly the homeschool room) now dedicated to writing and painting. That same bookshelf, located in the piano room, now looks like this…
Melanie Stevenson 