This weekend, I finally went after the last official KonMari category: sentimental. I mentioned in my post on tidying komono that I was not looking forward to sorting through sentimental, as it was a massive heap of things in one half of a closet (thanks mostly to my mom sending the last of my things that she had at her house). For this category, I grabbed my husband for moral support, and we headed down to the basement to tackle things.
A lot of the stuff was from my childhood, and would likely just fall within the same parameters as letters. Marie Kondo says that once you’ve read it, it’s served its purpose, and can be discarded. This is he reason I had Todd accompany me—I wanted someone to enjoy my old things with, and then be able to toss them, as they didn’t have much lasting value. There were several things that I wrote that got a good chuckle—a few even made me laugh until I cried.
literally 
nothing
in my 
life
has 
changed
As for the other items, I had to say goodbye to a few sentimental pieces that I would have kept, were they not irreparably broken. I wish things were different, but I don’t want permanently broken things taking up space for no reason. I also was able to thank and get rid of a few ‘sillier’ things from my high school age that had made the KonMari cut 3 previous times, but I found I no longer needed. Todd was able to do the same. With old pictures, I kept a lot, but threw out the bulky albums that once housed them.
The rest was majority baby clothes. Since I’m pregnant with a boy, I tried to be a little more scrupulous, and we were able to get rid of a fair amount. The resulting storage space allowed us to take out all gender-neutral clothing items and put them all into one bind, so we won’t have to sort through different ones each time Baby 2 sizes-up. Efficient! All in all, it only took about 2 hours to sort through.
trash 
donate 
recycle
One thing that never fails to surprise me with this tidying method is that each time you go through the process, you find that things have changed for you. A once-valued trinket may spark joy for years….until it doesn’t. Going through the KonMari process more than once allows you to continuously ensure that you’re not storing things that do not add value to your life.
With the few items that had sparked joy for years that I was surprised I could part with, it made me realize that I was just different now. Older. In a new situation. And some items were no longer loved, because I have other things in my life now. I’ve simply grown out of them, and that’s perfectly normal, and alright. Realizing how much your life has changed in 1, 5, or 10 years can sometimes bring a tinge of sadness; but all I felt was good. I like who I am, and I love my life.
There were also several things that did spark joy with me, but were merely sitting in a closet where I couldn’t enjoy them. (I even found our previously-thought-lost best ultrasound photo of Gwendolyn!) Though it’ll take a little effort, and thought, I plan to incorporate those items into our house, so they can finally be used and seen.
use, display, transfer to google drive 
Todd will be taking these to work 
I would like to display these
Todd is happy I found a place to display this, as it sparks joy (just) for him 
before, you couldn’t see the floor!
With sentimental wrapped up, I have gone completely through our home’s physical items, and am now read—in that area—for Baby 2.
However, my 4th KonMari journey is not over yet. Still ahead, I am planning to take the next month and completely organize my phone and computer: apps, project; and hopefully complete a baby album to present to my oldest before her brother is born. Stay turned for that massive undertaking—heck, why not try it with me?? Give yourself a month, if need-be (that’s what I’m doing), and really get your tech life under control.
Wish me luck!
My KonMari Journey Part 1 – Clothes Part 2 – Books Part 3 – Papers Part 4 – Komono
