Two Ways of Looking at My Home

My life, over the past month, has revolved around two books - Marie Kondo's, The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up, (which I highly recommend to anyone who wants to restore a sense of order at home). And a book on re-igniting creativity, entitled, It's Never Too Late to Begin Again, co-authored by Julia Cameron, whose book, The Artist's Way, is one of my all-time favorites.

Marie Kondo suggests that, before we begin to de-clutter our homes, we look at different rooms and imagine what we would like them to look like.

I found this exercise helpful and inspirational. It motivated me to move things I didn't want in a room to another place (usually the basement or my upstairs sewing/craft area).

Later, I plan to go to these temporary storage areas and decide whether to keep the stuff or not, asking myself the now-famous question: "Do they spark joy?"

At the same time, I found it interesting that one exercise in It's Never Too Late to Begin Again suggests sitting in a room in our home, one that we don't usually spend a lot of time in, viewing it from a different angle - simply appreciating what it is that we enjoy about that room..

I don't remember why the authors suggest doing this...! (I've been looking - unsuccessfully - to try to locate the rationale.) But I did find the it helped me appreciate not only my home, but also my life, which my home reflects... It restored a sense of contentment - and appreciation.