A KonMari Consultant’s Approach to Moving

It all started so simply. My husband and I decided to embark on a new adventure that would involve living temporarily, full time, in a place other than our permanent home. We already had a great start, having sold our travel trailer recently. We had most of the staples for our future living space. All we needed to do was grab some furniture using excess from home and supplementing with new, bring our clothes and other personal items and we’d be all set. Sounds like a plan, yes?!

WELL….. Two years later. We have practically doubled everything we own. We have already moved once. It was a catastrophe. I am sure we had good reason for accumulating all this stuff. Isn’t it ok to add items that make our temporary house feel more like a home? But in our case, it was much more than that. Three kennels for one dog? How many pairs of hiking boots does one person need? Winter coats? Bikes? Coffee mugs? Specialized cooking equipment? Did I mention our 2nd place was fully furnished and equipped as an AIR BNB. But apparently that was not enough! We had fully embraced the “scarcity brain” mentality that Costco preys upon….” Why have one pair of socks when you can have six for the same price?” And the gear, the gear…..so much GEAR!

No not again, I say! I look back on the number of times we have moved our permanent house and shudder to calculate the amount of money spent; not only on moving things that we never used again but also, “over buying” space: the fact that the more storage space or square footage you have available to you, the more you accumulate to fill it. It’s a vicious cycle. And we are a couple who actually use our garage for cars! I guess it’s human nature. But, in this case, enough is enough. Things will be different this time…..

THE KonMari METHOD TO THE RESCUE

As a KonMari consultant, I have witnessed through my clients and myself, the concept of “Have what you love, Love what you have”. This move will be a great opportunity to self correct; to assess our belongings BEFORE we move, utilizing the KonMari Method.

*Caveat: I cannot force my husband to go through the process with his belongings. I can only assess what is mine and under my control. I will help to facilitate the paring down of his belongings by making it easy for him, IF he wants to cull through his stuff. So I will just have to use my “super power” of creating space out of thin air to accommodate his belongings (did I mention he has 5 bikes?!?!)

THE 6 RULES OF TIDYING

1. COMMIT YOURSELF TO TIDYING

I am committed. I am committed to no longer having things in my possession that do not serve a purpose, connect to my ideal lifestyle or Spark Joy. The days of spending extra time, money, and effort to move are not an option. Our new place is 1113 SF smaller, with no garage and a 42 SF storage room. I don’t have the luxury of business as usual. What I DO have the luxury of is time. Starting a month before our move date I embark upon the process of tidying. I will not purchase a thing until after the move and then, only if I have nothing else that will serve the purpose. This will be a great opportunity to practice what I preach.

2. IMAGINE YOUR IDEAL LIFESTYLE

Simple…Light and mobile….easy….calm….nothing extraneous….clutter free….minimum upkeep…..know where everything is……little to no “back-stock”

Grab and go mentality…..grab our bikes for a ride at a moments notice……pack up the van and go for an adventure for a couple days…..easily pack to catch a plane back home

To be able to sit with ease and work in my home office …. a small deck garden to spark joy.

3. FINISH DISCARDING FIRST

Being able to visualize what we have to move will be essential. This will be crucial in determining the size truck we will need for one, but more importantly, the preplanning of the new space. Knowing where everything will go in the new space saves time and money with the movers. I have until 7ish to get everything moved in and for the most part put away so that we can comfortably sleep in the new apartment that night and hubby can get up and go to work the next day without too much disruption.

*A note on discarding. I took this opportunity to use up as much as possible all cleaning, cosmetics, toiletries, toilet paper, paper towels, etc. waiting to replenish at the new place.

I strategically placed a few boxes so that hubby could dispose of things on the spot. It worked, he did let go of some things:)

4. TIDY BY CATEGORY, NOT LOCATION

Trust the process. Clothes, then Books, then Paper, then Komono, then Sentimental. Pull it all out by category and compile in one place. Komono (miscellaneous) is broken down into subcategories which I assigned and went through methodically. This process reduces the overwhelm factor so often present when moving.

5. FOLLOW THE RIGHT ORDER

Trust the process. Clothes, then Books, then Paper, then Komono, then Sentimental.

6. ASK YOURSELF IF IT “SPARKS JOY”

The term “Sparks Joy” can be a stickler for some. In some cases it really rings true. We do have an emotional connection to our belongings. It’s important to recognize this; both positive and negative. Do I really want to hold on to something that makes me feel, lets say, guilty, every time I look at it? I think not. Conversely, wouldn’t it be nice to be surrounded by things I love? Hold onto that. I focus on that sentiment as I go through my belongings category by category, piece by piece. It works.

For those items that do not elicit an emotional response I consider the purpose it fills. Does it work well? Is it in disrepair? Do I use it often? Is there something else that I own that I like better, that works better? Do I have one of these because I am “supposed to”? Do I really need an apple corer when a simple knife will do? Those types of questions asked of myself really help me to decide what is important to KEEP.

My Discard Load: Yes, filled up the entire back of my SUV. Just mine! I estimate that to be about 48 cubic feet of space that I do have, saved.

All in all, the move went very well. Of note:

We were able to rent the smallest van that included a ramp, saving bucks. We made two trips with van and then returned it, well within the time limit. The movers worked for four hours, again saving time and money. I knew where everything would go in the new place and was able to direct them with efficiency.
We were able to set up all of the beds and hubby’s closet by dinner and with a little help from friends bringing us food, were able to dine comfortably at the new place.
We now have a gear room (guest room if needed) which serves as an easy grab and go element to our daily activities
We used existing boxes to house pantry items and simply slid them onto the shelves, thus providing containment of like items. Van items have their own section.
I have a calm, clutter free home office in which the closet is used for my clothes only. Love having my own little space in our apartment.

Some of the finished spaces: