Sparking My Joy

Last night, I took six grocery bags' worth of books and knickknacks from this bookshelf 

and while it looked fine before, now my joy is truly sparked!

If you know me at all, you know I am crazy about a good midnight cleaning session.

And while I can easily whip myself up into a decluttering and restyling frenzy all on my own, I have found an amazing catalyst. 

Tidying Up With Marie Kondo.

Yes, the quirky and obsessive author of The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up has teamed with Netflix to bring her KonMari method of cleaning to the messy masses. Each episode features tiny Marie, always in her precious white tops and black tights, making a series of visits to a painfully disorganized family, and sweetly forcing them to straighten up.. Watching this process unfold is as absorbing as it is invigorating, and by the end of each episode, I am licking my chops and looking for something to clean.

Which can be a challenge because I do keep a fairly tidy house to begin with. 

But the secret sauce of Marie's method is to keep only possessions that spark your joy. 

And the magic of this is that no matter how many or how few things you own, you can always hold yourself to a higher standard and discard from the low end of your joy-sparking spectrum.

I find that a tantalizing and exciting process.

So while the rest of the world sleeps, I'll be here sorting and stacking and seeing what sparks my joy.  

And I could not be happier.