Top 10 Reasons to Konmari Your Home!

A New Organization Method!

Konmari Technique to Tidying and Simplifying is ROCKING my world! My sister-in-law introduced the book/technique to me, and since then, it's been love at first sight! I am totally addicted! Did I say that the other day about the hot sauce too?

It's called The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up by Marie Kondo. Thank you, Marie Kondo, for your brilliance!

 Photo from Amy Christie who writes her blog:
This Heart of Mine
(she has a lovely post about the book/technique)

Top 10 Reasons to Konmari Your Home

#1 My feelings during and after each step are AMAZING; I feel completely wonderful, peaceful, light, energized, focused, productive, motivated, really! 

#2 I agree that the process is in fact, life-changing! It's a perfect name for her technique and her writing describes it all so beautifully. Perhaps, I will get into the process and hows in another post. As I am getting organized, I am finding new and exciting ideas and energy for my passion of nutrition and health! My mind seems clearer to do what it really wants to, what it might in an ideal world, free from too much busy-ness. (See also 10 Tips and Tricks to Simplify Your Life)

#3 My progress rubs off on others most important in my life, without me pushing. Though, I will say that I am actively teaching my children all about this technique.

#4 It's fun to get dressed in the morning, put away my laundry, pack for a trip, or decide what to wear for a special occasion. A new experience for me!

#5 I have a greater respect and care for our things. For example, I have a dress I like, but it didn't fit me just right. Each time I wore it, I would fleetingly wish it wasn't so low cut. After reading this book, I took action by asking my dear mother-in-law to sew it for me, and ta-da! Now, I wear it and feel perfectly comfortable :) Marie Kondo teaches us to repair items we love, rather than just discard, and purchase new. She gives an example of replacing a missing button on a coat you love. So it's not just about getting rid of everything.

#6 It is such a joy to give away lovely items that have already served their purpose in our home. How fun to give gifts! Note: please be careful to only give others things that you think they might really want. We don't want to add to other people's stuff.

#7 (similar to #5) I feel urges to decorate and repair my home, and make it just right for our family. This isn't something about which I've ever been much concerned. It's just a quiet, new feeling, related to appreciating and caring for my home. We all love our home very much right now; still, it's fun to imagine making it just right. I realize that I can make it an even more special place for my family. I am avoiding the word "perfect", but I suppose I am aiming for "perfect FOR US". 

#8 Long lost library books that have been found! We've certainly come across other treasures, but library books definitely come to mind :)

#9 (related to #8) The enjoyment of playing games and other activities with my kids. We're freshly aware of games and activities we had forgotten about. We have space to play, and we have fun activities stored front and center, and easily accessible.

#10 I love the gratitude mindset that Marie Kondo emphasizes. We always thank God for the fun and functionality we got out of the item we might be giving away. Marie Kondo explains how each item serves a purpose. Gifts served their purpose when a loved one gave them to us. Something we purchased that was expensive or a bargain doesn't mean we need to keep it forever. We can learn lessons from each item that we pass on, and she has many lovely examples. (Goodness of Gratitude: 7 Awesome Benefits of Gratitude)

#11 An extra! Another cool thing about this method is that Marie Kondo says you only have to go through this process once. My clothing, the first category, looks 99% the way it looked when I organized it 3 months ago! I describe it like a puzzle, and I just put things back right in their space. You know the saying "a place for everything", well each item I wear now has a specific place it belongs.

#12 Last one! In the book, she gives very exact steps. In particular, I appreciate her providing an exact order of what to tidy first. I love not having to decide what to do next, instead moving on to the next category that Marie suggests without having to make that decision.

 Thanks for this lovely photo, Amy Christie of This Heart of Mine blog!
(she has a lovely post about the book/technique)

Comments: Have you tried this? Other effective methods and tips you'd like to share?

New Nutrition Guidelines!

I have been anxiously waiting a whole year for this final document! The day after a lawsuit from Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine, the guidelines were finally published! Thank you, PCRM!

2015-2020 Dietary Guidelines for Americans have a few exciting changes:

1) The guidelines recommend that all Americans consume as little cholesterol as possible. Since cholesterol is only found in animal foods, this is a wonderful piece of advice for those promoting a whole foods, plant based way of eating!

2) Boys and men are warned to consume less protein. Should I repeat this? Males should eat less protein! Since men and boys get most of their protein from meat, this sounds like another impressive recommendation to eat fewer animal foods. It should be a relief as well, since this population is always especially worried that they aren't getting enough. 

3) Among the still present dairy recommendation (boo!), soy milk is listed within the category (yay!). I really owe you, my readers, an article about this. For now, I will leave you with one aspect, bone health. Among people across the world, taking into account many studies (meta analysis), the people in countries who consume the least amount of dairy, experience the fewest fractures. There are countries all in between that follow the same relationship, as dairy consumption rises, so too does bone fracture! The people in countries who consume the most dairy have the highest rates of bone fracture.

I was going to give you a visual of this, but instead I will just show you a Google image search for "milk intake and hip fracture". Notice all the lines are going up and to the right, whether the studies are looking at calcium intake, dairy intake, or animal protein, as these intakes increase, fracture rates increase. In summary, the less dairy you consume, the lower your risk of bone fracture.

Along these lines, it's a good time to share:
Trans Fat Ban in US ...this is separate from the guidelines, however, related, and super-noteworthy! The FDA decided in June 2015 that based on all the nutrition research available, trans fat is not safe for human consumption. It has therefore been taken off the Generally Regarded As Safe (GRAS) list, and so may not be added to processed foods. I couldn't find any new information regarding this ban which occurred in June, but I am hopeful that companies are in the process of bettering their products so that they will be safer to eat. Wahoo!

Here are is a post about trans fat. Among the myraid of reasons to avoid meat (here are two posts: 5 reasons! and Plant Based is Powerful!, it must be noted that there are actually trans fats in animal fat, so once trans fat is out of processed foods, the only way to get it completely out of your diet, is to eliminate animal foods from your diet.


Stay tuned! I will be sharing more and more with you about all that I learned at a life-changing course I attended in February 2016 (McDougall Advanced Study Weekend). I just end by sharing my impression from deep in my heart that my totally unreal experience that will inspire me forever! With time, you all will no doubt benefit as well!