I’m in the midst of a massive decluttering extravaganza via the KonMari Method. So far, I finished the clothes category and I am completely sold on the process outlined in the book. My reluctant husband was inspired to do his clothes after seeing my results, and we have gone from filling two closets to sharing one. And we both have room to spare in our dressers—we could probably share one and move the other one out if we wanted to. We are both finding it simple, easy, and pleasant to get ready in the morning.

I haven’t had time in the last week to tackle another category, but I have been doing small things to stay in the mindset. Yesterday, I did the kitchen junk drawer. The photo above is the finished result.  Here’s the box o’ crap I dumped out of it:

That is a deep box, and you could barely close the drawer. If I were being purist about the method, I would be doing this drawer as part of the paper and komono (miscellany) categories.   But I want to keep the momentum going, and this drawer drives me crazy.

One of the things I found amidst the flyers for past events, expired Bed, Bath, and Beyond coupons, endless scraps of this and that, catalogs, paper clips, rubber bands, and 100 pens, was this gem that I printed out maybe a month ago from one of my favorite blogs.

Ordinarily, this would have sat at the bottom of that drawer for a year, and would probably have been thrown away eventually. Instead, I took it out, cut the question strips and made the jar and to-go bag. Now we have a new game—pick a question to discuss at dinnertime or on the road. We have thoughtful, heart-centered questions to take us farther than “What was the best/worst part of your day?” when we’re too tired to think of something more interesting.

What a perfect gift to receive on Mother’s Day—a tool for connecting with my kids. I certainly did not expect that outcome from a small decluttering task. I am grateful.

Next week, another big category…..BOOKS!

What I’m reading:

Control Switch. I am thoroughly enjoying this novel for its own sake, and even more so because my sweet friend from travel nursing days, Leana Delle, wrote it.

This article has some very useful tips for prioritizing, getting organized, and freeing up time to focus on what’s most important to you. I have adopted #1 already and will no longer have to-do lists. If it needs to get done, it goes on the calendar in a time slot.

What I’m listening to:

Rising Appalachia. That’s about all I’ll be listening to—obsessively–for the next little while, and after that they will be in heavy rotation in my life for the duration.  I saw them play last night and really, there are no words. I have been to A LOT of shows, and this was by far one of the best ever. They are ridiculously, joyfully amazing. Seriously, if they come to your town, you have to go see them. It really doesn’t matter whatsoever what kind of music you’re into–they are that good as musicians, singers, and especially as live performers.  I was blessed to be at that show and to share the experience with beautiful friends.

© Camille Williams and Wake Up, Mama!  2015