If you haven’t been tuning into or at least hearing about Tidying Up with Marie Kondo on Netflix, then it’s time to come on out from under that rock. Kidding (kind of), but if you haven’t sipped the Kool Aid yet, then it’s definitely time. Tidying Up with Marie Kondo is a series on Netflix that features Marie Kondo, the expert and author of The Magic of Tidying Up. She takes families through her process of getting rid of things in the home that don’t “spark joy”, but always thanking the item before disposing of it or donating it. It’s all about cleaning up, de-cluttering and organizing to make space in your home, but also in your life, and only hanging onto the things that bring value and joy to you.
Not only is her goal to “spark joy” in our lives, but she starts every episode and process by taking a silent moment to get down on her knees to introduce herself to the home and thank it for protecting the family that it houses. Just watching this woman sparks joy for us, and her whole mantra is spilling over into the rest of our lives. I don’t know about you, but Marie Kondo has become a verb around our home and office. So with that, we’re sharing our top 5 ways we’re Marie Kondo-ing our health and wellness routines and we suggest you consider implementing a few as well.
1. We’re ditching workouts that don’t spark joy. Just because HIIT workouts are shown to burn calories faster and build lean muscle mass does not mean it’s the right workout for you. Just because yoga is good for recovery and meditation does not mean you love it. Make a list of workouts you truly enjoy, and try to vary up your routine each week with the ways you like to break a sweat. Everyone has their preferences, so work out the way you like and the way that keeps you coming back to achieve your goals.
2. Unfollowing Instagram accounts that make us feel lesser than. You know the accounts we’re talking about? The ones that make you feel like you’re not strong, skinny, pretty, healthy, bargainy, cute, sexy, high fashiony ENOUGH? Do yourself a favor and hit unfollow. We’re cleaning up our IG feeds to follow those who spark joy, provide valuable information or just inspire us to be the best we can in a healthy way.
3. Assembling a self-care container or station. Talk about joy-sparking! You know that area underneath your sink where you stockpile bottles and bottles of body lotion, hair spray, the occasional face mask and some old makeup you don’t use? Just us? If you know what we’re talking about (and it could be a big drawer or shelf where you store your stuff), take some time to ask yourself which items spark joy, which one’s don’t and which ones are just plain expired and need to be tossed. Once you’ve done this, create either a container or station for your self-care needs. We ordered clear containers on Amazon to store bubble bath bottles, bath scrubs, face masks and body lotion. We also got big glass cookie jars to store Epsom salts as a pretty way to display it, and encourage bath soaking time.
4. A massive fridge and pantry de-clutter session. This is key to achieving your nutrition goals if you have any. Less temptations lurking in your pantry and fridge equals less slipping up on whatever eating plan you’re trying to follow. Perhaps you’re trying to eat more whole foods, less processed stuff. Get into that pantry of yours and start with the expired cans of beans and nuts in the back, and then work your way up to parting ways with some candy you just don’t want to be friends with. Now remember, this is your personal journey, but we found this to be a stress-relieving process and a great way to eat cleaner and more intentionally. We obvi left our favorite dark chocolate and granolas and nut butters in there…
5. Getting our groceries delivered through Amazon Prime Now. Ok, hear us out. This is a method of living more simply, strategically and avoiding excess and clutter. This is what has set us up for the most success each week. First, you make your meal plan on Friday afternoon/evening. This should be broken down by day. We find it necessary to plan dinner for each night (scheduling in days to eat out, days for leftovers, etc.) and then just having some ideas for breakfast and lunch. Then, on Saturdays we place our order on the Amazon app to get our Whole Foods groceries delivered (free for Amazon Prime members!) and schedule it to either come to your front door on Saturday evening or Sunday morning. Not only did we save time having to park, browse the store, wait in line, then unload groceries (oh the world we live in), but we avoided buying those random chickpea crackers or dark chocolate almond butter cups. Nothing wrong with those items (in fact, we’re probably adding those to our list for next week), but with a plan and an app where you just add your groceries to your ~digital~ cart, you are sticking with your list, staying on budget and not coming home with a bunch of extra items you did not need. Now, if you see an item in the featured sale section on the app and it ~sparks joy~, we say go for it. 🙂