According to Marie Kondo there’s a five step process for purging, or as she calls it Tidying Up. It begins with clothes. You find absolutely every piece of clothing you own (yes, that includes all the things you stored “somewhere” in a storage bin or bag) and you put it all in one place to assess it. The KonMari Method™ has you pick up and hold every single item and if it sparks joy then you keep it, if you feel nothing, then it goes in the giveaway pile. We watched the show Tidying Up with Marie Kondo on Netflix when we were preparing ourselves to repatriate. We would watch an episode while having Sunday morning pancakes and then attempt to go through our things. I was never able to do ALL of my clothing at once, it just felt like too much, but I was genuinely able to identify things that made me feel joy and things that really meant nothing. I still use her method of folding and love it.
Ivy Calvert is a personal stylist that I started following because of our mutual connection to other women entrepreneurs (Link & Layer). Ivy’s process first evaluates your wardrobe to figure out what your style is. Then she guides you in purging whatever doesn’t meet those requirements. Not only are you getting support in figuring out what looks good on you and is still in fashion, but you are also defining your style of dress. To this day I wonder if Is It Clean counts as a style?
No matter where you start or even if you start, the process of reducing your items as you prepare to move is a common first step. If you decide that will be part of your move, give yourself ample time to work on it and when you just can’t do any more, then you give yourself the space to stop that stage. None of it has to be perfect, good enough is more than enough!