NotSorry Method

The Life Changing Magic of Not Giving a F*ck 

“The truly free man is the one who can turn down an invitation to dinner without giving an excuse.” 
― Jules Renard, The Journal of Jules Renard

If like me you felt decluttering your room didn't clear all your clutter, then I have the solution.
Having read Marie Kondo's decluttering bible 'The Life Changing Magic of Tidying Up', Sarah Knight decided that she needed a mental decluttering. So she wrote the rather rudely titled book, 'The Life Changing Magic of Not Giving a F*ck'. It's a parody of Kondo's book; but behind the fun title the book does have a pretty good message. Don't be put-off by the name, Knight actually has some incredible advice on how to free yourself from the things you don't care about.

If you are overextended and overburdened by life, physical tidying isn't enough. Like me, you may be in need for a mental clean-up and in need of purging the things that bring you down. Whether it's a job, a friend, social media, traffic jams - it's time to get rid of the things that cause you stress and take-up your valuable free time.
Earlier this month, I wrote about 'Spinning-your-wheels' and the perils of multi-tasking to avoid your real mental health issues. Often, people with depression take on too much as a coping mechanism for their illness. The definition applied to me, and I could see how I risked burning myself out if I didn't start to prioritise and cut-out the unnecessary things from my life. This is where Knight's book comes in.

To rival the KonMari Method for decluttering, Knight has developed the NotSorry Method.

How to Spring Clean when you're Sentimental

In many ways, decluttering and spring cleaning was therapeutic. I tackled piles of junk, poor storage space and my much in disrepair book case. As Marie Kondo insisted, I threw away anything that didn’t spark joy. In my case, many of these times were old triggers and it was a release to throw away items that reminded me of the darker days in my mental health journey.

But while trying to free myself from clutter I encountered another problem.
How do you avoid junk when you are sentimental?

While tidying out my room I found items that I had made, stored and bought years ago. Some of these were easy to let go of. But others had memories attached, and these sentimental items were harder to find a home for.

My collection of sentimental items included:
hand-made cards, drawings from my little sisters over the years, fliers of movies I have seen, newspaper clippings, old school projects, concert tickets, movie tickets, receipts from dinner, maps of towns, printed booking confirmation emails, event  brochures, wristbands from festivals or night clubs, hand-made bracelets...

These items did spark joy. So I had to keep them. But where?

I have found a solution for us sentimental declutter-ers. There are tidy and organised ways to keep your sentimental items while also being free from clutter.

Decluttering

KonMari method has grown in popularity over the past year thanks to Marie Kondo’s book, ‘The Life Changing Magic of Tidying Up’. The book has sold 6 million copies and offers 'Konverts' a life transformation. But decluttering isn't unique to Kondo. Cheryl Rickman raves about how clearing clutter can provide more mental energy in 'The Flourish Handbook'.

So how do you declutter?
From the literature, I gained many tips to help me tidy-up and discard the clutter. These included:
Tidy by category, not location.
Tidy a little everyday.
Tackle one area a day.
Ask 'Does it spark joy?'
Discard anything that doesn’t bring you joy.
Learn that you can do without.
Don't grieve the things you let go of.
Don't save things 'just in case'.


How did I get on?

"Life truly begins after you have put your life in order."

Tidying is an obsession. A compulsion. Addictive.
I've always really enjoyed it. I love tidying and organising and cleaning. But I don't like getting rid of things. I prefer to accumulate keepsakes and items that may possibly be useful someday.

Be Free from Clutter

“What we own is not who we are.” – Mike Fisher, ‘Mindfulness and the Art of Managing Anger’

Declutter is the new buzzword. Especially now that we are in Springtime and full-on Spring cleaning mode. We need to clear our homes and our personal spaces of clutter now more than ever. It's Life Changing. It's a transformation. It sparks joy. Apparently we even have ‘clutter personalities’.

Oxford Dictionary describes decluttering as follows:
to "Remove unnecessary items from (an untidy or overcrowded place)"

So this April, I too have decided I want to be free from clutter.

Introduction to my Be Free Resolution

What I want to be free from

“Freedom is the will to be responsible to ourselves.” - Friedrich Nietzsche

It's April, and into month four (yes FOUR) of my Romeo Project self-improvement programme.

Embrace your Past leads effortlessly into my April resolution to Be Free. Having spent March immersed in myself and my past, I plan on finding freedom from it, and all else, that holds me back.

But it's a vague term.

What exactly is Be Free?

Oxford Dictionary describes being free as the ability“to act or be done, as one wishes; not under the control of another.”
It's about being, and feeling, in control.

What do I want to Be Free from?
I want to ditch the things that cause me stress, anxiety and boredom. I want to create more free time for myself, to do the things I really enjoy. There are a number of things that I need to cut out of my life to achieve this. This month is about ditching those things.

Here’s what I want to be free from this month:
- Clutter
- My Schedule
- Stress
- Social Media
- Bad books and Bad TV shows
- Negative Feelings (as much as I can)
- The Past
- My Worries
- Expectations
- My Budget