How to Keep House While Drowning

An organizing book for everyone by KC Davis. I recommend reading or listening to it, and watching her Ted Talk (link is below)

I just experienced a kitchen remodel for my first time and I wish with all my might for it to be my last time.

My husband and I plan to sell our house in 3-5 years and we're slowly doing updates so we can enjoy the changes and take our time. Since we love to cook and process the whole food we grow, we decided to redo the kitchen...

But once we began, I found myself thinking WHY NOW? WHY did I do this to us? Was it really that bad?!

But is there ever a good time to remove every single kitchen item, put it somewhere else, then watch the house get slowly covered in dust while power tools pound away?

My gratitude for the use of my kitchen sink, stove, and new dishwasher are now beyond anything I could have imagined.

But I also find myself with an even deeper gratitude for the book How to Keep House While Drowning. I have to say...

THANK YOU KC DAVIS! This book is amazing!

What a great, mind and life altering distraction to have as I prepped my cabinets for painting (and reignited my myself tennis elbow). I feel like I've been waiting for her words for my whole life.

I loved it so much that as soon as it ended I listened to it again!

The Therapy Version of the Life Changing Magic of Tidying Up

KC Davis's name came up twice as my kitchen started being remodeled - a client texted me about how much she loved her book and I heard an interview with her on the radio.

When the book The Life Changing Magic of Tidying Up by Marie Kondo came out, it also seemed like suddenly everyone was talking about it. I ended up loving the philosophy so much I flew to New York by myself and trained with Marie Kondo.

Just before taking the very final step in becoming an official KonMari Consultant (by paying an annual fee), I decided not to. There were a few reasons, but the main one was that I felt the KonMari method was missing a huge mental and emotional component, which is why I'm now a mindset AND organizing coach.

How to Keep House While Drowning is full of the mental health and mindset components the KonMari craze was missing.

Ms. Davis put into words so many things I've thought over my years as a professional organizer that I wish I'd written it! But she as a Mom and therapist with ADHD, she has so many insights that help this book go beyond anything I could've written.

I love my KonMari'd house. I feel the process helped change my life and that I'm truly a happier person because of it. I love the philosophy of surrounding ourselves with things that bring us joy and are useful...

But I've also done a LOT of mindset work to get to a place of loving my home. To get there, I've learned to love my Self and be less of a perfectionist.

I've realized I'm not happier in my home because my socks are folded perfectly, I'm happier because I've decided:

1. Being messy doesn't mean I'm "bad" or "lazy"

2. Clearing and organizing are important forms of self care

3. It takes practice to be kind to myself, and that practice is deeply important

Most importantly, I've learned:

I don't need my house to look like a magazine, I need it to function and support my life and goals

I could gush all day about this book, but I'll let it speak for itself...

Here are some quotes I love from the book:

“You do not have to earn the right to rest, connect, or recreate. Unlearn the idea that care tasks must be totally complete before you can sit down. Care tasks are a never-ending list, and if you wait until everything is done to rest, you will never rest.”

“No one ever shamed themselves into better mental health.”

“There are actually only 5 things in any room: (1) trash; (2) dishes; (3) laundry; (4) things that have a place and are not in their place; and (5) things that do not have a place.”

“It’s stressful to try to summon up 100% motivation sitting on the couch. Let yourself use 5% motivation to do 5% of the task. Maybe you keep going. Maybe you don’t. That’s ok. Anything worth doing is worth doing partially.”

“You do not have to earn the right to rest, connect, or recreate. Unlearn the idea that care tasks must be totally complete before you can sit down. Care tasks are a never-ending list, and if you wait until everything is done to rest, you will never rest.”

“If you go through your whole life thinking that every time you clean the fridge it has to be perfect, every time you take a shower it has to be perfect, every time you do a work project it has to be perfect, you will burn out and hate your life.”

“Forget about creating a routine. You have to focus on finding your rhythm.” With routines you are either on track or not. With rhythm you can skip a beat and still get back in the groove.”

“You deserve kindness and love regardless of how good you are at care tasks.”

And here's a link to her Ted Talk, How to do laundry when you're depressed.

If you've read the book and/or watched the video - what do you think? Did they impact your thinking and/or life?

Also, please know I'm here to help if you feel overwhelmed by clutter, anxiety, depression, life - please don't hesitate to reach out.

I've been deep in the struggle myself, you're not alone.

Share with me or reach out in a comment here, in an email or in a personal message on Facebook or Instagram

XO,

Spring

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