Life-Changing Magic

I believe in the life-changing magic of tidying up. My husband and I have embraced the KonMari method of getting rid of “things” that do not bring us joy. I thought it sounded ridiculous in the beginning–saying good-bye to my things? unpacking my purse everyday? all of this talk about joy?–but I, Andrea Clark, certified cynic, now have a finely-tuned “joy-meter”. That skirt? No joy–get rid of it. That book? Love that book–keep it (time to reread it!). Why do these bowls bring me so much joy? Who cares!? Keep them! It’s so nice to be surrounded by things that make me happy.

While my apartment has received the KonMari treatment, my classroom hasn’t. I arguably spend more time in my classroom than in my apartment during the school year, so why wouldn’t I want my classroom to bring me joy? I do want it to bring me, and my students, joy. We do a lot of great learning and growing in this space. I want it to be a happy place, surrounded by things that we use joyfully and purposefully.

So this is what I did with my prep time today; I started KonMari-ing my room. It already feels better in here. I hope that it brings more joy to my students as well.