I was reading Marie Kondo's Instagram site one day, and it asked people to comment on their home organization struggles. I thought to myself "why not," and commented that I struggle with keeping my daughter's feeding tube and eating supplies organized on the kitchen counter.
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| Marie Kondo is known internationally for her philosophy of tidying and organizing. |
I was surprised to get a personal message from someone on her team, asking for my e-mail address so that they could better understand the situation. I gave her my e-mail, and sent her a picture of the messy status of my kitchen counter.
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| Oil, Miralax, calorie supplement, cups and bottles galore, cube trays, chewing devices...etc = no joy on my kitchen counter |
She asked me a few clarifying questions, about whether the drying rack was for sterilized items, and other thoughtful questions, and then I got an e-mail that surprised me.
The team had been a little stumped on what advice to send me, so they asked Marie Kondo herself! And Marie Kondo sent us a message directly, to "Amy-san and Evie" and here's the advice she gave us (translated from Japanese via her team):
"I see...okay! So, we tend to focus on a specific spot in the kitchen where it seems like there’s a lot of stuff. The secret to this is to look around the other areas of the kitchen and see if there are items that don’t spark joy for you. Once you tackle the entire kitchen, there might be a spot that has extra space that you can use for the supplies that are on the counter.
There’s another way using boxes. With the perfect sized box, you can separate your items with each category (ex: bottles/plates/cups). Once the items find their “home”, you will realize that the kitchen seems to ‘spark joy’ for you. Amy and Evie, good luck with tidying!!"
I was tickled pink. Marie Kondo herself!
Weeks passed since receiving her advice--I just haven't had the time to do some organization. But during a lunch break, I walked into the Muji store on Newbury Street, which I have been wanting to do for months. After silently gushing in excitement over their pen selection, I saw shelves of storage boxes calling my name. I was instantly inspired, bought a bunch of different sizes, and as soon as I got home, I set to work.
I realized how many different cups and other feeding devices had collected on the counter--they were not giving any of us joy. So they went back to the basement. I then separated the cups into a container, bottle caps in another, and so on. Putting things in the Muji boxes gave me joy.
Here is the finished product. I have less annoyance and more joy now when I look at the counter! Everything is where it should be!
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| Newly organized supplies |
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| Closeup of box arrangement |
Evie doesn't seem to understand how awesome this is on so many levels. I tried to tell her but she told me she wanted to play flashcards. Oh well. Whatever gives her joy.
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