There’s been a ton of buzz the last couple weeks about a new show on Netflix called Tidying Up with Marie Kondo. When the house felt relatively clean and I had straight vacuum lines in the carpet, I thought it was time to give it a watch and see what all the hype was about.

One episode in and I knew I’d be writing a blog. I mean, I already wrote a semi-blog on instagram this week about my new roaster pan https://www.instagram.com/p/BsWT0DqlvCG/   so moving into the home organization direction wasn’t a huge leap.

First of all, Marie Kondo is an adorable human. I’d like to be her friend, but I’m not sure I’m sweet enough to even be in her presence. I’m fascinated with her home organization methods and I can see how they work. I also am a fan of no clutter and seeing spaces transformed, so I love watching people clean up their homes and it inspires me to keep on top of ours. I can appreciate how a place or space feels and I value atmosphere for many different reasons.

But then.

Marie went all joy on us.

Taking it to a whole other level.

And it struck a deep chord in me.

Because joy. Joy is something we forget that we need in our life, and it’s easy to let it slip away. Sometimes we wonder if we even deserve joy, or if it’s just something that occasionally we get a taste of until the next moment it pops up. We can easily overlook the meaning it brings to deep places, and that it can be a sustainable way of life.

Far beyond our cupboards and drawers.

In Marie terms, you appreciate the things that you have. When you no longer need them, or they no longer spark joy in your life, you thank them and say good-bye. I’ll admit watching people talk to their old t-shirts and say a farewell was a little odd at first. But, I got what she was doing.

We hold onto a lot of things that we don’t need.

Life happens. Circumstances comes. If we are not careful, we allow emotions and feelings into our life that smother out our joy. We hoard the hurt and let it pile up inside.

Forgetting that we can let go,

to create space for what is ahead. 

Marie got me thinking beyond shelves and cupboards about what sparks joy in my own life, and reflecting on what I need to say good-bye to. We can all be honest and admit that there are things that take up valuable room in our hearts and block anything else from coming in.

We hold on, and unless we release we don’t make new space. 

Space for new seasons.

Space for adventures.

Space for pursuit.

There’s no room for more joy,

Unless we make it. 

And we can.

We can allow ourselves to say good-bye to the things in our life that are preventing us from walking in the fullness of joy that is available to us. So get rid of that stuff. You can’t roll everything up as easily as an old-shirt that you haven’t worn in 20 years, but it is possible to let things go that are taking up too much space in your head and heart places. You can be thankful for a season that you walked through, good or bad – and trust there is room for greater joy ahead.

So make that room.

I’ve been thinking about things that spark joy in my life.

Faith. Creativity. Family. Learning. Mentoring. Writing. DIY Projects. Movies. Walking in my neighbourhood. Spending time with my friends. Serving others. Being part of community.

These are the joy sparks of my life.

What I want to fill my heart spaces with.

So, this week I’m cleaning out some clutter in my house. (You’ll be proud of me adorable Marie)

Saying thank-you and good-bye to a few things. Then, I’m doing a little tidying up of my own cluttered inside spaces too. I want to make room in my heart. There’s lots of good in there already, but I want more.

Complete joy, pure joy, shouts of joy, great joy and filled with joy.

I want more room for joy.

Maybe that’s why Marie is everywhere I look,

It’s not just about the closets.

Our world could use more joy too.