"How do you do it?"
I've heard it several times from the past two years since I began my Konmari journey. I'm still a work in progress but I can say at this point I finally found the harmony in being a lolita and applying konmari in my life. In this post I will share with you how I did it and how it led me to a happier state by letting go.
Read the book and actually follow it
The concept of minimalism in the Konmari method is entirely personal. It will differ from person to person. For some reason, people would digest the concept of minimalism as actually living with super few things. Konmari doesn't always mean that you go to that path especially if it doesn't make you happy. The goal is to be surrounded by things that actually makes you happy and it's not as simple as just mindlessly telling yourself, "But all of my dresses makes me happy!" You wouldn't actually know if you don't follow the method of actually touching your things one by one and indentifying what "sparks joy". In Filipino slang as we say it, dapat may sparks! This is a very important and crucial step. It may sound cheesy but it works!
I highly suggest reading Marie Kondo's book as she wrote about the spiritual effects on tidying up + some important insights in detail about why people usually end up hoarding.
Envision your dream life
This is konmari step no.1! You have to be specific on this don't just be like, "I want a tidy space." For me, my dream home is a home that is easy to tidy and clean. A home where I can easily find things. I want a tidy home because I find calm and beauty on empty spaces. I want a home that is so nice it's instagram-able!
Okay, the instagram-able part is still a WIP so hang on me there. 😂 But you get my point right? Living in a home with a lot of excess and unnecessary clutter, cleaning can be overwhelming as there are so many things to deal with and I often find myself just skipping the task. Finding things can be annoying too as they may be buried under things you don't actually even use or like but for some reason you keep holding on to them just because.
I simply acted on this dream of mine and I'm glad that I did.
I simply acted on this dream of mine and I'm glad that I did.
A photo of my studio
Consider a capsule wardrobe
This concept can be intimidating to a lolita. A capsule wardrobe doesn't mean you only get to keep 5 pieces of dresses. That is brutal! 😂 A capsule wardrobe is something you design according to your preferences. It just happens that it is popular to take the minimalism route thus keeping only 30 items that they can mix and match etc. In my case, instead of keeping two separate wardrobes for regular clothes, I decided to make it one. How is that? I kept and acquired pieces that is versatile enough to be worn in and out of lolita. I still have some dressy and strictly lolita pieces, of course. I specifically love pairing my blouses with short shorts. Link to my wardrobe post for this year is here.
Coherent wardrobe is king
There is nothing more satisfying than being able to pin the styles you actually like and actually sticking to it. Personally, I like muted colors and textured pieces. Collecting such pieces is something I didn't purposely do though but I realized it when I did the konmari "spark joy" step. After purging, I found the remainders are mostly muted colors with simple and classic cuts, comfortable, and most of all, they go well with each other! I can mix and match! Doing that crucial step made me understand myself more on what I actually like style-wise and comfort-wise. When obtaining new pieces, at least I now have guidelines to consider before deciding.
You must be wondering how I seem to make it sound so easy. It's not and I'm taking my time. It's my second year attempting to complete the konmari method when the recommended time frame is just 6 months. It's not easy because you really have to decide to act everyday on that dream life or dream home. I do have setbacks but I guess I want it enough to be able to keep on going back on working on it. I also realized some of my unique personal traits that helped me push through with this lifestyle change. It's something that may not apply to you but I am sharing it anyway to complete the answer to the question on how do I do it.
I'm not a heavy consumer.
Lolita fashion has a collective aspect to it. I can't deny it's the ultimate dream to be surrounded by lots of pretty dresses. However, as a person that I am, I'm not really a heavy consumer and it also extends to my love for lolita. It will be very rare for me to actually want a dress so bad that I will go the extra mile just to hunt for it, fight on auctions and even go through the process of online shopping. That's just not who I am.
My consumer drive is so low that I'm closing this post with a fun fact: I don't have a dream dress. You can all gasp now.
