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Does it spark hate?

Kelly Tompkins
5 min readOct 21, 2019

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A different approach to handling clutter that’s not life changing.

The craze has died down but Marie Kondo’s ways for minimalism is still strong in the community.

It’s not hard to be inspired by her book, to want to pick up every item you own and know that you were meant to be with that item. I wanted to throw away 90% of my possessions just to live that life that “sparks joy”.

But is that realistic? There are some items that I have in my possession that I need but don’t love. There aren’t necessarily things that “spark joy” but they are the items that I wear or use frequently. If I get rid of items that didn’t spark joy, would I truly be happy? If I got rid of any of the clothes that I didn’t absolutely love, would I even have anything to wear?

What’s worked for me in the past is a different method. One that takes a moment every few months and asks, “Does it spark hate?”.

I only have a few guidelines.

Go through your possessions every 3–6 months

It’s up to you how often you want to do this but I would take inventory every few months or so. Look at the items that you own and take note about how often you’ve used those items or if they’re items that you may have duplicates of.

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Kelly Tompkins
Kelly Tompkins

Written by Kelly Tompkins

Austin,Texas sober girl. Lover of horror movies, cats, and fitness. Occasional bad poet.

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