Have you finished tidying?

Reader, I have.

In case you missed it, I began this whole tidying thing about a month ago with this post:

http://girlwithalltheanswers.blogspot.com/2015/05/why-do-you-have-so-much-stuff.html

And since I blogged about the before, I feel like I should blog about the after, even though I'm still sort of in shock that I went through with it and that I've actually finished.

Maybe I'll start with some photos. Here's what the Hidey Hole looks like now . . .

We'll pick up where we left off, with my clothes. This is what my closet looks like.

After I finished my clothes, I followed the Konmari Method and sorted through all my books.

I didn't take a "before" picture, but this shelf used to be completely full. And I had more books scattered all over the house. But this is it now. I also got rid of more than half of my CDs and DVDs.

Then I did papers. That was a tough one. I had a LOT of papers. And I dreaded them all. But I touched each one and most of them sparked little to no joy. I tossed at least an entire garbage can full. That's why there are no "after" photos of my papers. The only ones left are in the little pink paper organizer on the top shelf of my closet in the picture above and then a few others that went into the sentimental category and are now packed in two small boxes in the back of the closet.

Then I did toiletries and makeup and bathroom stuff.

I'm particularly proud of these cupboards. They're so organized, it's awesome.

After the bathroom stuff, you do the kitchen. Which is also super organized now, even inside the cupboards.

The weird part is that I didn't stage these photos at all. This is how my house actually looks all the time. And it's not hard to keep it this way. Anytime something's out of place, I put it right back where it goes. And when new stuff comes in, it either gets put away or thrown away within minutes. It's weird. I have never been this organized in my life. I don't even have to think about it. I'm just on autopilot.

And my home is full of all the stuff I love and none of the stuff I don't.

Plus I have SO MUCH extra space. Like miles and miles of carpet on which to do yoga or have dance parties or whatever I feel like.

There have been a few hard parts of this process, like when I went through all my notebooks and papers from high school and college. If you remember from this post, I used to totally hoard those.

And now they're all gone. Weird. But the weirdest part is that I don't mind. I don't miss my stuff. In fact, the emotional weight that's off my shoulders now has been such a relief that I don't miss any of it.

It's amazing how freeing this whole process has been. I no longer feel tied down by my possessions. I could move into a tiny house and fit just fine. In fact, I could probably get rid of even more.

And it's great to know that this is how I'm going to live for the rest of my life. I don't feel compelled to buy more. I don't feel guilty throwing things out or donating them when they're no longer useful or beautiful to me.

Also, I've realized how much time I used to spend on the care and keeping of my stuff. When you have fewer things, you have fewer things to keep clean, to keep organized, and to keep in good repair. It's great! I actually feel like I can maintain all of my things now without getting overwhelmed.

So yeah, the moral of the story is that this can be a really good thing. I now feel like I have so much more control over my little house and my whole life. And without all the detritus in the way, I can focus on the things I really love. Today has been my first completely clutter-free day and I'm already completely in love with my new minimalist life.

This process hasn't been totally easy, but it's been a lot easier than I expected and it has been totally worth it. Anyway, that's my little testimony of tidying.

Good luck with your own tidying journeys, if you're on them. (I hope you are. They're great.) Just remember, I believe in you! Happy Sunday!