A happy place

Your happy place is your home, so stay home. With the general community quarantine, it is still best to stay at home. But it’s boring, you say. No, not if you plan things everyday and make a goal. For instance, I set my goals during quarantine to “Marikondo” or to “KonMari” my things by categories until May 15.
Marie Kondo is a young Japanese organizing consultant, author, and TV show host known worldwide. Her books already sold millions of copies and have been translated into many languages. If you are interested, you can watch “Tidying up with Marie Kondo” on Netflix.
In fact, according to my sister in the U.S., Kondo has become a fad among young housewives. And so, many of the KonMari stuff now find their way into our homes, good for us and for those who need them. Kondo has been nominated for the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Host for a Reality Program and is listed as one of the “100 Most Influential People” by TIME magazine.
Well, you may ask, did I finish the job given the many quarantine hours? My answer is no. I am still doing it and doing it leisurely at my own pace. But it has kept my time at home happy and not boring at all. Of course, interspersed in between my KonMari days are my telenovelas on Netflix and some assignments.
KonMari is not easy though. I found out that the secret of her methods and segregations are the use of boxes and the folding of clothes. So, with this method, I started looking for discarded boxes, shoe or balikbayan boxes. I cut huge balikbayan boxes into five-inch height, so I can see my folded KonMari clothes right away. The clothes are folded into one third and arranged standing up, sort of filing them standing up. I don’t have to look for clothes piled up. It’s easier to fix.
Of course, you can do two things with these temporary boxes. First, you can discard them later and buy more good-looking bins of the same size or second, you just cover the boxes with wrapping paper or colored packing tapes. After all, my purpose is simply to please myself, put order and to label, and to get rid of stuff or items not being used for a year or two.
As mentioned in my other writeups, KonMari categorizes sorting into clothes, books, paper, shoes, miscellaneous or sentimental items. Or, you may devise your own method of sorting. Whew! It’s still a long way, but I am getting there one step at a time. And I am happy doing it. Perhaps fixing and emptying is a never-ending process. As you get rid of some items, some items find their way to you. After all, “nature abhors a vacuum.”
In the midst of all these, I get to practice cooking this and that and experiment on new menus and recipes that I have not done for a long time. You don’t need a cookbook these days, just go to YouTube.
Nothing is impossible nowadays. Sabi nga ng asawa ko, “Ang bilis maubos ng gas natin ngayon ah.” Sagot ko naman, “Siyempre nagluluto ako araw-araw.” Just like the song, “If you’re happy and you know it, clap your hands.” So be happy.