How I Choose my things.

Does it spark joy for you? Was one of the most confusing things for me when I was reading Marie Kondo’s books.

For me, holding onto things and closing my eyes to “feel” if it sparks joy did not work. For some reason everything just felt the same.

Don’t get me wrong though, I am a fan of Marie Kondo. I actually use the Konmari Method for my clothes with a mix of folding and organizing techniques that I learned during my time in the military.

KonMili style!

More than a minimalist lifestyle, I actually adhere an to essentialist lifestyle. I guess you could call it a type of Minimalism. Essentialism is all about quality, not quantity. I would spend the same amount of money to have a smaller living space where I have the things I need and use often. I would teach fewer classes but really get to know each of the students and help them get closer to what they want to achieve. I would do fewer things in a day but do them extremely well. 

Which brings us to how I choose the things that I buy for my home in general. This has helped me a lot in my purchases which left me with quality items that bring me joy. And it boils down into three things.

• Looks

• Function

• Maintenance

Notice that I didn’t mention the price since there are so many ways to justify the price. I will be posting a separate post on it with all the formulas included. (Yes, I have formulas for these things. Haha.)

Anyways, here is a breakdown of the three points making a 6 point checklist.

Looks

• Is it nice to look at?

• Does it complement the other things that I have?

Function

• Does it do what I want it to do?

• Do the features complement what it does?

Maintenance

• Is it easy to clean?

• Do I have a place to keep it at home?

Here is an example of an item that I thought of purchasing before that I used my 6 point checklist on.

Menu Sweeper & Funnel. (Menu is the actual name of the brand.)

Price $65 (actually the price made me iffy already but for the sake of this post, let’s continue)

Looks:

• Is it nice to look at?
  Yes! Look at the clean lines! The white plastic dustpan looks so nice with the wood sweeper!

• Does it complement the other things that I have?
  Yes! My home is white with wood accents.

Function:

• Does it do what I want it to do?
  No. I want it to sweep dust and things in my countertop and ledge. But because of the design (which was intentional for making it easier for the dirt to be funneled into the trash bin), every time I sweep, there is a risk of the particles flying out on the other side. Also, the curved lips pointing upward on the side does not help sweep the dust in.

• Do the features complement what it does?
  No. The funnel where the dirt and dust particles are supposed to go out also serves as the sweeper holder causing the sweeper handle to be dirty. Although it was a good attempt to try to design it well, the form trumped the function.

Maintenance:

• Is it easy to clean?
  No. Being that it is plastic, the static charges might make dust particles stick to the funnel area. Also, the funnel is hard to reach and a bottle brush or the like should be used to clean that area.

• Do I have a place to keep it at home?
  Yes. I can hang it inside my cleaning cabinet.

Yes = 3, No =3. 

3 out of 6

Usually when there are more than two "No" answers, then it is a no for me.

Simplified, if it is not both "Yes" under a category (Looks, Function and Maintenance), then the answer is no for that category.

So for the Menu Sweeper & Funnel:

Looks = Yes

Function = No

Maintenance = No

Answer = No

At this point, the price does not even matter anymore since the answer is clear.

Again this does not mean the product is bad. For others, this product may be good for whatever purpose they use it for (wall decoration maybe?). But for me, it just doesn't work.

I hope my way of choosing things will help you in making your decision. But here’s the thing, at the end of the day if you really want something even if others tell you otherwise, then there might be something in it that makes you happy. As long as it doesn’t hurt you and others (especially financially) then, by all means, go ahead.

It’s all about smart living every day.

Dae