Discussing Mindful Living with Dr Aparna! #TheGoodMama
Mamas, you inspire us!
Since we started on this journey, we have met so many of you who have left us in awe! That's why we've started this new series #TheGoodMama to highlight amazing mamas who are making a positive impact to the world!
We kicked it off with an IG LIVE last month hosting our very first mama, Dr Aparna, a doctor turned KonMari & Montessori coach, known for her brand Global Mindful Journey. She helps individuals and families practice mindful living, to foster meaningful relationships and growth.
As mums we struggle with tidying our kids' wardrobes and rooms. According to Dr Aparna, the KonMari tidying approach introduced by Marie Kondo is different from traditional home organization methods.
“It’s not just the pretty bins and baskets to organize your things, nor owning a label maker to label everything to know where things are,” she clarified. Instead, it was more of an introspective approach to look at tidying as a stepping stone towards finding comfort in your home. In the long run, this will lead to finding a deeper purpose in life while staying organized and removing clutter.
As a consultant, she does the whole decluttering process together with the client instead of doing it in autopilot mode. This way, the parents could get involved, understand and co-create a home that is aligned with their values.
How to Start Decluttering
First tip is to never start decluttering with our kids' stuff! Instead, we could have slow but sure conversations about tidiness and organization to inspire them. As kids, what their parents do will shape their perspective on what THEY should do. That’s why Dr Aparna usually advises clients to start with the parents’ space.
How to Sustain the Decluttering Habit
During consultation sessions, a few things Dr Aparna focuses on is clarity of emotional connection and motivation including, “Why you want to do this in the first place.” Mindset is the most important as it will be what keeps us going, because intentions from within are the most sustainable ones.
Dealing with Sentimentality
Start with the simple things. Out of all the items we’re planning to declutter, starting off with things we’re emotionally attached to is NOT a good idea. Either it's your wedding photobook, a dress you wore on your first date with your husband, your child’s binky that they used to love or anything that has a sentimental meaning to it, spare it for the end of the session. A better option is to categorize and list down the easiest till the hardest things to sort out. Once we find our rhythm and right pace, dealing with the sensitive things could be done with a clearer mind.
Besides that, do remember that tidying means having honest and true conversations with our belongings. If you’re planning to keep something simply because you “love it” or “need it someday,” think with your heart whether or not you’ll be using it again in the future.
No matter how many memories are attached to a clothing piece or belonging and how much we want to cherish it, we can’t always keep it forever (especially if we can’t use it on a daily basis anymore). If you want to hold on to the memory, one way is to keep it visible. For example, if your child has a favorite outfit that’s very close to your heart, take a photo of it and transfer it into a digital photo gallery or coffee table book instead of letting it pile up in a drawer. That way, we could still be nostalgic and look back to old memories, while staying decluttered!
“We get so attached to the physicality of our items, but actually it's the memory that we’re trying to honor and cherish,” says Dr Aparna. Hence, being realistic with the space we have must also be thought about.
Dr Aparna also ideated “treasure boxes” for parents to curate the best things they really want to keep and enjoy for a long period of time. This way, they could also still hold on to physical items if it isn’t something that can be digitized into videos, photos and voice records.
How to deal with wanting to keep stuff for the future?
For items that kids have outgrown, knowing that someone else could relove it can help in giving it up. This is where preloved platforms like Nimbu step in! People could sell and buy preloved stuff on a trusted and curated platform.
From talking about shifting careers, decluttering, preloved until the importance of mindset and perspective, we had a wonderful time chatting with Dr Aparna. Besides it being very insightful, the tips and tricks she recommended is something we would love to really implement in our daily lives!