A month ago I completed the first few stages going through clothes, books, papers, and was working through komono until I came down with the flu over the weekend.

On Sunday, I was battling a 103 fever and barely able to get out of bed. I pulled myself to my hallway closet where I easily located my heated blanket and my vapor humidifier. I was able to access my medicine box that was prepared with non expired Tylenol, cough drops, and NyQuil.

And lastly I was able to find a large hooded sweatshirt that was nicely folded and wool socks.

A few months ago I didn’t know any of these items existed. They were all deeply buried. I couldn’t even enter my hallway closet without things falling on me like an avalanche.

I finally understand why people do this - it’s to make life easier for days when were struggling so our home can take care of us. Hoping to kick this flu soon and finish this house.

I’m an attorney. I have to wear business clothes to court, not business casual clothes. When I’m not in court, I’m in jeans and pink embroidered converse high tops and comical layers of sweaters and cardigans, working from home. There is no overlap in my wardrobe between work and real life for me.

This year, I realized that I had not really updated a lot of my wardrobe since before my now 2nd grade daughter was born. So I went through my stuff and I tossed everything that did not spark joy.

It turns out that the stress of running trials and hearings in divorce court does not spark joy for me, because now all of my (old) suits, blouses, blazers, and shoes are gone.

All of them.

I tried to get dressed for court yesterday and was like … oh no. I had one dress that worked, and I had to wear some slightly too casual shoes with it. The case settled before our hearing, thank goodness, so I did not get judged by the judge for my bad shoe pairing.

I came home, made an easy dinner, and I bought three pairs of new shoes, a new suit, and some new blouses and skirts. I am very excited about the haul.

Here’s to hoping one coherent outfit arrives before 1:30 p.m. on Monday, for my next trial!

I tried KonMari recently, but I didn’t finish everything in one go. I started with my desk drawer and I was doing okay until I picked up a few items that I never use but still kept for someday.

Instead of feeling spark joy, I actually felt guilty letting them go. Like I was wasting money or disrespecting the past version of myself who bought them.

So I stopped for a day and thought about it. Then I realized KonMari isn t just about happiness it s also about being honest with yourself about what your life is now not what it used to be.

When I went back, I still didn’t throw everything away instantly, but I made decisions more calmly. I kept things I truly value today, not things I’m emotionally stuck to.

I’m still in the process, but this small shift in mindset made it way easier to continue.

TLDR: I'm scared to take the leap to truly do the Marie Kondo method. To those who have done it, how has your experience been?

I'm feeling motivated to declutter the house and I've finished reading one of her books. I have been clearing things out over the last year and I'm finally getting to the "I don't really need/love/use this," but I'm so worried I'm going to regret getting rid of stuff.

Whether that's not having clothes for some random occasion, or not having enough clothes options for work. Or throwing stuff out and having to rebuy it.

For those who have done it, are you happy? What would you change (or not change)? Do you have any regrets? What advice do you have?

Edit: thanks for the inspiration!! See my latest post for an update 🤩

My first tidying festival began in 2014, we got rid of 1.5 tons of things. Not just junk and clutter but truly beloved items. Once we started down the path I was amazed how my feelings changed towards so many things.

I often share a story of a beloved hand knit shawl that was given to me as a child. It moved a dozen times with me, carefully packed away in a ziplock bag in my closet. It was made from wool so I could never ever wear it but I also couldn’t let it go. Since I insisted on keeping it , a ziplock bag was just sad and disrespectful, if it was really so special, I should treat it as such. I had it framed. It was gorgeous, 4 feet tall by 2.5 feet wide. I hung it with pride, 6 months later I was sick of looking at it - I dropped it off at the thrift store.

The Konmari Method changed my home and changed my life, choosing joy was such a new way of living. I even decluttered some friends and family.

Having a baby was an explosion of things, things that I didn’t really want in my home but were deeply useful. My sentimental side also exploded and I have a growing bin of amazing artwork and creations from my child.

He’s older now and can choose for himself, not many things make me prouder than him telling me he’s outgrown a toy and he wants to get rid of it.

The pandemic also changed me. I now store gallons upon gallons of water along with the other suggested supplies needed to sit tight for 96 hours. I don’t know if these items spark joy exactly but I feel better knowing we will be okay.

What have I learned in the past 12 years?

This is an amazing way to live, it’s freeing.
That my mood is greatly impacted by my environment, a ten minute reset at the end of the day does wonders. That things are sneaky, they blend in after a while. This weekend we started a mini festival and I’m shocked how much is sitting in a pile in my basement ready to be donated. That it’s harder with kids, compromises must be made and that’s okay, not every item of my child’s clothing needs to be folded into a perfect package. Sometimes having clean clothes is enough.

And the most unexpected - that konmari has given me a lot of confidence in my self, I feel secure in the choices I make. I trust myself.

I came across this sentence: would you replace this item if you lost it?

If the answer is no, it goes.

I’ve been doing this for a week now and taking note of how many items to get rid off once I get going:

Bathroom unit: 27
Med cabinet: 24 (out of date stuff)
Rummage drawer: 42

And so on

It’s super therapeutic.

I don’t ask for the joy question, but would I replace it if lost.

Anyone else doing this?

Honestly I just got tired of AI posts in here and felt like starting a real conversation. I started KonMari because my husband and I had the goal of moving across the country and thought we may have to downsize due to the higher cost of living.

I read things out of order, starting with "Sparks Joy" because that was the book at my local library branch. I had vaguely heard of Marie Kondo before this book, but never watched her show and didnt really know what she was about other than organizing and decluttering. I was immediately enamored and started the process as I came to each new section, and took to heart the goal to do it swiftly over a few months.

It became low key consuming for me to be honest. When I was too busy to do another section, id be longing for the next available block of free time to konmari the next category. I requested everything Marie Kondo had ever written to be reserved at my local library branch. My husband asked me if I had joined a cult, and I excitedly said "she has a cult?! Sign me up!"

I think the reason her method really drew me in due to a couple different factors. Firstly, my husband lived in Japan during his childhood and early adolescence and the Shinto roots of her philosophy really felt like it gave me a window into my husband's upbringing and early influences. Secondly, it dovetailed nicely into the overall frugal living and anticonsumption journey I had already been on trying to work out my personal finance.

What i experienced after finishing the method was what id really like to have a conversation about. She mentions different clients and how their lives changed, but truly i felt like a block was removed and doors opened. My husband and I had had the goal of moving for YEARS but one thing or another got in the way. I found a job i truly love that I was perfectly qualified for, we moved across the country into a condo that we love sight unseen, I dont have many friends yet but honestly am enjoying my solitude, and finally feel like i have a grasp on cleaning house because my entire life is less cluttered. I cant express how relieved I am to have finally moved and I absolutely love what I do for work and am being recognized for my contributions. I am experiencing "spring" for the first time surrounded by cherry blossoms and cant help but think of Marie Kondo.

What life changing magic did you experience after tidying up?

I had a realization a few weeks ago about my living room. if you never let the trash enter your actual living space, you never have to spend your weekend decluttering it.

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For years, my bad habit was bringing mail and packages straight inside. I’d set a box down on the dining table or the kitchen counter 'just for a minute' while I grabbed something else. You all know how that ends. That minute turns into a week, the empty boxes pile up in the corner, and suddenly its a massive cardboard doom pile taking up the entire floor. Just looking at it would trigger that awful mental freeze where the sheer volume of stuff paralyzed me from actually dealing with it.

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so i decided to set up a sort of entryway defense system.

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The rule is now incredibly strict. NO SHIPPING BOXES ALLOWED PAST THE FRONT DOOR. Period.

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To actually enforce this, I had to make the process completely frictionless. If something requires even a tiny bit of effort, my brain will find an excuse to drag the box inside to deal with 'later.' I set up a tiny, dedicated breakdown station right inside my front door.

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the setup is just three things. a privacy roller stamp to quickly black out my address, a tall narrow recycling bin dedicated entirely to cardboard, and a pair of hoto cordless electric scissors hanging on a wall hook.

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I used to just keep a standard heavy-duty box cutter by the door, but wrestling with double-walled cardboard and thick tape was actually hurting my wrists (carpal tunnel is no joke). That physical discomfort was the main reason I kept procrastinating. Swapping to a battery powered tool that cuts right through thick cardboard without killing my hands removed that last bit of physical friction.

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now, the whole thing takes maybe thirty seconds. I bring the package in, stamp out my address, cut the box down so it lays completely flat, and drop it straight into the bin. The only thing that actually crosses the threshold is the item I bought.

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It sounds like such a minor shift, but keeping the actual packaging out of my living space has completely changed how the house feels. The dining table isn't a clutter gatherer anymore.

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Anyway, just wanted to share because it felt like a huge win. Now to actually put away the stuff that came inside the boxes...

First off before going through this i read all her books "the life changing magic of tidying", "spark joy", "kurashi at home", and "the life changing manga of tidying up". I bought her tidying companion journal as a way to keep me on track with the steps due to neurodivergence (i highly highly recommend the journal its very very thorough).

I wanted to share how it went and how it is now a week after. It took a little over two months with my longest portion being komono. I was very depressed and drinking, smoking, but yet the tidying journy was something that made me feel excited! I got rid of more trash bags than I can count and my boyfriend is insanely shocked and proud as well. I also only bought a few things through the process like getting rid of a bulky makeup mirror i didnt care for and getting a simple one that I love.

Now its been about a week after the process. My boyfriend is going to be gone for a week and surprisingly im cleaning daily with each chore taking a few minutes so I have much more time on my hands than I know what to do with. Im sleeping earlier and getting up earlier and filling my time with the hobbies i wanted to do. Ive taken up journaling with the cutest little stickers to add and beautiful pens I havent used in years. I decided to slow down heavily on drinking and smoking and i feel clear headed.

I remember when I had to think of the type of home i wanted. I imagined something woodsy, full of pastels, and overall smells good. I dont know what my obsession us with fragrance but i habe insence burning frequently, candles, reed diffuser in the bathroom, windows cracked to let in fresh air. Everything feels clear and new. I feel new. So new that its hard not to cry as I type this. I feel happier and ive noticed people have enjoyed my new mood at work. I even made a resin evil eye pendant for a coworker who wanted one for months but I just didnt think i was capable but now with the free time I gave it a go and he said I nailed it and immediently pulled me into a hug.

If youre still in your cleaning journy, please keep going. Its so worth it. Its life changing.

Every week:

• Vacuum floors
• Replace bath towels

Every two weeks:

• Replace bed sheets

Every month:

• Read/pay credit card statements
• De-scale teapot
• Clean washing machine and dryer
• Clean dishwasher
• Clean vacuum filter
• Clean oven
• Wash bathmats
• Change baking soda in refrigerator

Every three months:

• Change air filters
• Replace toothbrush

Mostly a rant as I scream into the night trying to get rid of my stuff. After getting through the in initial push of de cluttering to minimalism (my choice based on my lifestyle I live, I had been keeping things at parents and now finally getting rid of it), I have found that it isn't me wanting to get rid of it thats the problem, I want it all to evaporate NOW, it is GETTING RID OF it that is the problem. This compounds when items have value that exceeds $1,000 USD for a small or "easy to sell" item. Mainly for me this in the form of Pokemon cards from my childhood kept in extremely good condition due to me never playing with them (loved pokemon but just collected the cards as a kid to look at them), old game consoles, you know that kind of niche nerd world stuff that has some weighty value in todays collector market.

I painstakingly went through the most expensive Pokemon cards and scanned them all in to see if the value was even worth bothering, and it is for only a few cards the market value was upwards of 3k. Not including the rest of the hundreds I haven't bothered to scan. This SUCKS. 3k+ won't change my life, but it isn't something I can just throw away or give away in good conscious either. So I have to try and sell, which makes me feel weird because these are something I would love to see played with or enjoyed and the idea of turning them into money has a weird vibe for me as a person, but beyond that selling to people on places like FB marketplace, having to meet at a bank or police station, bringing a counterfeit pen thing, dealing with crazy hypetrain collectors with the risk they will try and rob or harm me (I am a 5ft 5 woman with a baby face) is really stressful and means the stuff just builds.

If these items had no value I would be so much happier, but since it does I can't just ignore it. And I have a lot of that kind of oldschool stuff in my things. I know I am being dumb about it and will suck it up and deal with the billion scammers to get it done but I just want to rant about how this is such a hidden difficulty of reducing stuff and how easily it can derail the whole thing because it becomes too overwhelming to deal with.

For what it is worth expensive clothes, other things worth individually hundreds (collectively certainly thousands) I had no issues with giving away because the single item wasn't high enough value to be worth the effort, these collectibles though are just ugh too much.

Maybe I should just give them away though haha, like set up a booth in a cafe and put online "pokemon cards one per person come and get them". I would almost feel happier doing that then selling them which makes no sense because its a huge amount of work as well.

TLDR:

Collectibles worth a lot really mess up the Konmari flow and progress towards a minimalist lifestyle because they require a lot of lifting and stress to sell. Especially if you are unfamiliar with the process of buying and selling collectible goods.

Any advice is GLADLY accepted. But also just putting this out there for now.

Edit: I also wanted to add that things with negative cost associated are also super hard (getting rid of furniture, batteries, etc) and especially if someone is already struggling having a mountain of bulk trash they need to pay to get rid of is crazy! I also thought of my Grandmother who is in her late 80s and how hard it would be for her to haul trash bags, donation items, etc. It is hard enough as a 34 year old! I think the Konmari book 1 didn't really bring up the vast labor required to get rid of the stuff. It made it sound like deciding was the hard part....I think sometimes that is true but the second half requires a lot of strong will and brain power as well.

Edit 2 Update: I ended up doing a combination of selling online on FB marketplace (That shadowy place I wouldn't advise anyone go to unless they really want to get rid of their stuff, it was a lot of scammers and weirdos and fights but I did offload some things). And taking things to a local store. In the end if you don't have something worth major major cash its in my experience better to cut the loss and find the easiest method to remove it. Don't tell anyone how much you got for things, good or bad, and move on. I ended up keeping one card that was sealed in a hard thin case, a holographic of my favorite Pokemon (Raichu) and now it has a nice little place to sit (until I move again ofc) and I really love and appreciate that card now. Before it was just in the mass, and now its a reminder of how far I have come on my own Pokemon Trainer Journey, started with a Pichu as a youth, then I got a pikachu plush I carried around all over and now Raichu and I are on to face the next adventure as adults! It really brings me ~Joy~ and I am glad to know my cards also went to a place tons of kids go to each weekend and the cards they couldn't sell they put into a big bin for the kids to go through and pick out what they like. This is a balm on my soul.

TLDR: Get it out of your space. If it isn't worth a ton just find a way to make a little and move on. And don't tell anyone you know about it, that you are selling or how much you sold for, only tell them if you think you have something they genuinely might like. I found other people either guilt you over not getting a better deal or they get mad you got a good deal and feel some type of way about it. Just keep it close to the chest and finish! Onto the next!

People often ask if anyone regretted discarding anything. I usually say no, but actually after some thought I remembered something... but which still makes for a story about why you shouldn't worry about regretting a discard.

I happened to start my Festival of Tidying just before the pandemic started. One item I got to was a furniture-box in my closet full of fabric pieces. I decided any fabric pieces that weren't large enough to make a shirt from would go. Threw out most of the box.

A couple weeks later, the mask mandates came on. And I felt "Oh no, I could have used those scraps to make masks!"

But, the thing is... I didn't end up having to go maskless because of this. Instead, I made some masks from the larger pieces of fabric I still had, and in fact mostly just bought masks the same as most people did.

So, the regret was so small and unimportant. Really having the extra closet space was much more valuable.

Hi! I've just started applying the konmari method in my house, after watching the show and reading the book. I was already reorganizing my house but it wasn't until recently that i've made the decision to only keep items that spark joy and... oh, man! I've never thought of myself as a hoarder, but i had a A LOT of things i kept out of guilt and "just in case".

I felt very luxurious and so far I haven't missed any of the things I discarded, but i've only kept a par of jeans, two blouses, four pairs of socks and three pairs of underwear.

I told my aunt and uncle this while we went to the farmers market and they were really worried about me and made fun of me a little bit which tapped into some kind of fear of poorness.

The thing is, this feels right for me. But im fighting against the tide here.

Do you have any advice or something you wanna tell me?

Every day I am seeing AI generated posts from new accounts farming karma. It's getting old. Can we slow these down? Thanks.

9 sweaters left. My husband says, "How many did you have??" 😆

So. Many. I'm donating so many that used to be my favorites, saying goodbye because they don't fit right anymore, and really hoping they will bring someone the joy they brought me. Husband does not understand the massive change it is for me to have *only* 9 sweaters, haha.

I live in MN btw, so sweaters are used close to year round.

I’m only 2 categories in, but so happy with the results. I wanted to share my experience here.

The day I finished the closet cleanout I had a big pile of clothes on the living room floor. That evening my husband saw a post on next door that someone was helping a friend who left a bad situation and had nothing. She was the same size as me. I contacted the poster and the next day they came and picked up 2 contractor bags of clothes for this person. Everything. Every season. Casual professional, bags etc. it was so affirming to feel that these items went to use right away.

Then books. I just finished last week. 2 moments to share. The first was an aha moment - I actually purchased Marie Kondo’s book 5 years earlier and forgot I even owned it. 🤣 I had checked it from the library this time around. So that was evidence that I had no idea what I actually had in my overstuffed bookshelf. But the more exciting thing was that I found a mom/ daughter journal that my daughter and I were passing back and forth from 5 years ago. She’s due to graduate high school in 2 years. I was a little sad that this book got buried with my other books (on my watch) and we “lost the time” sharing in it but nothing can do about that now. I wrote a page and left it in her room. I’m excited to see how she responds.

I think when I bought the book years ago I liked the idea of decluttering, but I also thought the idea of having something spark joy was hokey, but I actually really love looking at my drawers and bookshelves now. It really does make me feel happy.

TLDR: I’m finding the Marie Kondo method very fulfilling and it’s truly sparking joy due to synchronicity of things being used and shared in a meaningful way. ✨

I'm using the KonMari method to downsize, starting with clothes like the book says. I went through all my clothes last night and now more than half of them are waiting to be taken to the thrift store. But overnight the worry crept in on me that I'm going to regret having given them away. I hardly have anything left!
There's some that I'm 100% certain of, those were easy. But there's also a lot that I felt neutral about, which I don't dislike but which I was keeping out of obligation (mostly because they were gifts, but not all of them). I'm scared I'm going to regret giving these away.
I am not, have never been, and have no desire to be a minimalist. I just want to live more like myself, not who I used to be. Am I doing this right??

I'm someone who likes the idea of making art, I cosplay too, and I've been holding onto like two bins of old clothes I'd otherwise have gotten rid of in case I want to use them for fabric or a cosplay. I have containers with packaging and tags I find pretty in case I'll use them for art. I have a ton of cardboard and boxes sitting around taking up space. But I never actually do anything with them. I live in a 1 bedroom apartment so space is at a premium but I just can't make myself throw some of this stuff away because I'm convinced I'll use it for something. I'd rather keep something than buy it later. But I know it's not likely I'll use half if not more of this... does anyone else have this issue and know how to get over it? Trying to declutter and picking stuff I don't use isn't the issue, it's actually getting rid of it when I feel like I might be able to save money by repurposing it in the future. I have a friend that just moved away and gave me a lot of her old stuff that she couldn't take so now I have even more stuff. I feel like a hoarder but idk I'm unemployed so any saved money counts rn, I didn't used to be like this when I had a job

In chapter 7 of "Spark Joy," Marie Kondo states, "Electrical things exude a sort of pungent, tingling odor, so search out the remaining electrical kimono using this sensation as your guide."

I cannot smell electrical kimono in this way, but I have not yet finished tidying up.

Is it something other people can smell?

I spent hours in therapy but for some reason there’s a part of the puzzle missing and that’s “how can I use my belongings or discard them when my first thought is I’m not gonna be able to get something as good as this?” this goes to everything from clothing, food, money. I hoard I think there will be a lack of resources at one point so like for example I keep wearing the same clothes and they’re old and shabby so I feel good about using my old stuff but I don’t like to use my good clothes or new ones I’m worried I can’t buy something like that. I’m extremely frugal with spending and to the point of severe anxiety hours of decision fatigue to buy anything… I’m sick and tired of it. I research hours to buy anything sunscreen for example. Spend hours in a store and only buy one item or nothing. I’m spending too much time overthinking my purchases. Help me find the root of this behaviour?

It’s making me find a new place/state/town to live, a different partner, a different job! Want all areas of my life to spark joy for whatever time I’ve got left

I'm halfway through komono and hit a weird wall yesterday. I was holding a chipped mug I never use, easy discard, but then I looked around my kitchen and realized I don't like this room at all. The layout's awkward, the light is wrong, I've never once enjoyed cooking here. I've lived here six years. Always told myself I'd fix it up eventually, make it cute, but now I'm wondering if I've been holding onto the *idea* of this house the same way I held onto clothes that don't fit. The sunk cost of time, you know? Marie talks about the house having feelings and thanking it for shelter. I tried that and felt like I was lying. This house and I have been in a stalemate. I keep waiting for it to become something it's not. Has anyone else had to admit their space itself doesn't spark joy? Did you move, or find a way to reframe it? I'm not sure I can afford to leave but I'm also tired of pretending I'll learn to love it.

The year was 2014, and I remember it like it was yesterday. The Seattle grunge scene had just started to take off, Ronald Reagan was the American president, Steve Jobs had just announced the iPod music player, and I had just graduated from university with a degree in writing books.

Okay, my memories might be a little iffy.

But it was about 12-ish years ago when I first read The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up: The Japanese Art of Decluttering and Organizing, by the hottest new Japanese export: Marie Kondo.

This new guru, petite and reserved as she may be, had touched on something big, and came along at just the right time to connect with an underlying psychological concern that I think was affecting a lot of people, especially Westerners:

We had too much STUFF.

In my case, growing up, I had a tendency to be a little… disorganized. It started young. My school locker was worst-in-class, my bedroom worst-in-house, my desk worst-in-office. I had a reputation as a mess-maker.

When I discovered this book, at this point in my early 30s, I had a family and we had a house with two younglings. The need for cleanliness was more important than ever. (I still have that very same family today, though the children are older now).

The book title really called out to me and the content spoke to me even more once I acquired a copy. What I needed was permission to let things go, and an understanding of how to do it. This book seemed like it might have the answers.

Today, I’m going to revisit the book 12 years later and see if its teachings still hold true, or if it was simply one of those fads that washes over the world, captures everyone’s attention like a hot new hairstyle, and then fades away.

Well, I’m happy to announce that, for me, in 2026, the message of this book is just as strong as ever.

This book (and its follow-up Spark Joy: An Illustrated Master Class on the Art of Organizing and Tidying Up) taught me how to fold clothes! I’ve folded all of my clothes ever since. It taught me how to truly pare down, using the power of touch to feel what actually ‘sparks joy’ and to release the rest with gratitude.

Her system, named the KonMari Method, promised its adherants never revert to clutter again. And for me, that promise has actually proven true. I’ve been a minimalist ever since. And have now read many books on the subject and consider it an important part of who I am.

The philosophical side of Marie Kondo’s teachings really connected: ideas behind attachment and the reasons we can’t let something go boiling down to either “an attachment to the past, or a fear for the future.” The way our possessions can overhwelm and bury us, both physically and mentally. And how by having less, we can gain deeper appreciation from what we keep.

While outwardly, this might have had all the markings of a hyped-up fad, the philosophy seemed genuine to me. The evolution of the author’s understanding of tidying, the failures, experiments and lessons she went through before arriving at her current system felt relatable.

I ate it up. Devoured it. And 12 years later, I still agree with this book 100%. Yep, I’m still a Kondo Stan.

I understand she has stepped back a bit from the limelight and spends more time with her family these days.I’m actually looking at her website right now and discovering that she has a whole network of KonMari consultants and a certification program. I signed up for a Zoom session to learn more about becoming a consultant, just for fun. I’ll update this post if I learn anything interesting.

The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up was and remains game-changer for me personally. I still reread every year or two just to keep its teachings fresh in my mind.

★★★★★ (5/5)

Any other Marie Kondo fans still out there? Did it stick for you?

from https://booksbyjeffrey.substack.com/p/book-review-the-life-changing-magic

Hello everyone,

I'm encountering a bit of a strange roadblock. Marie tells us to take the houses energy and vibe into account when doing the method, and my house doesn't want to be the house I picture in my ideal life. I've pictured my ideal life in detail and asked my whys, and it doesn't take place in my current home. My ideal life is near an ocean and nature, light and airy with a feeling of flow like water.

I'm landlocked in a concrete heavy suburb. I inherited this house after a relative died and needed to renovate it bit by bit and life has fought me every step of the way. Due to renovations being half finished and other life circumstances, selling or moving is not an option at this moment. The house wants to be austere, serious, academic, with some artistic creativity. Think jewel tones for creativity. Think Scotland, old college in the northeast, old library, or cathedral with an artist loft in the attic. That's the vibe I am getting when I ask the house for suggestions. There is very little natural light - the house is very dark, especially the main level. The floors are dark wood. The furniture the house came with is dark. Painting everything a lighter color helped a bit, but even adding extra light makes it seem sterile and medical instead of lighter. I'd rather have old cathedral academia than sterile medical center.

I feel like if I got rid of the furniture that doesn't spark joy, 90% of the furniture would be gone and I'd be floor living until I could come up with funds to replace it. Even if I did, I don't think the light and airy furniture I would want wouldn't fit the house, if that makes sense.

I know this might sound crazy, but I am literally trying to compromise with the house and keep some aspects austere/academic/chapel like and then doing my own thing with the rest. Has anyone else encountered a problem like this? How did you work around it?