There are two kinds of people in our house: morning people and not morning people. The division is split clearly down the middle. My husband and boy #2 (the two year old) wake up with the rising sun cheerful and ready for the day. Boy #1 (the four year old) and I emerge some time later, bedraggled and slowly warming up to the idea that the day has, in fact started, with or without us.

If  you have read any of my previous blogs, you will know that organisation and planning has not been something that has come naturally to me, though recently things are changing and I’m loving the new found sense that I can, in fact, win the war on chaos and disorder one habit at a time. Why is this so important to me?

Annie Dillard says “how we spend our days is how we spend our lives.” If every day starts with me yelling at my little boys, or leaving my house cross and stressed, or having not spent any time connecting with my husband, then I am spending my life in a way that I...

If the phrase “sparks joy” doesn’t ring a bell for you, you may just have been living under a rock for the last month or so (or maybe you were on a January social media or Netflix fast! Good for you, I did one of those last year and certainly felt the benefits! But I digress… 

For me, Marie Kondo herself sparks joy. I love her enthusiasm and the idea that all around the world women just like me are being intentional about how they want their space to look and feel. We really do live in a global community. It just delights me that a beautiful pint-sized Japanese woman is teaching Australians and Americans, and South Africans like me how to fold our clothes. I’ve also been doing Allie Casazza’s annual 30 day “Declutter like a mother” Facebook challenge. She has provided practical strategies and encouragement to work for just 30 minutes a day to clear out space so we can live our lives not just tidy up after them. I’ve...