Experiencing Utter Joy With A Tiny Thing

Since reading Marie Kondo’s book earlier this year, I really try to live after one of her “rules” that I think really does make sense:

Only keep what sparks joy.

While out shopping, I also really think about it when I hold each item and ask myself two things:

1. Do I really need this?
2. Does it really spark joy to me?

That has been helping me a lot when deciding what to buy. So when it was time to buy a new agenda, I went out to my regular store to go get one. For some reason I got stuck with school planners. I’ve tried different ones – daily planners, year planners… but I kept going back to a brand from this one store that does make weekly planners, but starting out from a school year. I was so happy with those though because that’s the way I have the best overview – a week per two sheet and not too big in sizes. So every year when I know that summer break is about to come for the kids, I go out and search for the new designs of those planners. They usually tend to be cuter than the annual planners since they’re designed for school kids 😉

Usually I get really lucky and they have gorgeous designs. Two years ago my planner had cute owls all over it ❤ Last year was also just soooo… cute! So when I finally stood in that store and had a look around, I found myself going over and over the same stacks of planners again. I didn’t seem to find one that truly attracted me. But I needed a planner…

I then went for this fairly cute one in a maritime design – the thing I liked most was that dark blue edge it had. But deep down I knew it wasn’t making me quite happy. And hey – a planner is a thing you work with for a whole year, so it better sparks joy to you!

I kinda pushed the awkward thought aside and kept on doing my things. Later that summer when I went on holidays, Me Man and me were taking a bike ride around the city of Amsterdam. We stopped at a very unpopular place outside the city for a break and I saw they had some sort of kiosk there. I went in to ask for some stamps and got attracted by their stationary shelf (…oh gee…!!!) so of course I had to stop and have a look around at what sort of things the Dutch had…

That’s when I saw it… THE most beautiful planner I had seen that year…! And – the joy of me – it was a school calendar as well! The colours were so soft and beautiful and yet vivid that it all matched so well and automatically filled my heart with joy and excitement. I opened it up and nearly burst when I saw that it was a weekly planner! I think I snatched it and kept beaming during the whole purchase of it and then I – literally – jumped outside the store skipping with it in my hands to Me Man to show him my newest conquest. I must admit he was wondering how a tiny small planner could suddenly make me so happy, but hey, it just did –  it was just perfect!!!

Left – the maritime planner I had bought. Right – the new gorgeous planner from Amsterdam.

Nevermind the inside written in Dutch – you can more or less figure out what it means anyhow. I started using it with such joy, and still do, and often still can’t believe how that small item can spark so much joy to me ❤

The other agenda? I hadn’t started to use it yet, so I took a picture and put it on a facebook group to give away things for free. A mother was more than happy to get it for her daughter, and the daughter liked it a lot as well! And I was twice as happy to make someone else happy – it would have been a shame to just toss it away.

How about you – have you found yourself re-buying something just because it had sparked more joy than a similar item you bought before? How so, and what did you do then?