Post 14 / Custom Category

Dec 16

Photo of our Custom Category, Our Outdoor Gear Wall, photo taken by Tori Klotz
2024, Example of how hefty your hobbies and/or custom category can be.

“If you have many items related to a particular interest or hobby, such as ski equipment or tea ceremony articles, treat these as a single subcategory.”
— Marie Kondo

The confidence I can complete this project:

I’m skipping the calculation section this week! Although I listed some backpacks and custom category items to be sold, my sales are slowing down and momentum for completing the project, the mission to “create space for personal growht” gains. Although the dontating and selling piece to this project is important and one of the many ways the Psyche Butterfly method differentiates itself from the KonMari way, I’m practicing not spending time reporting to you or myself on the calcaulation to remain focused on the core of the project; that we’re so near to compelting our abode space with only the things that bring us joy.

Tackling Custom Categories with Joy

Hi friends,

How’s your progress this week? Have you explored storage solutions for your family photos and heirlooms? And what’s left in your home to organize—those “custom” items that don’t quite fit the usual KonMari categories? Share your wins (or struggles!) in the comments; I’d love to hear about them.

In my house, our custom category is outdoor gear. From the moment we started tidying, my partner and I knew this would be the big one for us. It’s the stuff we love most—gear tied to adventure, joy, and memories. Finally getting to it felt like reaching the heart of my initial excitement for the initiation of this project. I was stoked!

We tackled it during a busy 40-hour workweek, bundling up for a cold day in the basement. To make the process enjoyable, I opened the garage for fresh air, turned on meditation music, and set myself up with simple supplies: tape, some boxes, and, obviously my best overalls and tidying outfit. A surprise? Finding mold at the bottom of our kayak drawer—it was time to rethink storage, not just tidy.

In the end, we created 11 subcategories for our gear:

Hunting
Fishing
Backpacks
Core Camping
Kayaking
Canoeing
Diving & Surfing
Sauna Supplies
Alpine Skiing
Nordic Skiing
Winter Expeditions

Each item found a home, either hung up or neatly labeled. I even splurged on museum-style labels for these subcategories, which sparked a mix of joy and self-reflection. Marie Kondo’s wisdom—“Don’t underestimate the noise of written information”—lingers in my mind as I balance beauty and simplicity. Will our “museum basement” work? I’ll keep touching base on this hypocritical and ironic approach to tidying in the New Year blog posts.

Sentimental Category Prep

As you wrap up custom categories, it’s time to prepare for the final and often most emotional stage: Sentimental Items. Here are a few storage solutions I explored for digitizing family photos and memorabilia:

iMemories: Great for a variety of media, from photos to videos.
LegacyBox: Fast turnaround and user-friendly apps.
DiJiFi: High-end quality for artists and perfectionists.

I’m leaning toward iMemories for my family photos since we have fewer videos and a large collection of photos. But if your family has unique needs, one of these might fit better.

This week, dive into your custom category with love and gratitude for the things that bring you joy. I’ll be back next week to share updates on my sentimental category progress and what I’ve learned.

You’ve got this! Share your thoughts and questions below—I can’t wait to hear from you.

Warmly,
Tori