The tidying up principles of Marie Kondo applied to a jewelry box and personal finance, all part of getting to celebrate my niece on the occasion of her bat mitzvah.
It’s time to celebrate my niece
I’m preparing to celebrate my niece’s upcoming bat mitzvah. If you’re not familiar with a bat mitzvah, it’s a celebration in the Jewish faith of a girl becoming a full member of the faith. There’s a lot more to know about a bat mitzvah, but the bottom line for me is that it’s a day/weekend I get to celebrate my niece who is growing up.
There is a certain amount of nostalgia that goes along with this type of coming-of-age event for me. As if it was yesterday, I recall the first time I got to babysit my niece while her parents went out for a couple hours. She was a tiny little newborn, and I carried her around in the baby bjorn snuggled close to my body. I was fortunate to have a very similar experience with my first niece when she was a newborn. There is something about that close newborn baby snuggle that really gets to me. Forever, when I look in my niece’s face, I see a superimposed image of that tiny newborn sleeping, no matter how old she gets.
A meaningful gift
Back to the present day. As part of the bat mitzvah celebration, it’s traditional to give gifts. Usually cash. I’m choosing to gift her with some cash, yes, but also something else: a pair of earrings.
These earrings are beautiful: white gold, with an emerald in the center and little diamonds all around like a flower. I have loved wearing them in the past. The thing is, for the past several years my ears have gotten more and more sensitive to the point where almost any earrings make my ears irritated, itchy and red. So every time I look at these beautiful earrings sitting in my jewelry box, it’s a weird mix of disappointment and dissatisfaction. Why are they sitting there when I can’t wear them?
Enter Marie Kondo
Marie Kondo, for those of you who don’t know, is a self-proclaimed tidying expert. She’s all about cleaning up your space so you have just what you love, and nothing that you don’t. If it brings you joy, keep it. If it doesn’t bring you joy, discard it.
These earrings are a perfect example, to me, of something that has energy that I no longer need or want. But in gifting them to my niece, I hope their energy changes.
Transformed into hope
I hope that my niece’s experience of these earrings is one of hope. Hope for her future. Hope for her coming of age. Hope that she remains in my heart, and I in hers, for many years to come. Being an aunt is one of the most joyful parts of my life in that I get to act as an adult in their lives and watch them grow year by year, without needing to handle the day to day difficulties that come with raising your own children. It is a complete joy to be an aunt. I only wish I got to spend more time with my nieces (and nephews, for that matter) because every time I are around them, I’m amazed, surprised, and reminded again what truly unique and incredible humans they are.
I hope that my niece appreciates my gift, and more importantly that she recognizes it as a symbol of my love and hope for her future.
Financial Marie Kondo’ing
I believe that there is a way to use Marie Kondo’s “tidying up” concepts in your personal financial life as well. By examining your spending and seeing what brings you joy, and what does not, you can have the opportunity to adjust your spending to align with your life and your life goals. By saving more, or paying down debt, you have the opportunity to set up yourself to achieve your future financial goals. And doesn’t that bring hope to your financial life too?