The KonMarie method

GreyQueen

oldtractor wrote: »

love the post GreyQueen

Thank you.

And he also discussed how impossible it is, even for dealers, to identify what will appreciate in value. About 30 years ago, a group of them in a pub had made a well-argued list of Stuff which they thought would have substantially appreciated in value by now. And these are professional dealers, remember. And they were wrong about every single thing they thought would go up in price substantially, they did not make one correct call................... food for thought, hey?

If you love looking at it, keep it. If you use it and enjoy it, keep it. Don't be a posterity pervert and keep it because it might be valuable one day. There are literally tonnes and tonnes of material shifted around by house-clearance guys and antique dealers to get those few headline grabbing big money sales. One of his fellow dealers is presently struggling to offload something bought for £125 for £65 - and it ain't shifting yet.

Most of our Stuff will be heading to landfill if we don't watch out.

snoozer

GQ, my mum used to sit watching the Antiques Roadshow and say - we used to have one of those virtually every week. I'm sure it was wishful thinking on her part when an item was valuable, but I'm now starting to turn into her whenever I see household items from the 50's, 60's and 70's in vintage shops. DD loves vintage stuff, I just see a load of old junk, especially when I remember that some of the crockery and glasses came free from garages or cereal manufacturers!


I finished kondoing my sewing things (except for material, which is kept in another room and was already stored under kondo principles) and am very pleased with the result - I'm trying to find solutions to storing stuff vertically as much as possible. I have invested in a rack to hold my reels of thread because I couldn't think of another way to store them where they would be accessible and visible. I do have some vibrant colours stored in a glass bowl which gives me joy when I look at it but the rest is out of sight at the moment.


I didn't get rid of a great deal but it's much easier to deal with now, hopefully I'll be able to be tidier when I'm working.

DawnW

GreyQueen wrote: »

Thank you.

And he also discussed how impossible it is, even for dealers, to identify what will appreciate in value. About 30 years ago, a group of them in a pub had made a well-argued list of Stuff which they thought would have substantially appreciated in value by now. And these are professional dealers, remember. And they were wrong about every single thing they thought would go up in price substantially, they did not make one correct call................... food for thought, hey?

If you love looking at it, keep it. If you use it and enjoy it, keep it. Don't be a posterity pervert and keep it because it might be valuable one day. There are literally tonnes and tonnes of material shifted around by house-clearance guys and antique dealers to get those few headline grabbing big money sales. One of his fellow dealers is presently struggling to offload something bought for £125 for £65 - and it ain't shifting yet.

Most of our Stuff will be heading to landfill if we don't watch out.

Too right GQ. I deal in antiques and vintage items, and as you say, it is well nigh impossible to forecast what will be of value in the future. A lot if it is down to fashion, and what is in the media, magazines etc (step up the current fad for 50s, 60s and 70s items) and as tastes change, values go down as well as up. It also depends on where you are - a provincial auction room, or little shop in a small town like the one my unit is based in, will never fetch tip top prices. There is so much hype about antiques in the media at the moment. Most of the programmes that are so popular are staged - I know people (dealers) who have taken part in them. No dealer could really afford to give the huge reductions the TV 'experts' ask for. 10% off is 'trade' price, and that is generally only for items that are priced at more than about a tenner - if you ask for a best price at an antique shop or fair, most dealers will give this, so don't be shy But dealers have to buy their stock, it doesn't come out of thin air, and for most of us, if we make a couple of pounds profit on an item we are happy. On a good day, it might be more than this, but that is a good day!

Interestingly, it is also impossible to forecast what will sell quickly / at all and what won't. Each month, I get a list of what has sold, and it is impossible to draw any conclusions as to what is 'popular'. Some really nice things sit around for ages, and a horrible vase will be gone immediately :rotfl:

So, only buy it if you love it, as it is unlikely to be an "investment". And don't even get me started on those limited edition things where people pay huge amounts monthly to collect series of plates, figurines etc. I see huge boxes of this stuff at auctions going for pennies because the elderly owner has died and nobody wants it

For myself, I have bought 'brown furniture', beautiful handmade oak and mahogany pieces, which were cheaper than Ikea because out of fashion. I love it, and it will outlive me! I have noticed that the prices are creeping up a bit now, so others must be seeing the light too :T Also pretty blue and white china, by the big boxful for very little money, again, because I love it. Not the very old, hand painted stuff (which is expensive), but the mass market early 20th century transfer printed kind which is cheap enough not to worry if you break a piece, and goes in the dishwasher without a care in the world :T Not everybody's taste, but I like it, and it suits my house, which is an Edwardian cottage that would look a bit daft if I filled it with 1970s tat :rotfl:

Craftyscholar

Think I have found a slight problem.
Rolling items like tops does mean they take up less space, but, unless they are identical i.e. all short-sleeved Ts, just different colours, it is far more difficult to work out which is which than when they are stacked on a shelf.

Aaleigha

Craftyscholar - I have not yet got to tops but I intend to put vest tops short sleeved then long sleeved starting with black so I know which section they are in - now not got that far yet so I could of course change my mind - what if Ikeep NOTHING in black

I have come to a bit of a halt doing my socks - I know why I have so many pairs and yes I am throwning stuff out - BUT I think I still have too many - the ones that bring me joy - lacy ankle socks the ones with butterflys and all the bamboo ones - might have to have a second cull - on the other hand perhaps I am supposed to keep them and not buy for about 10 years I think I have about 30 pairs - please dont ask why so many I started off with over 50 pairs of socks and that does not include walking socks - what a waste of money

cbsexec

I tend to lurk but not post. I have been following this thread and have managed to keep my so far kondoed areas neat and tidy. What we have all learnt seems to be that we have too much "stuff" when it is gathered together in one place. Much more than we can possibly use in our lifetimes.

A good lesson I think.

greent

Have finally caught up on this thread - phew! Have seen Kondo-ing on several blogs which I follow. I haven't read the book yet (not in any local libraries) but have been decluttering quite a lot so far this year - and think that this method could help to get rid of more - I keep removing a few more items doing the 'do I really love this?' test on them. Am looking at buying the book on Amazon (I have a voucher) and then selling it on when I've done with it

Baileysonice

Hey folks
Well I have fought it and fought it but today decided to just go for it. (I think I have some serious issues with hoarding as I just wanted to fight all the principles )

Anyway I have 4 hours off this afternoon which sadly wont be enough to do all of my clothes so I am now having a quick break after dumping every single top I own on my bed and the discard is about to start.

I am lucky in that I do have a lot of storage in this house but actually that has just led to more stuff going in so I have accepted the fact I my well end up with quite a bit of spare storage but its better than where I am now.

I am going to follow the correct order for each item then see how I get on.
at the moment I cannot believe how many tops I have particulary as I seen to wear the same thing over and over

My piles will be keep charity ebay and fling and the mood I am in I doubt there will be much left in the keep

Wish me luck I am going in

dinx1972

What has KonMarie done to me?! I have lurked in the background on this thread and ditched the joyless items in my home over the last month and still haven't really scratched the surface.


I have done all my clothes, bags, belts and shoes and was hugely embarrassed at the amount of bags that went out to the local chazzers. Another 3 went today.


However "me mam" has just announced that she is visiting tomorrow!! So in my wisdom I have decided to switch around a couple of kitchen cupboard contents and have just spent a rather chilled half hour ranger rolling the cleaning cloths and dusters!!


Doubt my visitor will notice my work over the last few weeks, but I can feel my mind clearing as stuff leaves. Strange forces at work.

iQueen

Changing the bed cripples me, so I was very glad to to find a simpler way to get a duvet cover on.

BURRITOing a Duvet Cover

I've been just ticking over with kondoing since Christmas - the house has been like an ice-box, and chilblains on my hands haven't helped. So, yesterday was only my second real effort. I did all my bed-linen, and cleared 50%. I loved folding my fitted sheets, like the YouTube videos - easy-peasy!

I also re-discovered my airing-cupboard. It was beautifully kondoed already! Lovely fluffy towels, all rolled and organised. So all the old towels that I've been using can go. :T

I have been keeping up the motivation, while waiting for warmer weather, by kondoing bags and boxes of random komono: sewing and knitting patterns, bags of miscellaneous paperwork, lesson plans and my old teaching materials, some ancient spices, etc. My kondoed underwear drawers have been my continuing inspiration.

My house is hellish cluttered and it is going to be a looong job, getting shot of all the stuff that is not bringing me joy!

Yesterday, I found the bottom of the airing-cupboard STUFFED with soft toys, belonging to my youngest... she's 30! They are now in a huge recycling sack - ready for her next visit, so she can take them with her!

Tomorrow, I'm getting rid of some already ear-marked books, in aid of the RNLI, egg boxes for a local garden nursery, and I'll be asking the local kennels if they want the spare duvets/pillows that I need to get rid of. I also have some things to put on Freecycle.

Every little helps! :rotfl:Thanks for all the supportive posts.