The KonMarie method

springdreams

rosie383 wrote: »

Thanks for that tip about the scarves. I'm a Muslim so I wear a scarf every time I go out, as does my daughter. We have far too many, courtesy of a friend who works selling them and gave me two bin bags full! I have given loads away but will be culling them this weekend and then folding and stacking upright!


Right guys. Honesty time here please. I am about 2/3 of the way through the book. Do you all honestly, hand on heart, do all that she says? I can see the benefit of the vast majority of it, but I am not going to come home and empty the contents of my handbag out every time I use it, or stand my carrots up in the door of my fridge!

'Discarding' I get, absolutely, apart from the paperwork. I can get rid of a lot, but I think in the UK it maybe isn't a good idea to get rid of it all?

So for those who are far further on in the process than me, is it okay to pick and choose?

No I don't do everything she says.

I agree with the discard if it doesn't bring you joy bit, but not with the no accumulating stashes bit. If I see something for a really good price that I know I will use then I grab it and store it away.

And I certainly do not empty my handbag every night. I also have a £2 jar and a shrapnel jar for the pennies and small silver coins.

Admittedly I still have a long way to go, and have found her book to help me let go of things more readily than I have in the past, but I don't think I will ever be a total konvert

jinny

rosie
I didnt follow the book strictly. I started with my kitchen, I had already started that before I read the book.
I also dont think its a good idea to get rid of all paper work. MK says to not store clothes out of season. Her view is that things hidden away are asleep.
However, I am going to store away my winter clothes soon. I only have a small hanging space (3ft). Even though I have a minimilist amount of clothes its still a crush to hang all my seasons clothes. I dont have much drawer space either for folding
I am not buying any new clothes storage.
I now have a very basic capsule wardrobe in black white grey and pink. Only about a dozen pieces. I have plenty bright coloured scarves to compliment the outfits. Its all I need, every thing matches. One pair of boots and two pairs of shoes. One pair of walking boots and one pair of sandals for walking. I call them my off road sandals. I have one going out bag, one crossover
bag and one rucksack. I have a trendy shopping trolley as well even that
has a black white and grey flower pattern.
I dont empty my bag each night its beside my bed in case I have to grab it and run in case of carer dramas. Knowing I have clothes I can shove on handy is a great help.
So i wont be spending this summer cleaning and tidying and with batch cooking for the freezer once a week and my little larder ive started. Ill be orf out!
So athough this book is magic and a great guide to truly change your life its certainly not a rule book.

maddiemay

Another one here who is tailoring the system to suit me. I use the same handbag day in day out and it has to be ready to pick up and go, otherwise I loose things as I have a terrible memory.

I have a lot of clothes that fit and bring me joy and are worn, some of them infrequently, but a lot are classics. If I have somewhere nice/special to go to, there will be something in my wardrobe to wear, e.g. family funeral tomorrow. I am retired and got rid of most of my "office clothes", but still need to keep out of season clothes stored in boxes/suitcase as I have no room for further wardrobe.

The things I have done miraculously stay tidy:D, I have a long way to go as I have low energy and the house (my things anyway as OH is better than me:() has become untidy, but they say Rome wasn't built in a day:D

I find that I am bringing less things into the house too, no appealing decorative items from the CS and I recently visited a huge independent book store and only came home with 1 slim volume of local history, this is a major breakthrough.

GreyQueen

I enjoyed the book, although I did admire the forebearance of her parents and siblings for not throttling her at a young age, she must have been a bit of a trial to live with, something she acknowledges ruefully.

Like others, I only use one handbag, so that's not emptied, it lives beside the bed ready for a hasty exit if necessary (one of my mentally-ill neighbours is presently threatening to burn our block of flats down and kill us while we sleep, unfortunately) so it's not an unreasonable course of action.

I never did put out-of-season clothes away, with the exception of things like warm hats and gloves. With only a few very obvious exemptions like heavy coat/ thick wool jumpers, I wear the same thing winter and summer, just layered up or down, plus there is no 'away' storage place for anything, even if I wanted to do this.

And I'd rather have a few files of paperwork relating to important things than live paper-free but full of anxiety. After years at the CAB, I know what surprises various agencies of the grubbyment can spring on the citizenry and how she who has the most paperwork wins the day.

Pretty much with any how-to book, I follow the bits of it which resonate with me, but I'll still bulk buy TP or other things at silly prices if I get the opportunity and have somewhere to put them, it helps keep my overall spending low.

oldtractor

put the dried washing away this morning and automatically folded and cherished it. its a great feeling. I even picked up DH's carelessly discarded shirt and jeans and carefully folded them and placed them neatly by the bed side.

PollyWollyDoodle

It's funny - I thought the folding would be a nuisance, but it's actually really making me notice my clothes more - I've spotted loose buttons or things that need to go in the wash when I thought they were ok for another wear.

I agree with those above - you take from it what works for you. Even though I haven't got as far as komono yet, I know I won't be able to reduce paperwork to the extent that she says, and I am not getting rid of my sealed pot or my piggy-bank for loose change! I am very aware that this book is really written from a Japanese point of view and while a lot of it works for us, the way we live here is different.

ETA: PS can I also recommend highly the 'checklist' provided by BuffytheDebtSlayer. It's really helped me break down categories so I can just tackle a small amount at a time.

littlegreenparrot

For scarves - I have mine folded and rolled up, so they can stand on the ends in a big shoe box. They come out crease free, and I can pull the box of the top shelf very easily. This now seems much more obvious than the previous method of pulling the whole tangled lot out onto the floor to search for the one I want, and leaving them there 'cos I'm late.

GQ - I'm the same with clothes. I've always been a bit baffled when people talk about their summer/winter wardrobes. I have a selection that get worn all year round, + / - a vest / jumper.The only exception is the big winter coat and a couple of nice summer dresses.

The dresses are a point actually. They're beautiful, but require the right combination of weather and fancy event. I'll continue to think about them

Birdie85

littlegreenparrot wrote: »

The dresses are a point actually. They're beautiful, but require the right combination of weather and fancy event. I'll continue to think about them

I wear my summer dresses all year round, just pair them with co-ordinating tights and a cardigan when it's cold. There are no rules that bright colours are reserved for summer.

115K

Birdie85 wrote: »

I wear my summer dresses all year round, just pair them with co-ordinating tights and a cardigan when it's cold. There are no rules that bright colours are reserved for summer.

Yes, I do the same.:)

iQueen

rosie383 wrote: »

Thanks for that tip about the scarves. I'm a Muslim so I wear a scarf every time I go out, as does my daughter. We have far too many, courtesy of a friend who works selling them and gave me two bin bags full! I have given loads away but will be culling them this weekend and then folding and stacking upright!

Right guys. Honesty time here please. I am about 2/3 of the way through the book. Do you all honestly, hand on heart, do all that she says? I can see the benefit of the vast majority of it, but I am not going to come home and empty the contents of my handbag out every time I use it, or stand my carrots up in the door of my fridge!

'Discarding' I get, absolutely, apart from the paperwork. I can get rid of a lot, but I think in the UK it maybe isn't a good idea to get rid of it all?

So for those who are far further on in the process than me, is it okay to pick and choose?

Haha! Although you need a good supply of scarves - with the 'two-bin-bags friend' what Konvert needs enemies? I hope you and your DD found some that bring you joy. It did make me rethink - I need to discard some more of mine. I don't often wear scarves and only have about 4 that truly bring me joy. So thank you for that nudge! :T

I read MK's book, as I always read - prepared to take from it anything that appeared to be helpful to me.

No, I don't do everything she advocates. I only use one handbag and I don't empty it each evening - I weed it every couple of weeks, or so.

Vertical carrots? :eek: Give me strength!

Discarding my mountain of excess? Brilliant!

Paper work? No a chance! Originally, I wouldn't do this, because I cannot guarantee that I shall always have a computer. Now, I have realised that, after changing my telecomms company three years ago, I really could do with the itemised bills, to prove some calls that I made over the past 21 years! :mad:

If, by picking and choosing, you mean MK's categories? No reason why not, although she chose them, and their order, to minimise any emotional interference with the discarding process, until we had built up some resistence.

I have only (almost) finished the first two categories, but my new intolerance to clutter frequently drives me to home in on a random item, shelf, box, or drawer. These small kondoes, boost my motivation further.

Providing the message and basic method resonate, I think the book is a good guide. If stepping off the path causes motivation to flag, it make sense to go back to basics.

Just pass on any tips or experiences that can help others - we are all unique!

GreyQueen wrote: »

I enjoyed the book, although I did admire the forebearance of her parents and siblings for not throttling her at a young age, she must have been a bit of a trial to live with, something she acknowledges ruefully.

I never did put out-of-season clothes away... I wear the same thing winter and summer, just layered up or down...

And I'd rather have a few files of paperwork relating to important things than live paper-free but full of anxiety. After years at the CAB, I know what surprises various agencies of the grubbyment can spring on the citizenry and how she who has the most paperwork wins the day.

Pretty much with any how-to book, I follow the bits of it which resonate with me...

I don't know about throttling her, but I'd have made an appointment with a Child Psychologist! :rotfl:Although, maybe her family are finally benefitting financially for their infinite patience!

I'm like you with clothes, GQ, medium weight clothes, and a few for each extreme season. Although, I seem to be feeling the cold more, with age.

Stocking up: I don't do this unless it is a 'one-off' offer on an essential. I was tempted by an eBay offer of 5 bras (my make, model and size, as new) until I discovered that I have 13, which is more than enough! :rotfl:

I have found that offers on essentials (coffee, t rolls, bacon, cheese, detergent, etc) come round in regular cycles, so I only stock enough to cover the period in between. I don't have much space for storing these things. Could definitely do with more freezer storage, too. :wall: