The KonMarie method

mavvymoo

PollyWollyDoodle wrote: »

Mavvymoo, you are an inspiration and please keep posting even though you are fully Kondoed - it's people like you and jinny that keep me going!

Thanks for that Polly.I will keep posting as I know this journey is going to be a long one for all of us

I am looking round at my house and thinking is this really mine !
I am not walking past anything now and find myself doing some strange things :rotfl:Like yesterday scrubbing the door handles with a toothbrush as the grooves looked a bit grubby :eek:

You will all go as far with kondo-ing as you want to go and you will all get there some taking longer than others. But enjoy the process as once its done its really done for good. I dont think I will ever go back but like everything only time will tell


Happy kondo-ing
Mav x

iQueen

mavvymoo wrote: »

Morning fellow KM fans

Well my house is still so tidy and everything still in its place.
I must say the journey you go on while doing this is hard I am much happier but still feel tearful at times as I think the things you have around you mean something to you.

I have some things which bring bitter-sweet memories and that I am keeping, but they will be carefully stored out of sight. Display/ use things that bring ONLY joy.

Congratulations on maintaining! :T

When I had loads of komono everywhere nothing stood out and now I see things that have a story as to why they escaped the KM treatment
and the memories come flooding back. Good but thought provoking iyswim

Clutter protects us from thinking deeply about things we definitely should resolve.

Also I think I feel so bad about the money that has been wasted on all the stuff that I had to have at the time and now it means nothing and its gone ! But sad as that money could have gone to a much better place.Or I didnt have to work so hard to get it and could have spent my time more wisely and spent it with people I can no longer spend it with

This is a natural reaction. No one likes to waste money on this scale, but it is also an over-reaction. Remember that 'fantastic' book your bought (NOT MK's!) and couldn't be bothered to read more than 50 pages? You regretted the money spent, but only momentarily. This is the same for most other individual items, but the regret is on a grand scale with so many items at once.

So please continue with your journey but be aware you will think a lot more as the clutter has gone from your head and you can think straight and more deeply about things.

As I've said, any kind of clutter in our lives consumes time that we should be giving to obstacles to our happiness.

But I dont regret getting rid of anything I feel lighter.So what if you have got rid of your bank statments from the last 10 years it really doesnt matter if you do ever need them.Which I doubt you ever will just get copies. When I got divorced years ago I had to get 5 years worth from the bank with no problems

KM works but it makes you think very very hard. I do love the feeling of space and everything having a place. I sleep much better and have so much more time to do what I want to do.

LB moment thats it :eek: I HAVE MORE TIME TO THINK. :eek: That is what I am trying to say :rotfl::rotfl:

Good luck to everyone

Mav x

LB moments. EXACTLY! Life is not the conveyor-belt that it seems to have become. We need to have time to think, and deal with those thoughts, in order to actually LIVE our lives. This is not a rehearsal! :T

PollyWollyDoodle wrote: »

I know that feeling!

I made a major effort yesterday and went through my 'fabric collection'. Most of this has been bought as remnants/recycled, we're not talking a stash of dressmaking stuff here as I mostly do smaller things. Now I understand why MK says to do EVERYTHING in one category .... the piles, bags and mounds of it covered my double bed. Let's just say that I now have a large bag of rags to donate to the CS, and a determination to use some of the darn stuff up! I have an opportunity to run a stall later in the year for charity so I'm going to be making lavender bags like a demon.

I haven't got this far yet... and I do have stashes! Er, and stationery, furniture, china and glass, cutlery... :eek:

As with the books however, I found the process less scary than I'd feared although it took a lot longer than books, and I have rediscovered some patterns and sewing equipment that I'd forgotten I had so overall it's been beneficial. Hang on in things feel bad, and remind yourself that the whole house could be like that! It will get better.

I have 'weeded' books and got several BFLs out, but TODAY I start kondoing them properly! Won't be able to the whole lot because they are hiding everywhere - some still in boxes from the last move... 27 years ago! My head is in exactly the right place to be Ruthless! :j

Mavvymoo, you are an inspiration and please keep posting even though you are fully Kondoed - it's people like you and jinny that keep me going!

Ditto (with knobs on!) :A

mavvymoo

Thanks for that post iQueen yes yes yes everything you said is 100% right and I know it.Its just hard to put down in words what you are thinking in your head.

But the LB moments are coming in all the time and yes you do get to the root of where its coming from and yes you do resolve them.

But the calmness I feel is something I have not felt for a long time as I was always chasing my tail (like most of us do) And I no longer have to feel like that.

Someone said to me once that I was a Black and White person and with me it was all or nothing !

I feel I am almost moving into Shades of Grey (not the rubbish book may I add :rotfl:)

Thank you for taking the time to think about my post and where I am at on the KM scale it made a hell of a lot of sense

I am now painting a chest of drawers which I love and has served me so well for many years and now needs thanking for its service;) MK you have a lot to answer for

Mav x

iQueen

mavvymoo wrote: »

Thanks for that Polly.I will keep posting as I know this journey is going to be a long one for all of us

I am looking round at my house and thinking is this really mine !
I am not walking past anything now and find myself doing some strange things :rotfl:Like yesterday scrubbing the door handles with a toothbrush as the grooves looked a bit grubby :eek:

You will all go as far with kondo-ing as you want to go and you will all get there some taking longer than others. But enjoy the process as once its done its really done for good. I dont think I will ever go back but like everything only time will tell


Happy kondo-ing
Mav x

Mav, you and others who have finished are the best inspiration! So, your, and others', posts prove, to newbies, and laggards (like me!) that it's possible. Some of us have excess Stuff which is not due to wild buying - more wildly hanging on to, approaching hoarding! Thank you for your continued support! :T

Partway through the process, I'm noticing more details, and just doing 'it' on the spot. When cleaning my ceramic hob, it used to be a separate chore, 'every so often'! Now, it's a quick 'swish and swipe' every time I wash-up, including the grooves. Same with the washing machine - quick wipe over, every time. It just feels right.

Knowing when we have reached our own 'minimalist' standard is a gut feeling - we can't get it from others' suggestions on websites or in books. It's one of the 'woo' bonuses from MK, like storage containers 'appearing' when required! :rotfl:

One thing bothers me about kondoing...

So many people on this, and other, websites are buying more mindfully and paying/shopping less.

Is anyone doing something more mindful with their savings?

Redlady.....

Is it alright to put old VHS videos in the household bin?

I've done lots of Kondoing but am stuck with these videos, which aren't even accepted by charity shops now.

Igamogam

Redlady..... wrote: »

Is it alright to put old VHS videos in the household bin?

I've done lots of Kondoing but am stuck with these videos, which aren't even accepted by charity shops now.

There are some organisations which recycle but I think its very localised - someone has posted on here before about them. You could try freecycle otherwise sadly it has to be landfill

iQueen

mavvymoo wrote: »

Thanks for that post iQueen yes yes yes everything you said is 100% right and I know it.Its just hard to put down in words what you are thinking in your head.

Thank you, Mav.

I often wonder if my rabbiting is helping anyone, or just self-absorbed pedantry!

But the LB moments are coming in all the time and yes you do get to the root of where its coming from and yes you do resolve them.

I have spent more than 2 years self-analysing - giving myself time to think. No 'self-help' books or counselling, just sapce to think about the grey treacle that I called Life and was wading through. My cluttered house needed a logical explanation, rather than the various labels given on the Internet. I knew that I hadn't always lived in a mess, so there had to be reasons.

LBs kept coming, and I have unravelled a lot of the causes.

More importantly, I now know more about who I am, rather than the facade I hid behind for most of my life.

What is more, I eventually saw, as I crest the mountain of life, that recapturing the happiness that I had earlier in life, was still attainable. That returned at New Year, with no little help from MK's positivity.

Since then, I have had to face several crises, that would have put me back into the 'grey area' before, and I have come out into the sunshine, quickly. I love being happy again. Even other people have noticed the change.

But the calmness I feel is something I have not felt for a long time as I was always chasing my tail (like most of us do) And I no longer have to feel like that.

Ditto the calmness. It feels like a welcome cool breeze.

A major crisis last week, which has the possibilty of literally wrecking my life, took me close to melt-down. I visited my doc. I refused pills, and he gave me an excellent explanation of what was happening physically, and some equally excellent advice to reverse the process. It's an adrenalin rush that causes the physical symptoms (anxiety and high BP) and the remedy is intense distraction.

He was right. I spent an hour and a half sorting out a mass of unlabelled embroidery threads, from a huge cross-stitch kit I had found (and will never sew!) Around 200 lengths of 27 colours! It worked. The adrenalin dissipated and I felt calm again (and happy!) :rotfl:

Someone said to me once that I was a Black and White person and with me it was all or nothing !

Me, too! Due to inappropriately quick decisions? Hmm.

I feel I am almost moving into Shades of Grey (not the rubbish book may I add :rotfl:)

Yep, ditto again. Now, we have/make time to properly consider issues, without the adrenalin. Most issues are probably grey, and require some thought, rather than a snap conclusion?

Thank you for taking the time to think about my post and where I am at on the KM scale it made a hell of a lot of sense

I love the 'woo'! :rotfl:

I am now painting a chest of drawers which I love and has served me so well for many years and now needs thanking for its service;) MK you have a lot to answer for

Mav x

I hope you are pleased with your faithful old chest - I'm sure it will be pleased with you! I'm thanking my 18 year-old Escort on every journey (out loud!) for the faithful service it has, and still is giving me, during the 16 years I've had it. (MOT due in a month! :eek:)

iQueen

Yesterday, I was heading from a meeting with my lawyer, which had given me some joy.

A man with a clip-board approached. (Ugh, more intrusive questions!) But, no. Even before he spoke I felt his peaceful calm.

As I waited he explained that he was a Hare Krishna monk. He had hair and was dressed in ordinary clothes. He told me that there was a local Ashram in our small town and I would be welcome to visit it at anytime. He handed me a leaflet and said "Gouranga". Apparently, it means "Be happy!" I repeated it.

I've just looked it up and will be saying it every day, whether kondoing or not!

Gouranga, Konverts! :j

meerustar

Okay, spent a good few days reading this thread and thought I'd give it a go.

I don't know if I love you all or hate you all

I started with my bedroom. I'm not one for clutter and usually have ruthless cleaning days, so thought my job would be easy.

8 bin bags I have got from my room. EIGHT BLOODY BIN BAGS!!! Where has all this stuff been hiding? And I still have 4 drawers under the bed to do and a chest of drawers.

Also, I don't like the hangers in my wardrobe now. They're all mismatched from shops so bought 100 wooden ones from ebay to make it look nice.

I suffer with anxiety and depression and surprisingly, my bedroom now feels like a stress free zone. I think it's true about 'tidy house, tidy mind' ... can#t wait to get all the house done :T

YORKSHIRELASS

Hi all

I am another who wishes she could just completely empty the house into several large skips and start again. But I also feel that I need to learn by my mistakes and I hope that by seeing things go I will be more choosy about what I buy in the future.

We are going to do a car boot sale on the 7th of June, weather permitting. Anything that doesnt sell will go straight to the charity shop or recycling. I have to get rid of a huge quantity of unwanted camping stuff.

Right, dog walk then a bit of hoovering. I am then going to make a list of the categories that I need to tackle to get my head straight before I do any more.