The KonMarie method

luxor4t

Passed on two items to other people and enjoyed seeing their joy being sparked!
Who thought an old book and a toiletry box could bring three people such happiness?
Off to Kondo some more material and thread into a quilt :T

greent

Sold an old laptop on eb@y and needed a box to pack it up in - knew there was a laptop one in garage loft. OH got it down (garage loft has not been 'done' yet) and found a flat screen monitor in it. Listed it on freegle - eventually got a reply and someone wants to collect it today. OH said there was another lurking in the loft, so I offered it to the same person - they want that too. When OH got it down he discovered a THIRD flat screen up there!!! So today I have 3 flat screen monitors leaving my house (only 2 power cables though) - result!!:T


Will also have the laptop going - and a couple of other items finishing on [EMAIL="eb@y"]eb@y[/EMAIL] today have bids :j

PollyWollyDoodle

Wow, that's a result greent!

GreyQueen, your 'reasons' for keeping things really resonate with me, especially 1 and 3. I grew up in a family with not much money, and my mum having been brought up in similar circumstances AND having lived through the war and rationing had a tendency to keep a lot of stuff Justincase.

I have to have a serious conversation with myself sometimes about the likelihood that I will ever actually recycle that faded duvet cover into something delightful!

I find a big motivator for me is the idea that what I'm releasing might spark joy in someone else, it's made it much easier to let clothes and ornaments go. I've passed a lot on to my friend's daughter for sale - she was able to take her three children to Peppa Pig at half term, including a night in a Travelodge, so she was really pleased - and so was I.

mrs-moneypenny

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This is the 800grms of wool from my stash pile that will be leaving the house soon, I've made it for a colleague to use as a raffle prize at a cancer fund raiser so it's going to benefit a very good cause.
Just been food shopping do need to put mine away then take mils round to hers.
Post has been and been dealt with. Need to ring DD3 this morning and remind her she has stuff stored here that she is doing a carboot with. (Hopefully soon)

Hope all are well
Brilliant results are occurring with the kondoing so well done all.
Looking at the list I think 1, 2 & 3 are my reasons for having excess stuff. But now they are identified we are getting there. I posted a photo of a doll from my childhood on something my DD1 follows she's asked why on earth I still have it in her words "it's the most creepy scary azz thing ever!" My reason was I was given it as a child it's in the attic as DH thinks it's creepy and it's eyes follow you round the room. Now I think about it why do I still have it????

mummyroysof3

MoonJelly wrote: »

Thanks for the welcome. My house is super cluttered. I find my biggest challenge is toilettries and the lack of storage in my house (my house is tiny!). I have a million books and dvds and unfortunately for me they ALL give me joy -since I only buy the ones I really like and watch and/or read over and over.

It's going to take me some time to go through stuff, right? :rotfl:
654

For DVDs would it be possible to have them all in a folder and get rid of all the cases?

june89

I had a purchase this week of a bookcase that fits under the stairs PERFECTLY - it's a little narrower than 80cm, so most of the standard size ones were too wide. That allowed me to move our DVD collection there and sell the bookcase in the lounge. It's only a couple of years old and was expensive but it's longer sparking joy, have moved on from the style - it's quite chunky and dominates the room. Made 4 times the cost of the simple one that replaced it, result!

snoozer

I was very cross yesterday, I had 10 bags of books to take out of the house and because they were heavy and the charity shops are not near any parking I decided to take them down to the book bins in the LA recycling centre.


They were rammed so I asked one of the operatives if there was anywhere I could leave the books. Ha told me to put them in the paper bank! I couldn't believe it, pulping perfectly good books because of their lack of organisation, needless to say I didn't leave them.

iQueen

GreyQueen wrote: »

Perhaps we should have a secret kondo-badge that kultists could wear when out and about. I can see it now, at Changi airport, two women clock each other's kondo-badges and strike up a conversation.........:rotfl:

I loved travelling light, and so did the people tasked with baggage handling, and they never failed to comment joyfully on my small 12 kg rolling suitcase and how easy it was. Postitive re-inforcement like that really helps.

I've been thinking (you'll have to excuse me, I'm in a knitting project atm and knitting is conducive to thought; you lot are safer if I'm reading fiction). Thinking about why I have the Stuff I have. These are my conclusions.

1. Upbringing - coming from a poor family who kept stuff Justin Case. Because if you were rash and offloaded something you'd later need, you'd struggle to afford to re-buy it, or be unable to do so.

2. Greenery. As in not liking to waste anything which could be repurposed. Chatting with a pal last Sunday revealed the same mindset, that it is very important to us both that non-used things are re-homed responsibly. Just chucking stuff in the bin isn't going to be an option for us.

3. Creativity. I blame Blue Peter for a lot of this, but I can genuinely see new and crafty life in the oddest of things, which makes things like gold foil cake boards seem like very seductive items (I am recycling them now, but I'm not finding it easy ).

4. Insecurity. Feeling like I need to be insulated from the lumps and bumps of life. When you're in one of the lower deciles of the socio-economic herd, life can feel a bit bumpy and scary. Plus I am a touch neurotic about some things (and cucumber-cool and laconic about others).

5. Social expectations. Left to my own devices, I'd live in casual trousers and tops. Far too scruffy and casual for my empoyer's liking and not suitable for certain social occasions. Even a homebody like me occasionally has to scrub up and smarten up. A pal keeps mentioning treating me to lunch at a plush restaurant, something he's done before, and I wouldn't show either of us up by turning up in gardening duds.

**********

I think Konverts should all wear a badge with JOY on it!

I have given a lot of thought to the reasons for excess, cluttering, and hoarding, over the past few years and I've concluded that most of the reasons given (in books or websites) are really excuses.

I was born as WWII was ending. Yes, there was austerity, but there always had been, for most people. 'Making do and mending' was just part of life.

My mother was a widow, our family, had all the basics necessities, but no luxuries - no fridge, washing machine, TV, telephone, electric blanket, hair-dryer, vacuum cleaner, car, etc. Most importantly, we didn't hanker after anything.

Considering my own life pattern, I was perfectly and content with this life-style myself, until I re-married in 1980. My new husband was an 'aspirer', which meant that we started acquiring Stuff, that we didn't need, encouraged by the birth of Consumerism, the government, easy credit and continually rising wages, which left increasing disposable income.

Today, when I look at how poverty is measured, I'm astounded by some of the items which are judged to be essentials!

I am now back to living the1950s/60s lifestyle, and I'm truly happy. I don't look for clothes, household items, or anything else, unless I actually, really need them. I ignore advertisements, 'bargains', 'offers' etc and don't enter shops, real or virtual, unless I cannot manage without something specific.

So, I don't agree with 1 or 2. Those were the normal way of life for some of us on this journey, and, apart from getting the excess out of our homes and being more restrained in buying, it is not too difficult to recapture that original mindset.

Don't get me wrong, I'm not being smug. We oldies are lucky, to be in a position to refer to past experience. It must be extremely difficult for younger people, who have grown up with modern affluence and have expectations, which we originally did not have.

On the other hand, I can identify, with 3 and 4, which boil down to available (or lack of) money. Point 5 has never been part of my mindset.

Kondoing certainly, causes us to think more widely and deeply as we knit, or wash-up! :rotfl:

greenbee wrote: »

I seem to remember that We nearly overlapped in Scandinavia a few years ago, but at the moment I'm mostly going west and VJsMum is mostly going east..

My old stuff is slowly making its way to the local CS as its mostly perfectly good, just too big and unflattering and DEFINITELY not joyful!

Mind you, if you both keeping travelling, in the same directions, you could possibly meet up! :rotfl:

I think I shall just have to bite the bullet, and ditch my clothes that are too big now, like you. They are definitely not bringing me joy and are just making me feel bleh!

[QUOTE=PollyWollyDoodle;68541281


IQueen, Actually, it was GreyQueen who did this thinking! your 'reasons' for keeping things really resonate with me, especially 1 and 3. I grew up in a family with not much money, and my mum having been brought up in similar circumstances AND having lived through the war and rationing had a tendency to keep a lot of stuff Justincase.

I have to have a serious conversation with myself sometimes about the likelihood that I will ever actually recycle that faded duvet cover into something delightful!

I find a big motivator for me is the idea that what I'm releasing might spark joy in someone else, it's made it much easier to let clothes and ornaments go. I've passed a lot on to my friend's daughter for sale - she was able to take her three children to Peppa Pig at half term, including a night in a Travelodge, so she was really pleased - and so was I.[/QUOTE]

I've got stuff that I was planning to re-purpose, too, but it has been set aside (read 'stored'!) because more interesting (and obviously, more necessary) projects have called louder. I need to recognise that there are things I really can't be bothered to do! Life's too short to stuff mushrooms, re-purpose curtains or knit that ridiculous yarn!

You are so lucky to actually see the joy that that your excess stuff brought to your friend's daughter and family! Bet it brought you some joy, too!

Susan1962

I also think that upbringing has something to do with keeping stuff. In my case it was moving house every year or two and each time to somewhere smaller so that, as a child, I remember my things disappearing without any explanation. No big tragedy but it explains why I have too many clothes and shoes (at one point as a teenager I had two pairs of underwear - one to wear and one to wash!!!) Anyway going through MK's process has reminded me that I'm not a child any more and that I don't have to gather stuff around me to feel secure.

First CS purchases yesterday since starting this. Went to the Barnardo's 99p shop. They are really variable in quality but sometimes, like yesterday, have really nice good quality things in. Before I would have left with armfuls on the grounds that they were 99p each. Yesterday I got four items - all useful, pretty and flattering. I realised that each one made me smile as I picked them out so that's my yardstick from now on. If it doesn't bring a smile then why spend money, however little, on it?

mavvymoo

iQueen We really are twins :)As that is saying I use often -
Lifes to short to stuff a mushroom :rotfl:Thank you Shirley Conran for this one.



Mav x