The KonMarie method

emg

I'm two bags into and cant even remember half these clothes. A scary amount still have tags on them too. Definitely out-of-sight, out-of-mind and no need to face up to my impulsive shopping/spending habits all the time they were up in the loft :-(

System

Well you have been busy :T

I've finished my clothes now, including what was in the wash, and taken 2 huge bags to the chazzer
Some fabric handbags that I made and are too pretty to get rid of, if not very practical in the winter, are hanging on display with some other mementoes The other handbags are all together in the cupboard under the stairs so I can swap easily when I feel like a change. All the 'stuff' that lives in the handbags is now in a box in the hall so I can see what's there and pick out what I need. I'll find a better home for them as I go on I hope. Does anyone else chant 'purse, phone, keys, tissues' to themselves before they go out? Or is it just me that's slightly batty? :rotfl:

Have weeded the books, sent a box to Zapper today and taken 4 big bags that Zapper didn't want to the chazzer. They're still a bit wary about donations but luckily I have lots close by so can take clothes to one and books to another. The books were so heavy I 'borrowed' a supermarket trolley to get them from the car to the shop - did get some 'looks' but I put the trolley straight back, honest :rotfl:

On my way home I borrowed from a friend a bigger shredder than I own, with which to tackle the paper mountain. I, too, am a little chary of destroying all my records, so I'll keep a month's worth from each file in my filing cabinet and see how that looks. If I could get rid of the cabinet completely that would make me really happy as it takes up space in my bedroom.
I'm also leaving photos until last, like everyone else I have masses, going back years; some in albums, most in boxes; are lot are duplicated on my laptop but I'm still loath to discard them. They're memories aren't they. But I could display some of them and enjoy the memories more
I have a question too - I have some gold and silver chains etc. that were passed onto me and will not get used - does anyone know where I could sell them?
Thanks
Rx

mamaninie

I did my tights fairly quickly this morning - I'm a big 'skirt + opaque tights' combo wearer so had quite few. the ones left, rolled up, take hardly half a shoe box :rotfl: Their space is now occupied by my 4 pairs of remaining 'fancy shoes' which did used to have a whole hanging thingy in the wardrobe. That is now gone and there is space to breathe again.

I've finished the book now and dh has started it for those dabbling their toe in the Konmari waters, I would HIGHLY recommend actually reading it :rotfl:

emg

All 4 bags done. It's crazy, I have about 6 black cardigans and none of them are quite right but I just found a perfect one that has been sitting in the loft for years. I saved 3 cardigans and one top. Everything else is off to the charity shop/clothes bank. I found 3 winter coats in there. Sadly none had money in the pocket but one did have some tesco computer for schools vouchers from 2010! Feeling pleased to have got through the bags but I havent even started on the tops that are actually in the wardrobe/drawers at the moment.

As an aside, is anyone else surprised how quickly you can declutter when you set your mind to it? One of those jobs that you think is going to take ages but then half an hour later its done.

rosie383

Woohoo! Just had a pleasant twenty minutes with my little girl making plastic bag samosas! Much to dh amusement!
I am so happy and do you know why? I have lost count of how many times I have tried to make actual samosas and failed every time. After 34 bags I think I will manage rightly now!
It really is addictive and I intend to do my whole house , well mine and the kids' stuff and as much of dh stuff that I can get away with. I am determined that when we move, nothing extraneous will be going with us.

meames_2

iQueen wrote: »

Here is the kit. Click on the pic for detailed instructions. £2.45 for 10.

Thank you for the link, I had seen them before, but it is way beyond a sagging bottom!

To be honest they are ikea drawers that cost £35 in 2003 so they have done very well. (To my shame I still have the receipt!)

Not sure why the runners have started playing up. All the relevant bits seem to be there.

THIRZAH

snoozer wrote: »

jinny - re the books. I do re-read an awful lot of them and have got rid of hundreds over the last couple of years by asking myself if I would read them again. Some I did read again and then decided that I would never read them again and so gave them away.


Last year I re-read my beloved Chalet School books which I started collecting when I was about 10, I can remember when I got the first and how I loved it - I am keeping them in case I ever have a grand-daughter. I'm not sentimental about many things but I now realise that I used to escape into my books because I didn't have a happy childhood and the books were my friends.

I find it hard to part with books too. Some Chalet School books are very collectible so your collection may be worth quite a bit.

VfM4meplse

emg wrote: »

omg, I knew I had one bag of clothes in the loft that i needed to bring down for doing 'tops'. It turned out there were actually 4 big bin bags full of clothes :eek:

Im properly horrified about the amount of waste (and also the prospect of sorting them). I dont even remember putting the other 3 up there. I'm angry with myself that I have spent far too much money on rubbish clothes. If I had spent the same amount of money on the number of clothes I actually wear I could be shopping in all the shops that I think are too expensive for me.

Don't be, this was before you saw the Kondo-light :A

Try to see this as a pleasant side effect of Kondo-ing. You know what you've got and it is visible every time you open a drawer so you will resist the temptation to buy more of the same.

B2 done now, am left with lots of empty dragon boxes that need to go into the loft. Nearly the with B1 and will have another go at my purses to exploit the full potential of vertical storage and attack my make-up stash before the week is out, a nice job in front of the TV. Am saving B3 (ie my study, with its limitless paperwork!) for February. Once I get stuck in it will be fine and I will feel a lot better and finally free to enjoy domestic life in a tranquil, clutter-free environment.

I found myself in a bit of a Kondo-Konflict this evening. I had a go at my drawer of old tights (although I can't claim to love them but they go keep me warm - I tend to wear them under trousers in the winter as they never last in a sightly state for more than one wash!) but couldn't actually throw any away. I estimate at least 75 pairs . My compromise is wearing and binning them, no need to waste good washing capsules on them now.

lostinrates

emg wrote: »

As an aside, is anyone else surprised how quickly you can declutter when you set your mind to it? One of those jobs that you think is going to take ages but then half an hour later its done.

For me getting it in the bags is not the hard bit, getting them out is.

I lack strength to do it alone and which ever person I ask to help wants to paw through and keep things.:rotfl:


DH and I will have to sort out these things going to a good place next Saturday morning, so they'll be annoying me in their big blue ikea bags for another week.

But, maybe I'll have added another bag to the group by then.

GreyQueen

rosyq, About 30 years ago I had a german lass as a flatmate and she used to chant tabac, schlussel, gelt (tobacco, doorkey, money) just before she went out. Not at all sure of the spelling btw, I did French not German at school, so feel free to correct me.

Re selling gold, there are places dedicated to just such a purpose in most towns and cities, often several at a time, plus many jewellers will buy gold for scrappage. Price depends on the purity, 22 ct, 18 ct, 9 ct, and on the price of gold that day. Gold brought overseas will typically have different levels of purity, such as 14 ct and others.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carat_%28purity%29

Gold price is determined by what is going on the spot market. It changes by the minute. You can watch the charts on www.kitco.com. The price is for troy ounces of pure gold - precious metals are sold in troy ounces, which are different to regular ounces; 1 troy ounce is 31.1034768 grammes. A krugerrand is a troy ounce, if you've ever held one of those.

A reputable buyer should weigh it in front of you to two decimal places, work out the price for purity and give you a quote. If your pieces aren't hallmarked, expect them to want to test it by filing a small bit (to check they aren't dealing with plated stuff) and dropping on a bit of acid; the colour it turns will indicate within a margin how pure the gold is. Spot price for gold is a guide, this is for gold paper futures options, but is used to set the price for the real metal IRL. Spot gold goes up, you get more on the street, and vice versa.

As always, get several quotes. If you aren't in desperate need of the money, you might want to sit on your hands for a few months. But I know jewellers and they have been in the trade 40 years and still have no idea which way the market will move from one day to the next.

ETA; just wanted to add that the charts on kitco are live when the NewYork market is open. NYC is on eastern standard time, which is 4 hours behind GMT. That chart will start moving at midday tomorrow, our time. There is also a live silver chart there, and historic charts. Quite fun to look at; I keep an eye on it for a jeweller pal on a nearby street who's too tight to have internet at his shop. Update on spot for gold and silver is locally tradable for a cuppa.

You don't actually get spot, because the dealer has to have his margin between his buying and selling prices, but you want to get several quotes to get the best price. Scrap gold and silver will be taken to London (at least it is here in southern England) for M & A (melt and assay) with the big refiners. The price the purchaser gets will depend on the purity which will be expressed to 2 decimal places, so expect them to be a bit wary of unhallmarked stuff. Indian/ Asian silver hippy jewellery is pretty low purity, often made of melted old coins, which themselves weren't pure silver.