The KonMarie method

lostinrates

Floss wrote: »

Actually, Japan is 28% more densely populated than the UK with 336.24 people per km squared, compared to 262 per km squared in the UK. Quite a lot of Japan is either mountain, volcano or sea so their living is very compact, hence the apartments.

I think apartment living is also so very different.

Thinking of selling a house and how much better it is to be able to prove warranties/guarantees on items of structure etc.

On the other extreme we have a total wreck and have huge amount of paper work relating to it which desperately needs sorting. If we ever sell ( not the plan) it will show new owners where every pipe run is, every cable run, all the drain runs, etc etc, when windows were done and where. It has detailed diagrams and surveys of the house.

Its of considerable benefit, and while DESPERATLY needs sorting, its not something I'm prepared to chuck.

VfM4meplse

lostinrates wrote: »

I think apartment living is also so very different.

Agree with the rest of your post, but a key part of KonMarie's success is down to the huge lack of space in Japanese cities. Real estate is so expensive, that grown-up kids stay with their parents even if they are well paid as buying is still out of their reach - consequently they have a lot of disposable income to spend on goodies. Add to that the huge trend culture out there and the penchant for "stuff" and you have a recipe for clutter hell.

Still got a lot of deadlines this week, but somehow feel calmer just becuase I'm not now surrounded by the "noise" of clutter.

Rainy-Days

Floss wrote: »

Actually, Japan is 28% more densely populated than the UK with 336.24 people per km squared, compared to 262 per km squared in the UK. Quite a lot of Japan is either mountain, volcano or sea so their living is very compact, hence the apartments.

Crikey and I thought it was less so than the UK! Thanks for that I should have checked

Thanks to to the Nowzad dogs link as well - Juliettet :T I will be making use of that.

I can't remember what it was now but at work with the documents they had to copy something several times and then officially certify it as a true copy of the original; hence the reason I am a bit worried about putting things onto a scan!

Quasar

Finished the book, which will be taken up again when I have all the days I want to make a start on the category and work through each without interruption. I'll be happy with two days per category, some much less of course.

As has already been said, the book was written for a Japanese readership and clientele. Japan, it's worth mentioning, is the originator of the famour Just In Time (JIT) system of company/warehouse stock buying: you buy just what you need and no more, then when you are about to run out you buy the next lot. This is very streamlined, elegant and uncluttering, but depends entirely on the efficiency of every step in the chain, manufacturer, distributor, wholesaler and so on.

The same JIT mindset permeates MK's advice, which makes for an extremely tidy personal environment. The trouble will be sticking to it to the letter, to having around just what we need at the time and no more. I'm not talking about clothes, but various supplies: soaps, washing items, household cleaners, coffee and stuff. I'm not going into a supermarket, see a very convenient offer and just buy what I need. I will take advantage of the offer and stock up at least a little. I'm not one to have, say, food supplies that might see me through just the next three days. I want more leeway. Ditto for things like toiletries. A little bit of back stock has to be ok, as long as it is tidy and out of sight but easily found, ie not forgotten at the back of a cupboard.

Besides, there is also the financial dimension. I'm not going to spend more money overall because I don't want to add not-yet-needed BOGOFS to my stores. I think the key is to buy only things that we know we WILL use and will not forget we have.

VfM4meplse

Quasar wrote: »

Besides, there is also the financial dimension. I'm not going to spend more money overall because I don't want to add not-yet-needed BOGOFS to my stores. I think the key is to buy only things that we know we WILL use and will not forget we have.

True, but the sad fact is that naughty items that are BoGoF or a good deal find their way into my basket when they otherwise would be ignored, sit there for a while in anticipation of "guests"....and then get consumed by me alone during weak moments.

So maybe a bit of hybrid thinking is required on my part?

Quasar

VfM4meplse wrote: »

True, but the sad fact is that naughty items that are BoGoF or a good deal find their way into my basket when they otherwise would be ignored, sit there for a while in anticipation of "guests"....and then get consumed by me alone during weak moments.

So maybe a bit of hybrid thinking is required on my part?

Yes I think it is, lol.:)

MK's principles are sound and I can see them having profound consequences:

Discard THEN store
Discard by handling each item and find out how you FEEL about it
Everything must have a place
You need far less than you have now (before kondoing everything)

So ok, all that I can personally relate to. But concepts such as that every inanimate object has feelings and ought to be thanked etc, does suit a certain temperament and not another. We have been formed in a culture that values a certain amount of preparation for unforeseen events, such as your buying treats in anticipation of sharing them with guests - ok, then scoffing them all by yourself (you ain't alone in that weakness, do believe me ).

I think that all of us here have enough nous to see for ourselves how to apply MK's principles without having to move to Japan and learn their culture. As I look around my flat, I can already picture in my mind the uncluttered space I can create if I do this properly, but without the baggage of alien dos and donts which themselves add to mental clutter.

Of course, one is free to apply every single little piece of advice and no doubt feel better for it. Who knows, maybe I myself will get so carried away that I'll be saying "thank you" every time I open and close an umbrella. That's no small task in rainy Britain.

If I didn't have such masses of clothing I'd start now, but as I want to stick to the book as closely as possible, I'd need the best part of two days to do that. My flat looks like there are six people living in it, not just the one.

juliettet

Rainy-Days wrote: »

Crikey and I thought it was less so than the UK! Thanks for that I should have checked

Thanks to to the Nowzad dogs link as well - Juliettet :T I will be making use of that.

It was originally from Islandmaid. Happy to help

lostinrates

VfM4meplse wrote: »

Agree with the rest of your post, but a key part of KonMarie's success is down to the huge lack of space in Japanese cities. Real estate is so expensive, that grown-up kids stay with their parents even if they are well paid as buying is still out of their reach - consequently they have a lot of disposable income to spend on goodies. Add to that the huge trend culture out there and the penchant for "stuff" and you have a recipe for clutter hell.

Still got a lot of deadlines this week, but somehow feel calmer just becuase I'm not now surrounded by the "noise" of clutter.

Living at home is increasingly returning to be norm here again. But that's not what I'm talking about. I'm talking about the difference in paperwork in renting and owning ( particularly if you do not live in a new or low maintenance house or flat) and the implications of being organised and keeping it. One of the things I miss about renting is somethings being my landlords responsibility to sort, organise and chase, then worry about afterwards, paper work included! And though my DH is in London through the week its one of the reasons we don't mind we cannot afford a second home......too much hassle!

tooties

Hi everyone,

I havent finished the photos yet but i have been working on the rest of the junk that was so carefully packed into boxes and dumped in the attic.

There is still more junk to come down and be kondoed, not to mention the rest of the stuff in the house.

Jinny hope everything went ok and you recover quickly.

Regards

Rainy-Days

I know for a fact that I am not prepared to give cup my 'stash' cupboard for extra BOGOF's and half price deals because, as Quasar has put it, it does not make financial sense. Providing that the cupboards are rotated (which they are) to use up the store then it makes economical sense to effect a different approach to going forward.

If you look at this from a Psychological perspective allot of this hoarding/gathering of items I believe goes back to the 1980's. I remember before that, that everything my parents wanted they had to save for, then a revolution happened in the 80's where everything became cheaper, more disposable and the film Wall Street with Gordon Gekko's mantra "greed is good" became instilled in allot of people.

I remember very well when I bought my first home that I set one months salary aside and I bought my washing machine, tumble dryer and fridge/freezer brand new. I recall very well my mum saying to me at the time that her and dad would have to save up to get those items. The only item that was used in my new home was mum and dad's three piece suite (as they had decided to have new when I vacated :rotfl:) and within 18 months I had replaced that as well. So, surrounding myself with ever more bits and pieces and clutter just added to the 80's and 90's effect of more is fab; then we were in the middle of a 'chintz' revolution. When my washing machine went up it and I called the repair man out he told me it was cheaper to scrap it and buy new! The make do and mend mentality had really been put on the back burner. I don't remember wardrobes brim full of clothes either, but when I started work I could get what I wanted and my personal effects mushroomed!

Last year was a kick up the jaxxy for me because it forced me to deal with the clutter. The loft was something else. The Land Rover was constantly at the recycling centre or the CS. I had the British Heart Foundation out to my home twice to take furniture away. The scaling back has been tremendous and I don't miss the things I let go, I just had to re-think my priorities and let it go without upset. I have let so much clothing go to the CS last year. I now have a much more streamlined wardrobe as a result. I am just gutted at the money that has been spent on stuff that has not much meaning!

I bought the book last night from Amazon BTW so it will be here in the next day or so and then I can get into it!