KonMari 2016 - The Life Changing Magic of Tidying Up

MandM90

uk_american wrote: »

A thought that now comes to me now when evaluating if something sparks joy is 'will someone else appreciate this more than me?'

I find that works well for me, and is something I've been trying to get across to my 7 year old DD.

Over Xmas quite a few people said to me "I got you this, hope you won't 'throw it away'" and it's stuck with me. I fear I've managed to get a reputation of being a bit of a b***h about gifts, but we are by far and away the only people in the family who have a house as small as 82m2 and I don't want to live in clutter out of guilt (although MIL certainly didn't mind sporting the Joules scarf I regifted to her recently :rotfl: )

I'm going to have to reflect a little on how I can keep my house KMed without offending well meaning friends and relatives.

It's also made me very conscious of my gift giving. I'm planning on starting to make potholders with my sewing machine for my mum and MIL but am deathly afraid it won't spark joy. OH thinks I might be taking this too far and overthinking things

jackieb

Floss wrote: »

A lot of council tip sites have recycling or reuse areas, usually with third sector involvement, which are better recipients of stuff such as in the Mail article. Yes, some may not work but why can't they be repaired and sold to benefit others and create jobs? Dumping because it's broken isn't acceptable nowadays, its an indicator of a consumption society. We are on limited resources and need to think more about what we do and why.

I get that, and I recycle when I can. But I see these hoarding programmes on tv with people who keep things because they are going to fix them, or donate them, then they never do. Then they end up with a house that they can't move in. If it was a choice of never getting round to recycling the things that other people 'might' find useful and your house ends up like a junk yard, or throwing it in the skip, i'd go with throwing it in the skip. This is what paralyses a lot of people.

hebwood

Happy New Year KMers.


Lovely to be on the new thread (thank you Greent), and have another year of success (at the loss of STUFF) and insights/woo with all of you here.


H

greentiger

Hi there, Grey Queen, just a heads up re your sig - it should be veni, vidi, eradici for I came, I saw, I kondoed.

But yours is every bit as good - veni, vici, erdadici - I came, I conquered, I kondoed! More serious woo going on!

Love the root stuff, Charis.

GreyQueen

jackieb wrote: »

I get that, and I recycle when I can. But I see these hoarding programmes on tv with people who keep things because they are going to fix them, or donate them, then they never do. Then they end up with a house that they can't move in. If it was a choice of never getting round to recycling the things that other people 'might' find useful and your house ends up like a junk yard, or throwing it in the skip, i'd go with throwing it in the skip. This is what paralyses a lot of people.

I entirely understand this way of thinking, I too have a desire to rescue, to restore, to bring back to life unloved and neglected objects. Not necessarily to have and to hold myself, but to set them free to be appreciated by strangers who choose to buy (or have them as gifts) them and take them home.

But I have to be a realist, too. My home is a 24 m square flat, four small rooms with barely enough room to put up the clothes airer, never mind have a project bit of furniture. I do various crafts, but they have to be small things, or things which have small components and don't become larger things until the final assembly.

This fear of wasting things, or letting them go in ways or to people who won't appreciate them, can be paralysing. I do find freegle a good way of letting things of low (or no) financial value but high utility (to the right person) find their next home.

Ultimately, rich or poor, there are only so many hours in the day, and some of them are necessarily spent on sleeping, eating, self-care. Many people work outside their homes, run businesses from home, are raising children or caring for the elderly or disabled, or are very active in community activities.

Something has to give, and that something can be the desire to salvage every mortal thing and remake it into something fabulous.

Perhaps those of us with almost-fossilised projects lurking would find the tactic I eventually developed helpful; I imagine I had a magic wand which I'd wave at the project and hey presto! it's all finished - now, do I still want this thing?

If the answer is on the lines of Errrrrrrrr......... I let it go.

ETA Thanks, greentiger! Going to edit now. I only did a year of Latin - 1976-1977 (and I've been to sleep several times since then and forgotten what little I did learn. lol).

jackieb

GreyQueen wrote: »

If the answer is on the lines of Errrrrrrrr......... I let it go.

So at the risk of being paralysed by our clutter, some might even say Frozen, we should all just Let It Go.

I think this should be the group's theme tune :T:rotfl:

GreyQueen

jackieb wrote: »

So at the risk of being paralysed by our clutter, some might even say Frozen, we should all just Let It Go.

I think this should be the group's theme tune :T:rotfl:

Being a childfree person, I have managed to escape ever hearing this song, although I do know what 'Elsa' looks like.

I think a Queen CD would be great music for kondo-ing. The chorus of Another One Bites The Dust, or I Want to Break Free.

Any other suggestions? Catch up laters x.

jackieb

GreyQueen wrote: »

Being a childfree person, I have managed to escape ever hearing this song, although I do know what 'Elsa' looks like.

I think a Queen CD would be great music for kondo-ing. The chorus of Another One Bites The Dust, or I Want to Break Free.

Any other suggestions? Catch up laters x.

Can you believe I actually once bought a triple cd of housework songs. The things we do or stuff we buy that we think will make it easier. It's desperation. :rotfl:

Knit_Witch

Ellidee wrote: »

No words http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3380466/From-new-iPads-working-wide-screen-TVs-hairdryers-wrapping-shocking-waste-thrown-rubbish-dumps-post-Christmas-clear-out.html

Flipping 'eck! Hugh's War on Waste hasn't got to them has it!! :eek:

MMF007

How about 'I Can See Clearly (now the [STRIKE]rain[/STRIKE] stuff has gone' ?
M