KonMari 2016 - The Life Changing Magic of Tidying Up

Karmacat

Karma. It's not long now until you retire......August will be here before you know it.

Yup – week 24 next week in the countdown

I'm sure that once your pension kicks in and you don't have to work purely for monetary gain life will start to take on a far rosier hue.

Er, my pension doesn't start till 4.5 years after I retire – money worries won't end there, but I'll simply downsize (again) if I have to.

My husband became sick in 2006, finally dying in August 2014. It has been a ten year journey for me. Sometimes that tunnel was long and dark but hey I've finally reached the end and out into the dappled sunlight - today literally, it's a glorious spring day here.:D

I didn't realise his illness was that long, LL I'm 6 years into it, non-terminal, and until it started, I honestly felt great, in spite of money worries.

Along the way there was much pain and sorrow, strains and stresses, money worries, and eventually it made me ill too, cfs, fibromyalgia, IBS, Gord, insomnia. Sometimes it felt like I was standing on a precipice and that one false move and I would be done for.

I can understand that. At one stage, when I didn't know what was wrong, I thought it was terminal.

But.......what doesn't kill us, makes us stronger and all that.

To be completely honest with you, I can't bear that phrase … I understand the principle behind it, of course, and why you're saying it, but there's an awful lot of ground between being killed and being made stronger

Karma- just ride it out, you'll make it. In the meantime try to look after your health as best you can. Rest, sleep, healthy eating, a little gentle exercise on the days you can manage it, a bit of Kondoing here and there. Get out in the sun, potter about in your garden.

Remember It's not a race, just go at your own Speed.

Absolutely, thanks. In place of pottering in the garden, today I've been digging up bramble roots and starting to cut back the cherry laurel. But in the main, I just need what I say to be accepted.

Karmacat

Charis wrote: »

I was surprised to find that in addition to clearing komono and kipple, the task also included distancing myself from a few members of my extended family, who were draining the life out of me. Like you I have health issues and am having to pace myself, take a rest when I need it and sometimes I just need peace and quiet and time to think. On days when I am under the weather, it takes all my energy just to get through a day.

lessonlearned wrote: »

Spot on again, Charis.

… I too have kondoed some family members and toxic friends and acquaintances..........:rotfl: - who needs them. Like you say we don't need people in our lives who are energy drainers.

Me too! I wish I'd recognised the problems of the energy drain, and I wish I'd kondoed toxic people years ago. I love this.





Off to kondo more stuff. Thank you peeps.

lessonlearned

Kboss. Go for "griege". It's still grey but with warm undertones, so you don't get that cold feel to the room.

If you go into Homebase they have a display which you can play with, it shows how different kinds of light affect colour, ie which type of lightbulbs to use etc.

This house is an old Victorian terrace with typically smallish rooms and high ceilings. It has been partially knocked through downstairs so that the two reception rooms sort of open plan.

We painted both rooms a lovely soft warm pale silvery grey - like pale moonLight. To add colour we painted just the alcoves either side of the two chimney breasts. The lounge is a deep heather and the dining room a very dark grey. White woodwork and ceilings, oatmeal carpets and grey tweedy sofas.

We added Just enough colour to add drama and sophistication and stop the rooms becoming bland and boring.

Despite my love of white, creams and pastels I do add "pops" of really strong vibrant colour. The kitchen is cream units and walls, real natural wood worktopS which add warmth and then just one section of wall - above the hob - is picked out in a "luscious lime".

A whole room in lime would have been total overkill. Same with the strong grey and heather colours in the reception rooms but on just small areas they really work very well.

Throw in a few cheap and cheerful accessories, colourful artwork and plants and flowers and you get all the colour you need without it being overwhelming.

These days decorating has become expensive, even paint is not as cheap as it used to be. So my top tip is keep the big spaces and the big ticket items ie walls, floor coverings, sofas etc fairly neutral and then add colour and life with all the bits and pieces. Neutral doesn't have to be boring.

Edited to add ......

Given that your flat is in a Georgian building I would think that yellow could work very well, provide the room hasn't been "chopped up too much". Georgian houses usually have generously proportioned rooms. My Ds1 house is Georgian and we've been very bold with colour, the rooms can take it. The Georgians Did use very strong colours and very lush fabrics and soft furnishings so yellow probably wouldn't be out of place.

The only thing I would say is it might be best to go for warm creamy yellows not the green tinged acidic "Spring" yellows. Think Autumn rather than Spring light.

I painted some rooms in our old house a warm bright yellow, they faced north and the yellow always made them feel warm and cheerful.

lessonlearned

Lol Karma. I'm not mad keen on that phrase either, I use it very "tongue in cheek".

Right I'm off for a walk down to the little shop to pay through the nose for cat food and coffee - .that will teach me not to run out.

I'll do a proper shop tomorrow at Aldis - although of course the cat won't deign to eat cheap cat food. :rotfl:

mrs-moneypenny

Karma and lessonlearned at risk of getting boring quoting Frank turner lyrics in this thread I prefer this version of that saying

Things didn't kill me but I don't feel stronger
Life is short but it feels much longer
You've lost that drive, you've lost that hunger
To pull yourself through the day

Been down the local for a pint with Dh befo lunch, we were talking about kondoing this thread and all of you can rip quite a bit. I told Dh I don't feel I need things to remind me of people or events he's not sure why he does it admits he finds it hard to let go of stuff but concedes we do need to let more go. He's getting much better and has knodoed quite an it even this morning a ratty old 'spare' high vis has been binned along with some RC helicopters and tanks he was saving incase he found a way of making them work again.

dragonette

'what doesnt kill you makes you stronger' = no, but it bloody well tells me how well I cope with carp!! And that I can and will endure. Reducing contact with toxic people has been a huge help to me, and I can justify it with being ill. Once (if) I get better, I intend to not allow toxicity back into my life if at all possible

I used to love having strong colored walls, till I started renting. My current rented place has a really warm cream on all the walls and white ceilings which I now love. It allows me to have strong colours in the rooms without feeling overwhelmed - living room has green and purple, bedroom has blue, hallway has red, bathroom has yellow and orange! My last kitchen was red, this one I've painted the cupboard doors cream and a gentle sage green, with lots of red accents.

It doesn't look v minimalist but it is bright and homely and comfortable

I've had a low mood spike for the last couple of weeks but I'm starting to get caught back up on my chores etc, more to do as always. Have collapsed a bunch of boxes for recycling and kept some saved for friends that are moving. Actual kondoing has gone out the window so I'm itching to get back to it now

lots of hugs and positive vibes to everyone, this thread and all of you have made this journey much easier and safer - thank you!

Lady_Bee

Just sat down with a cup of tea to catch up on this thread and reflect on today's progress.

Lovely day here and all the washing is pretty much dried in the conservatory. I love it when the better weather comes and you can get the washing dry the same day and not have it hanging around on the airers for days. Still a touch early in the season for me to hang it outside but the sun in the conservatory works a treat.

Finished sorting my clothes, end total is 1 and a half bags (CS sacks) of decent clothes, one of stuff suitable for rags (including knickers minus gussets ), one of shoes and handbags and finally one of blankets/curtains. Drawers and wardrobe rearranged, I'm not there yet with the folding as things aren't quite standing up but it certainly looks better than before. I also haven't followed Marie's guide on wardrobe organisation, I want all the long things down one end but I'm sure she won't mind :rotfl:

Also sorted some books but this is a small job for me as I don't have many (less than 40) so I'll be keeping quite a few of these having had a major cull a while ago.

After all the angst earlier about which CS to donate to I'm going to offload onto a friend who sells the stuff by weight and puts the funds towards her playgroup. It's a nice easy option as I can just drop it at her house and it can be gone this week. I have a couple of low value jewellery items that I will take a to a CS in town as I can just pop this in my bag.

It's nice to have these things ticked off but it's the 'stuff' I'm desperate to get rid of. I don't want to jump ahead of Marie's guidance so am doing it in the recommended order but I know I won't really feel much better until I've got to this stage. All of that is pretty much in the same place, the dreaded box room!!

Seeing a few more empty spaces has exposed more dust and dirt unfortunately. I'm not really that keen on cleaning (who is?!) so I'm thinking that at the end of this process I might treat myself and get someone in to do a top to bottom clean. I feel daunted by too much dirt but I think I'll be able to maintain if someone does the hard work for me.

Enjoy the sunshine all

Karmacat

lessonlearned wrote: »

Lol Karma. I'm not mad keen on that phrase either, I use it very "tongue in cheek".

:kisses3:

mrs-moneypenny wrote: »

Karma and lessonlearned at risk of getting boring quoting Frank turner lyrics in this thread I prefer this version of that saying

Things didn't kill me but I don't feel stronger
Life is short but it feels much longer
You've lost that drive, you've lost that hunger
To pull yourself through the day

Oh! I've never heard that before, that's very good! :kisses3:

dragonette wrote: »

'what doesnt kill you makes you stronger' = no, but it bloody well tells me how well I cope with carp!! And that I can and will endure. Reducing contact with toxic people has been a huge help to me, and I can justify it with being ill. Once (if) I get better, I intend to not allow toxicity back into my life if at all possible

lots of hugs and positive vibes to everyone, this thread and all of you have made this journey much easier and safer - thank you!

:kisses3:
To you too. Taking control like this, appropriate control, of our lives, is very empowering, and this thread makes it a lot easier to do, as you say

lessonlearned

Good idea about getting help with a one off clean when you are done. I am thinking I might do the same. I did get my window cleaner to do the inside kitchen Windows. At pushing 65 I'm far too decrepit to stand on worktops these days......

I've also decided to get a decorator to do the hall, stairs and landing. It's very high - even DS2 finds them daunting and he's 6ft 3".

I managed to do a quick garden tidy today but my back is killing me today so I'm going to book myself a massage this week. Thankfully I think I'm finally done with all the heavy bin liners and boxes of stuff.

It's just kimono and kibble now so that should be light and manageable. As you say we can dispose of this a small bag at a time.

Edited to say......

Love the song lyrics - never heard them before.

Yes I have found this thread inspirational, it's kept me focussed. I love the chat and the stories. There were times when I found Kondoing quite overwhelming and TBH a tad emotional. I wasn't able to just plough on - I did have to take a few breaks along the way. I'm sure MK will forgive me.

However I definitely feel that I'm "on the final furlong" now.

greenbee

I've been away for a couple of days and you've certainly been having some interesting conversations!

On the topic of paint colours - it is important to consider the direction, quality and amount of light that comes into a room. Sometimes a small room works better with dark colours. LL mentioned warm yellows for north-facing rooms, and I've certainly found that works (including in a basement); pinks tend to work well for west-facing and greens for east. When I moved in here there were some truly appalling colours (acid yellow in an east facing room, 'mental institution green' as everyone called in in a dark north-facing room that really does need a dormer added on the east side, but my budget doesn't run to it, a slightly bluish 'chilblain hands' pink in a long, thin west-facing room - and to top it there was pink carpet upstairs and green carpet downstairs). So I painted most things white. Whatever white other people were getting rid of... I've now changed some of the white to Dulux Natural Calico, which is a warm grey-based off white which works well in all lights. One of the whites I like is F&B's 'Pointing' (mixed in Brewers' own-brand), which is somehow soft but still very definitely white.

For those with issues with confidence, you might want to have a look at Amy Cuddy's 2012 TED talk. I've found her inspirational, and a huge help in coping with my job which involves providing specialist advice to a huge and everchanging client-base both on an 1-2-1 basis over the phone or f2f or presenting to audiences of hundreds of people. (Like a lot of people I suffer badly from imposter syndrome). I'm currently reading her new book, which is aimed at a lay audience rather than an academic one and offers some very interesting insights.