KonMari 2016 - The Life Changing Magic of Tidying Up

grunnie

mavvymoo thanks for the book title have just downloaded on to my kindle. Have family coming to stay in a few weeks so will do a massive tidy before that. may even get them to sort some of their stuff from the loft and also some tools from the garage.
MMF007 I'm up near inverness hope you see me waving back. Lovely sunny day here but only 9 degrees. Had some great Northern lights displays recently so check the sky before bed each night. Enjoy your Easter everyone:D

GoingToDoIt

Hi All,
I've had a read of the thread and thought I would share my Kondo-ing with you. Admittedly I have not read the books and I have been doing it a bit wrong so perhaps I'm really in a pre- kondo decluttering phase!
I Don't know if I picked up kondo tips somehow but last year whilst feeling quite down and being unable to find anything in the knicker drawer, I decided to roll all my knicks up nicely at one side. They have been kept nicely like this for over 9 months! I also samosa'd my carrier bags one sleepless night.
The last few months I have been quite ill and had problems which mean I have now left my job. With time at home (live alone, one bed flat) I am constantly cleaning, tidying but it never got finished. There was still stuff everywhere. I am a hoarder/shopper by nature yet I love the minimalist look and I was considering buying more storage boxes etc. Thankfully I had the KonMari idea in my head and realised that I'm buying storage to store carp? Maybe just lose the carp and not buy more carp
So after some proper investigations into what KonMari is about, I have gone through the whole flat. I didn't put all of one category out in a heap at once, though I will aim to do that later in the journey. It's good advice though as I'm still finding "paper" blooming everywhere!
Here are my favourite discoveries:T
- I have plenty of space and I was living in a heap of junk (I am telling friends this and they do not believe me as I'm known for being organised and minimalist)
- I've kept thinks which actually make me angry (from ratty socks to a ring from a mean aunt, these joyless articles have been released back to the universe!)
- I can "see the gaps" in my clothes and food. I have made a start on proper shopping lists as opposed to panic buying "the same" thing over and over
- I feel like I'm looking after me and it feels nice. I'm looking for temp work and I have my work outfits sorted and ready to go in my nice sparse wardrobe. :A

So thank you all for this thread, it's really helped me in this and I hope this is just the start for me, I can see that a few months from now this can really have helped me get to where I visualise :beer:

silvasava

GQ - I'm imagining you as a female Don Quixote - colander on your head brandishing a rolling pin, ready to do battle on the home front! Go Girl!

MMF007

catslovelycats , you don't need to do a billionth and one declutter, just select the possessions that spark joy (even run of the mill items are joyful if they are easy to find, and do their job properly), locate them in the most appropriate place in your home, and you will be able to release the excess with a HUGE sense of achievement and GLEE. Honestly, it's amazing :eek:

grunnie, top tip about the northern lights, i'll be sure to look for them, it would certainly spark joy!. I hope to see your wave at about noon on Sunday!

goingtodolt, sounds like you have done brilliantly :T Have a pat on the back from me!

GQ, keep up the good work. Isn't it great to tackle a mini mountain of Stuff and in only a few hours, make a big impact - truly satisfactory work :rotfl:

Right, a few more small jobs to tackle while I still have the energy

M

PollyWollyDoodle

I have spent the day in the garden, very successfully Kondoing brambles and a wild rose bush, had to make the most of a beautiful day as apparently the weathers heading downhill rapidly from here. I love, love GQ's 'holiday posts' from the parental home, sounds as if you're making progress.

I really like hearing other people's stories, I'mgoingtodoit it sounds as if you're doing really well. The point about 'releasing things to the universe' is a great one, why do we hang on to things when they make us feel sad or angry? enjoy that space you've discovered!

GoingToDoIt

I meant to get out in the sun today, but I just couldn't stop re-organising! I did make it out to get some bread and milk but that's all.
Complete kitchen make over, finally did "categories" as in food, and cups, crockery. I'm not sure where I read the advice - maybe on this thread- you can adjust the shelves in your cupboards! D'oh!!!
I'm really short and struggle to reach the top shelf, just lowered them so now I can reach everything.
I didn't want to go out earlier as I didn't want to come back to a mess and that's what would have happened.
Tomorrow I'm meeting a friend, found a few of her things/stuff she would want so that's more carp out of the house and back in "the universe" plus when I come back I'll be coming home to lovely tidy organised house with easy to find food on shelves I can reach

GreyQueen

Hi guys, I did you a lovely post about 7 hours ago and Dad's pooter decided to sulk and not talk to the router downstairs and is turned off in disgrace. Have finally nobbled Bro's pooter in the office downstairs which has an irritating keyboard and a funny-sized monitor (wide but shallow, hate it, excuse any typos).

Well, have excavated the parental bed so they can sleep tonight. I have washed, ironed and re-hung their curtains, washed the wall, removed several boxes of carp, sorted some and put others back for another day.

Doesn't sound very much when you write it down but it's been 99% paperwork which is intense. We've also been to the supermarkets for grub plus I just got the last of the washing in.

Tomoz, we have a bit of time in the morning but in the afternoon off to visit Nan in hospital, she was rushed in on Weds evening.

Bygorry, but I'm needed to be a full-time kondo-er in this household, there's Stuff every which way, nearly 45 years' accumulation, plus the Stuff from the old (bigger) house and Grandma's house

Onwards!

mumps

gallygirl wrote: »

Mainly seconded - but I find emptying my handbag every night (or at least every day before I leave the house) really works - no more carrying six packs of tissues as I bunged another one in for Justin Case as I couldn't see the others for the five pens and three lipsticks etc also carried for Justin Case!

As for WB's comment about needing to keep appliance manuals - I had a big pile and also inherited a pile when we bought a house and contents. First step was to chuck out all obsolete ones. Second was to go online and see what manuals were available - that got rid of most of the rest. The few remaining got ripped apart and I only kept the English and Spanish bits - I don't think a Polish one will be much good in Southern Spain :rotfl:. I've then attached the receipt to the manual and filed it along with the receipts for the online manuals.

I do talk to my socks (which like being folded rather than rolled) and tell them 'it's your turn to bring me joy today'. But I think I've always spoken to them, just not out loud before

Kondo'd some white skin as warm enough to sunbathe here today :T and finally repaired a bra and trackie bottoms.

Oh dear my handbag is my failing, I carry my life in it. I was in a RTA once and the poor nurse who had to list what was in my bag when I was admitted to hospital! She couldn't believe it. I blame it on being a Beaver/Cubs leader, be prepared and all that.

Instructions I throw out with gay abandon, it frequently gets me in to trouble with my husband who can probably produce the instruction manual to the first thing he ever bought. To give you an example of how he holds on to things he still had his school uniform hanging in his wardrobe when he was 40. I was very impressed when I finally managed to persuade him that it wasn't worth keeping as it wouldn't even fit him if he ever needed it again. I can't really think he would have needed it 22 years after leaving school but his motto is "you never know when you will need it." I keep telling him the problem is that if you keep everything you can't find anything, think that will be my motto.

GreyQueen

Instruction manuals have featured here today.

Asking each other Who has a Sony ghetto blaster? We have manuals for two different models. Quick check revealed several not-Sony models inc the Panasonic in the cupboard of doom and the Roberts in the kitch. I have a Sony rad-cassette-CD player at my flat but it's never ever been in this house and its manual is in my folder for such things at home.

We've recycled them. Also found were two poster-size fold up assemblage instructions for Dad's pooter desk (?) and a repair bill for the fridge-freezer before the one they have now (??).

We also have a lot of power cords belonging to gawd-knows-what and why do we have a picture of Grandma alongside a goat in a folder of pix taken in Belgium in the 1990s (she died in 1970 btw - and never had goats)?:rotfl:

They are enticing me back into the sitting-room with tea and cake - I'm easy to distract - ciao!

ETA;

GQ to her Dad; Grandma never had goats, did she? (suddenly doubting own memories, I was still pretty young in 1970).

Dad: No. My Grandad had a goat, though. He was once sued by his landlord for letting it eat their apple tree. Judge threw the case out.

Country ways, my dearies, country ways. Some folks set the world afire with scandal and some folks get crosswise of their landlords about goats and apple trees.

ScotinLondon

Slinky wrote: »

SIL the charity want my toaster, and also an almost new electric toothbrush we never use either and will collect, so thanks for the reminder.

Slinky..apologise for the late reply. RL really busy at the moment...had to also do a few hours work today too. Anyway, no worries re the charity. Am glad that my suggestion was fruitful for you.

Today, one and only load of washing out on the line and all put back in cupboards & drawers straight away. OH had told me that he finds it soothing when he watches me samasoing the plastic bags and rolling socks & underwear.

Thank you also to whoever gave the suggestion of using punnet boxes as storage. Came in handy today.

Two more shirts in the charity bag today too, they were not sparking joy at all.

GQ - love your descriptive posts! They do make e think & giggle.
We also gotvrod of load of old manuals for appliances that we no longer have. Have done a lever arch folder for all the remainder, plus it holds all the different types of led lightbulb boxes that we use in the house. Now just need to find a home for it. Have an idea of where, but need to sort a few more things in the kitchen first tho.

Hope all had a productive and/or restful day today in the sun.
SIL