KonMari 2016 - The Life Changing Magic of Tidying Up

FLA27

Siebrie wrote: »

Hi FLA27, artistic for me does not come into it. Is there any type of art that makes your heart jump a little when you see it? It may not be what people expect of you, or what you have been taught, but it is your house, and should reflect your likes. People will think of me as pastel, classical and romantic, but I like bright and rocknroll it is the long curls that does it, I think. I do not like pictures of people on walls, they are always looking at me, but, as a concession to dh, we have a few pictures of our family over our sofa, where I don't see them, in a frame I picked.:D

Thanks for your responses Siebrie and GreyQueen.

The art I like is mainly the kind of illustrations you see in old books of plants, flowers, and birds. I do have some Arthur Rackham prints that I really like but never seem to transfer well into frames. The best pictures I have are actually illustrations of flowers which I cut from an old calendar and framed. Actually, come to think about it, I might still have the calendar lurking under the bed! Another hidey hole not properly Kondoed, oh dear...

I too am not keen on pictures of people. The only family photos I have do not face me when i am sitting in my home. I have a lot of old family photos scanned into my PC and I am very happy with them all there. I don't like pictures of bodies either. I mean pictures of people artistically draped on things or looking vacant rather than dead ones!

There are a couple of pictures I would like to take down but the wall paper beneath is now slightly discoloured. I am going to have to see if I can do anything about this.

Maybe I am tackling this issue too soon anyway. I think it is more of a final presentation thing and I am just distracting myself from getting on with the dreaded shed Kondoing!

GoingToDoIt

A friend just dropped in...this never happens! I had actually 5 mins to sort the place out, scooped all kippel into a box then threw the hoover around- all done!
Kipple is now back on the table, where I can see it, ready for tidying tomorrow.
Some more clothes washed and ready for the bay of E, I hung them in the wardrobe as they were taking up residence on top of the ottoman

pavlovs_dog

Hello from page 32 :wave: I've been slowly catching up with the thread, and, as hoped, you've given me my KM mojo back.

My aim for half term is to have a good blast at getting the house into better order. I'm following the spark joy principle more than the official order for kondoing, but it is working regardless. Every half term yields results, and my hope is that the house will be 'done' by Christmas. To keep me on my toes, I'm aiming to get 100 items out of the house over the next two weeks.

My first project is going to be the guest bedroom in the attic, which has become a dumping ground for things in transit to/from attic storage (I wouldn't be one of those smug people with an empty loft if the roof blew off, but I wouldn't be shamed into moving house either )

GreyQueen

Have you ever tried framing the Rackhams or botanicals with a double mat (two bevelled cardboard frames inside the glass, in subtly toning colours)?

It's a very useful technique particularly with Rackham's prints which are very vigourous and seem to beneft from the visual depth given by a double mat in toning colours. Otherwise, they can fight with the frame.

The right frame and mat really makes the picture sing. If you can't afford professional framing (i.e. like me - always) you can seek out nicely framed but indifferent images secondhand and pull the old switcheroonie.

I had two of my travel photos enlarged and framed them with a pair of matching frames, same size and style of frame, each with a cream mat, which came from a bootfair with naffola reproductions of one of those sodding waterlilies in them. Total cost £1.50 for the two and a bit of masking tape to seal up the back. HTH.

FLA27

I do see what you mean GreyQueen. I have a few frames and tattty surrounds around so I could experiment with what looks best and look out for something better. At least then I could dispose of what doesn't.

Thanks for the advice!

greenbee

GQ is right - getting the mount right is as important as the frame. Often some colour, and enough space between the image and the frame can completely change the picture. I've had things I thought were hideous, taken them out of the frame, redone the mount, put them in a larger frame and they have been transformed. Interestingly (and I'd like to hear other opinions) often the smaller the picture the larger (proportionally) the space around it needs to be - especially with detailed images.

Parents are out tomorrow for a bit, so I'm hoping that I'll clear some of my work backlog. And I need to go up into the attic with my dad as there is something we need to look for (neither of us can remember what, just that we were going to look for it), and we also want to have a sort through some boxes of books. I suspect more stuff will be travelling home with me, despite the timing not being ideal with all the upheaval during the building work!

GreyQueen

I agree with greenbee, I was looking at some Rackham prints online, refreshing myself with their appearance, and the illiustration is often vigouous and spiky and goes almost all the way to the edge of the composition. If there isn't a mat giving a bit of distance, that detail will be right on the edge of the frame and sort-of fighting with it.

Ach, I'm a very visual person, it's a bit hard to describe how wrong it can look.

Even the most humble papery object can be made deeply appealing with the right framing, so it's well worth playing around. It's not accidental that picture-framing is a trade or that artists and gallery-owners make such a fuss over these things, they can make or break the quality of the image.

I enjoy buying big arty calendars in Feb for 50p-£1 from places like The W0rks. 2016's calendar is details of Alphonse Mucha's illustrations from the early twentieth century. Slightly chocolate boxy by modern standards, but when you realise that Mucha's intention as an illustrator was to bring beautiful images to ordinary people at affordable prices, a bit radical in the late 19th-early 20th century, they're a bit of history.;)

Calendars are a great way of getting your paws on some high quality images at fantastic prices. Some carefully-selected secondhand frames and you can have your own personal gallery for pennies.

ETA; Thinking further, the mat (or mount) is the bridge between the picture and the frame. The type of frame is dictated very much by your style of decor and personal preferences but the picture needs something to anchor it in place, such as a softly toned cardboard with a bevelled edge, which is a frame-within-a-frame and which draws the gaze inwards, as if you're looking at it through a window.

pavlovs_dog

I've just KM'd my sock drawer and made the shameful discovery that I could go almost two months without doing laundry before I'd run out of clean socks :eek: no wonder the drawer would never shut properly :rotfl:

I've weeded out the holey ones for the rag bag and will target use the ones which are not long for this earth to free up more space. I can't remember the last time I bought socks, but based on the extent of my collection I think it is fair to say it will be quite a while before I need to buy any in future!

greent

Morning all


Wet and windy weather here - good ol' British Bank Holidays!


Yesterday's end result: Huge box of CDs/ books/ DVDs all parcelled up for Ziffit . 2 ebay parcels ready to go A whole carrier bag of virtually unused wax crayons put aside to donate. Lots of paper/ card recycled from DS2's room. Some books and CDs put ready for CS. Various bits of plastic kipple binned. Various items priced and labelled for NNS. Finally - a sofa listed on facebook selling pages - although no interest in this as at bed time last night.


Today's plans are starting the decoration prep in DS2's room (which includes taking down wall light, filling holes from that and pictures, washing things down etc - OH's tasks), clearing the ironing (and putting it away! ), listing a few unwanted items on ebay and facebook, taking the now full latest priced up box of items for the NNS to garage loft ready for July, playing a board game with the children and much eating of chocolate (by the children!)


Have a lovely Monday


xx

MMF007

Greent I am exhausted just reading your post!

Pavlovs - dog, result re the socks :T Although I don't talk to mine I do enjoy putting them away all neatly folded. I saw something the other day where a woman folded socks in an intricate sort of parcel so they didn't separate in the drawer.......I simply place the two flat together, fold in half heel to toe and file them with the heels upwards. Many of my socks, not that I have millions because I kondo'd them last year , have a different colour on the heels some this way it is easy to choose the appropriate pair I actually get pleasure from opening that drawer and seeing the neat row! :rotfl::rotfl: yep, read it and think what a sad life I have or, my fellow Konverts,, read it and understand! :eek:

Greenbee and GQ, I am the least artistic person ever. I have no talent and no hand eye coordination BUT, weirdly, when I completed a very easy tapestry that was to be a gift, I took it to a framers and I chose a double mount of bright colours, picking out 2 of the colours in the scene, and it worked out brilliantly, really enhanced the whole thing!

Grunnie, I waved :hello: when I passed by!

I see the weather has been very bad in parts so I hope everyone is OK.

Have a safe day Everyone,

M