KonMari 2016 - The Life Changing Magic of Tidying Up

Karmacat

Woah, Prince died? I'll hop off to find out more in a minute

Just spent a freaky hour, though, and I *had* to come onto this thread, you're the only ones that will understand. Related to something flubberyzing just mentioned, about a cleaning product 5 years old.

I've been in this house for 6.5 years now, and the understairs cupboard, although its very tidy, everything boxed and labelled, is chocker, and it kind of smells of damp. I *think* thats because the external wall at the far side of it got damp in the bad rains a few years ago. But all the boxes in there are cardboard. And some are mouldy, and some of them smell. Usually the contents have been safe, but sometimes not. In 40 minutes, amid some chaotic phone calls about a minor family thing, I saw to 3 boxes! Plus a really old box of Monopoly - stained and smelly beyond saving, but the board, and all the cards and paper money, they're fine.

Astonishing evening. Absolutely astonishing. There's suddenly enough room in there for my (practically non-working) vacuum cleaner, which frees up my office.

The woo strikes again!

Serendipitious

PollyWollyDoodle wrote: »

GQ, someone on here posted about using one of those collapsible plastic crates for wet washing, which I thought was a brilliant idea.

I have a washing basket. It used to live in the bedroom, usually full of ironing that never got done, clothes that needed mending etc. Clearing it was a major achievement but now it lives in the wardrobe and I never remember to bring it down, so I just carry wet washing up the garden in armfuls. I think it's time it went, but it's useful at Christmas for transporting presents!

Dirty washing goes in a large duffel bag made of plasticy fabric. My sister and I saw these on a trip to Paris, and we each bought one and we're still using them. Er - that was in 1980! :rotfl: it's still joyful to me though.

I also have two of these collapsible crates - they are kept alongside the washing machine, they fit nicely folded up in the gap between the machine and the cupboard. Never see them or think about them till it's time to unload the washer, then they go straight back again afterwards.

My de-clutter is on a bit of a go-slow, so nipped on here for some inspiration. You're all doing so well.

Slinky

Serendipitious wrote: »

I also have two of these collapsible crates - they are kept alongside the washing machine, they fit nicely folded up in the gap between the machine and the cupboard. Never see them or think about them till it's time to unload the washer, then they go straight back again afterwards.

My de-clutter is on a bit of a go-slow, so nipped on here for some inspiration. You're all doing so well.

That reminds me of when I had the kitchen fitters make me a removal piece of plinth complete with a handhold right at the top, so I could store a collapsible crate below the sink. The gap in the cupboard run between the washing machine and the dishwasher was just the right size!

mavvymoo

Morning all
Went out yesterday to do a bit of shopping. Found my worse nightmare :eek: It was a secondhand /junk/ carp shop.

There was so much stuff in there I could only stand in the doorway with a look of horror on my face.Piled floor to ceiling with boxes and boxes of rubbish spilling out of the boxes with a tiny walk way around the shop..Even the pavement bit outside had about a million boxes piled up everywhere :eek:

As I stood in the doorway I said to DH I cant go in here its just my worse nightmare The owner (worker) said whats the problem? I said to him 'there is just so much stuff in here' I cant stand it. Then I said how the hell do you know whats here ? He said well we put it there. So I said if I wanted to buy a red mug would you know where it is ? No he said you would have to look :rotfl:
Pointless in my book no wonder there was not one other customer in the 'shop' and I say that lightly

Come out of the doorway and into the Sunshine and breathed a sigh of relief

Mav x

mrs-moneypenny

Sounds horrendous Mavvy.

Morning all
Hope everyone is well.
Got loads more shredding to do, I've bought it down out of the attic but won't be able to finish it now till tonight as I'm busy all day.
Grow bag trays were delivered yesterday I know it's stuff but they are useful and will bring me joy in the form of a hopefully increased tomato crop.

oceanspirit

MMF007 - am loving how you sound so much happier since your change in work .

Mavvy, the shop sounds horrendously claustrophobic. There's no way I could enter a place like that now.

Am loving my tidy bedroom and plan to keep it that way. Still have way too many clothes and have a full storage box in the office as well as drawers and wardrobe full. Will do another big kondo session in a couple of months time - am on a shrinkage mission at the moment so once am back down to normal size, will be able to focus better.

Did get rid of an unusable swimming costume yesterday, OH took another box to CS last week and new handbag is sparking joy.

Am ready to have another blitz on the office over the next few days. Although I love the space created by getting rid of things, I also find it a bit scary if too much space appears at once, :rotfl:.

ScotinLondon

Serendipitious wrote: »

I also have two of these collapsible crates - they are kept alongside the washing machine, they fit nicely folded up in the gap between the machine and the cupboard. Never see them or think about them till it's time to unload the washer, then they go straight back again afterwards.

My de-clutter is on a bit of a go-slow, so nipped on here for some inspiration. You're all doing so well.

We also have a couple of collapsible crates - one with wheels, which i take when going shopping, if it is too busy to take the car and the other we use when we go on holiday.
They both have come in very handy.

RIP about Prince....what is going on this year!

Hope all OK on this cold and windy day - well in London anyway.
SIL

GreyQueen

Afternoon all.

Have been out grafting all day and feeling rather pooped but had had a LBM about an item in my bike shed last night, so have just got hold of that and stuck it on freegle. Isn't a huge item in terms of space it occupies, hence it surviving previous culls, but it does weigh quite a lot and would be a PITA if it fell off the shelf and damaged something on the way down or when I have to move and had to heft it on and off a van.

It is something I was given which I might have used. It is useful and I expect a freegler will want it. I have no real difficulties with decorative junk, but have had great problems with might-be-useful-but-haven't-actually-ever-used-it items. Reckon I have owned this the best part of 20 years and if I haven't used it yet, am not likely to use it in future.

And if I really really did ever want another one, they're sub-£10.

Mavvymoo, can't agree with you more about junk shops, they give me the w*llies. I remember staying in a B & B in the Peak District with the folks a few years ago. It was an interesting old building but the proprietress had gone overboard with leaving ornamental objects on every possible surface, inc the exposed internal beams. I guess the idea was to make it homely and welcoming.

I recall sitting at the breakfast table watching the Stuff out of the corners of my eyes and feeling very oppressed by it all.

Fen1

OK. Time to confess one of my problems.

I go food shopping. Enough for the week. I bring in all the fridge/freezer stuff and put it away.
The rest might stay in the boot overnight then make its way into the living room where it will sit for days in numerous bags.

There is a pile in front of me right now.

When I lived in town and could shop on a daily basis the bag build up didn't occur. Fewer bags to deal with.

I also have a bad back, so shopping and lugging the shopping in is a serious undertaking. One of the 'reasons' that the perishables get sorted, but the rest dumped , is I'm just too tired and in pain to deal with it all at the same time.

BUT having the shopping sitting there for days is daft. There is a corned-beef elephant in the room.

I could do a bag at a time, each time I go past. Job done. So why am I not doing that? Cannot be bothered? Don't care? Plain lazy? ( which I entirely believe as I'm a lazy so-and-so at heart)

I know that my depression/exhaustion/pain are major factors. I feel overwhelmed by a few bags of shopping.

It's all a bit cr*p.

GreyQueen

Umm, I have done that thing with the shopping bags on the living room floor many a time. And, shamefully, I have even accidentally left perishables in those bags from time to time and wasted them.

I don't know if you live alone, in a couple or are shopping for a whole family, but it would have a bearing on how much stuff you have to cart around to know which. Are there other household members who could be persuaded to help put the shopping away?

Is it also possible that you are over-shopping out of anxiety or because you haven't really understood how much stuff there is already in the fridge, the freezer and the cupboards? I find I don't actually need to buy that much food week-to-week as a singleton because there are limits on how much I can eat anyway.

Sometimes, I trick myself around this by leaving the bag(s) on the kitchen floor where they are under my feet and very much more likely to be unpacked in a hurry than if left on the living-room floor.

In slightly-less than one hour, my freegle offering has found a taker and should leave early next week, exact details tbc. Yippee!