KonMari 2016 - The Life Changing Magic of Tidying Up

Serendipitious

I have no patience. Once something is meant to go, it should go. So I freegled the cupboards, and guess what, they have gone. :T:T

Now all the contents - files/box files and stacks of paper - sit in a tidy pile in the hall awaiting my action...

But at least none of this is in the bedroom, which I am reclaiming fast as a nice relaxing place to be, instead of sleeping in a clutter emporium.

It is such a joy being able to wake up and leap out of bed. It had to be a restrained and cautious sort of movement before, to avoid colliding with anything.:rotfl:

greenbee

I'm on holiday with my dad at the moment. We're staying in a friend's flat, but used to have a holiday cottage here. Quite a bit of the stuff from the cottage is in a garage - so I went in there today and removed the three boxes of books we'd kept. One is local books so we're leaving it in the flat - the friends can either use them or put them back in the garage. Some books are mine, and coming home with me. Some are being offered to my cousin who is staying in the same village at the moment, and the rest are being offered to anyone who wants some extra/different reading for their holiday cottages. We don't have time to take them over to the book exchange in the next village (and it would take several journeys as it's a 2 mile walk over the cliffs!).

Tete_en_l'Air

Serendipitious wrote: »

But at least none of this is in the bedroom, which I am reclaiming fast as a nice relaxing place to be, instead of sleeping in a clutter emporium.

It is such a joy being able to wake up and leap out of bed. It had to be a restrained and cautious sort of movement before, to avoid colliding with anything.:rotfl:

Hello all, I haven't posted in a while but I have been wombling about getting things done slowly. I then had a burst of energy on Monday (well, I have someone coming to measure for new windows so I had to do something) and have spring cleaned the whole house including the bedroom of doom, which, as above, had barely space on the floor to put your feet. It's so nice to be able to walk from one side of the room to the other!! Once I've got the windows in I can make a real start on the inside of the house, can't wait!

PollyWollyDoodle

This will, I know, be a familiar experience to many - my friend's dad has died and she and her sister need to clear the house. Fortunately it's owned not rented, as I pointed out to her she'd have to do it within a week or so otherwise! Her dad was a hoarder; five years ago when her mum died, we helped to clear the ground floor and one bedroom so that he could have a live-in carer. The spare rooms are literally packed floor to ceiling with storage boxes, as he wouldn't let them throw anything away it was all just packed up. The garage hasn't been opened for nearly 30 years, she thinks some of the built-in cupboards have been out of reach for a similar time.

Her dad was a kind man and loved his family but it's hard not to feel angry at the burden he has left them with. Friends are all pitching in to help but it's going to take months of time which she can't really afford to spend on it. Makes me come home and want to empty the cupboards!

GreyQueen

Wow, PWD, that's a big prospect to cope with, condolences to your friend on her loss.

The thing about hoarders is that they're usually lovable and loving family members. It's not that they mean to cause distress to their next of kin, it's as if the Stuff has got such a hold on them that they can't see that it's hurting them and will hurt their loved ones when the inevitable comes around.

And yes, everyone I know who has had this situation had come home and got stuck into their own piles and files, determined not to leave such a mess when their time comes.

It may be when your friend gets into the storage boxes that a lot of items will turn out to be recyclables like old magazines and newspapers and not things which need a lot of effort to rehome.

Been to work, nipped into a chazzer and got three things, two items of clothing and one small tray. The trousers are to replace a worn-out and ragged pair, and the top will probably cause another top to leave, as I want to stop excess inventory, but it was just my thing and only 50p. The long narrow plastic tray will sit on my very narrow kitchen counter to hold a few bits of fruit. I have a small wicker basket there but it's not really working out and I've been looking for something small to fill the function for a while.

The basket is very attractive but not really very useful, so I think that will have to go, because the small spaces here mean things have to have utility as well as beauty. Ne'mind, it came from a chazzer for 50p so can go back to a (different) one.

This journey makes me relaxed about letting things go, trusting that there will be enough Stuff when I need it, and that I don't have to hold onto everything which I have and may possibly need at some point in my life - that things can flow in and out of my life and that I have Enough.

This is probably very basic to a lot of people but it's huge for me.

Tete_en_l'Air

GQ that's a fab way of putting it!

So sorry for your friend Polly, I must admit it's one of my motivating factors - I always worry I'll get run over by a bus and my relatives will be shocked and disgusted by what they find lurking in my home!

I have quite a lot of furniture to get rid of and the thought of ebay keeps crossing my mind, but it seems such a hassle that I was going to just call a housing charity and get them to take it all. BUT then I thought, I don't want to get rid of it all for a few weeks, perhaps I could stick it on ebay til then and if it sells that's a bonus?

mavvymoo

Morning all
Well an update on Lolly she is doing ok and hopefully will go for her 'op' next week.Then we can let her out and hope she hangs around if not at least we know we have given her the very best start we can.

Mum cat now known as 'Lola' has turned up again she has moved her kittens under yet another shed. I think she may have lost 2 of her kittens as the 2 Black ones havent been seen in a while But I have seen the Tabby kits and they look in great condition so heres hoping the Black ones are ok and hiding well. They will have to be trapped at some point as I need Lola spayed asap ! Once the kittens are old enough to be rehomed. Trouble is I have no idea how old they are or how many kittens are here.I feel so sorry for these feral cats as they have such a tough life and their average life span is 8 years.

Now getting ready for our fete :eek: Where the time has gone I have no idea only seems 2 mins since I was talking about last years where we were raising money for the goal posts :eek:

Well behind with this one and TBH now running out of steam I hate the waiting for other people to do something and tend to find it easier just to do it myself.

So need to give myself a talking too just get on with it and then once its over 'chill' :rotfl:

Some great thought provoking posts on clearing up the mess left behind Sorry to hear your friends loss Polly.

I have an friend who is 83 and has a airing cupboard stuffed full of the most beautiful fabric a lot of it is about 100 years old. She is keeping it justin case I so wish she would give it to someone who would cherish it and love to use it to make something !!! anything just get it out of that dark cupboard where its dying in storage. I did say to her please 'set it free' to be loved and used by someone else. Think she thought I was a bit mad but its still sitting there dying in the dark

Her kids will just bin the lot of that as they will have so much else to deal with when she goes. Cupboards full of stuff,sheds full of stuff, loft full of stuff, and the list goes on



Mav x

VJsmum

Morning

had a tiny amount of inspiration re DD's stuff all over the conservatory. We have a bookcase languishing in the garage (for DD's new flat) so have put it in the conservatory and unloaded half a dozen bags onto it. It has made a small, but significant difference. i am going to get a few boxes from the supermarket today to unload more random bags into and they can stack up. Some can be stashed under her bed.

I think it might just be bearable then...

Going to put the rest of the house in order tomorrow and then, hopefully, some sense of calm will return.

Serendipitious

Feeling sorry for your friend, Polly, my ma's place took months and months to clear, the one saving grace was that a neighbour of hers worked in a c/shop so I didn't have to travel too far to donate items, she was happy to pick the bags up as they were filled. Hope your friend does not find it too traumatic, it's a horrible task.

On a lighter note, no pun intended, I appear to have kondoed 4lbs, don't know how, but I like it.

Blue_Doggy

Tete_en_l'Air wrote: »

I have quite a lot of furniture to get rid of and the thought of ebay keeps crossing my mind, but it seems such a hassle that I was going to just call a housing charity and get them to take it all. BUT then I thought, I don't want to get rid of it all for a few weeks, perhaps I could stick it on ebay til then and if it sells that's a bonus?

It could be worth trying ebay - I've sold some small bits of furniture there, including upholstered chairs which I couldn't give to charity because they had no fire safety labels. Most of the stuff I sold as "for refurbishment/projects" or "shabby chic" because it was old in the out-of-date sense rather than antique, and although I didn't get a great deal of money for it, I knew it had a chance of a new life and an extra benefit it was collected and taken away for me.

So sorry to hear about your friend's Dad, Polly. I inherited tons of my Mum's stuff (including the furniture mentioned above) and am only just crawling out from under. And determined not to leave my executors with a similar problem if I can help it.