KonMari 2016 - The Life Changing Magic of Tidying Up

Serendipitious

Karmacat wrote: »

GQ, you and SG really are stars. I was reading this article this morning, about the way neighbours can really bring an area back from the brink (Birkenhead was the next-door-town for me when I was growing up): https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2016/aug/30/life-after-community-death-food-bank-lesson-labour I think that, or things like it, happen much more than we realise.

Reading this article makes me want to visit and donate. A truly worthy initiative, changing many lives. Well done them.

Took a look at Ziffit and I am on £15+ so far but I am not concluding business just yet as I need to get a strong box...

I will go to my little Boots for that, as they get heavy bottles of stuff delivered in very strong boxes and are always glad to get an empty box out of the way! (Handy tip for anyone moving, btw, as they are perfect for crockery and glassware.)

I now also have a bag of DVDs which Ziffit rejected as 'not required just now.' So if Music Magpie doesn't want them later, they'll be off to the c/shop asap.

This little lot will see a chunky kondo done.

ETA And the c/shop it is, MM only got up to 1.90 and their minimum is £5, then I tried adding one that Ziffit had put in at 3.90 (!) but MM is only offering 2.50 for that one, so no point in trying to achieve the minimum by juggling ...

smeeth

Re DVDS: MM had a few they didn't want of mine.. I just put them in the box anyway to save me time in taking them anywhere. :shhh:

GreyQueen

Karmacat wrote: »

GQ, you and SG really are stars. I was reading this article this morning, about the way neighbours can really bring an area back from the brink (Birkenhead was the next-door-town for me when I was growing up): https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2016/aug/30/life-after-community-death-food-bank-lesson-labour I think that, or things like it, happen much more than we realise.

:T Wow, that is so inspiring, I would love to shake their hands. And weed their flowerbeds or wash the community cafe dishes. It often frustrates me that I have to do paid work and have ME so cannot contribute very much to the community in terms of service.

One thing I did see in Mum's workshop shed - and I have no idea why she has one - is one of those litter grabber thingies. I was contemplating asking her if I could have it, for the occasional litter-picking session, but didn't. I will next time.

I often womble stray bottles and cans which I find on the cycle path and sling them into the communal recycling bins and have gone walking with Dad in the woods near them and come back with a couple of carrier bags of empty beer tins. I'm a bit of a one for intervening in littering situations and once spent about 20 minutes unwrapping a hawthorn tree which had been tangled up in a long streamer of plastic. Terribly fiddly but pleasing to see it liberated from the trash.

And yes, grrr to those lovely peeps who hang dog poo in bags in the trees and hedges. Some of them even do it in the cemetary here, the cemetary which their dogs are not even allowed to be in. So disrespectful.

SG tells me she had 5 already towels and my wombling makes 6. She has given 2 away thus far and will be doling the others around carefully, giving consideration to those who have the least. This is a very poor ward and most of my neighbours aren't in work, many too poorly to earn a living. We'll get there in the end. There is a good spirit and one guy who has a sack trolley but can't use it himself regularly loans it out to others.

It's not an uncommon thing to have a knock on your door and be asked to help move an appliance or a piece of furniture which has been dumped to someone who wants it for themselves.

I toddled down to the chazzer after work with a bag of donations and a bag of rags, labelled and separated. Will be taking some more over the next few days, my flat always has a lump of Stuff like a snake which has eaten an antelope, after I've been to the folks' place.:rotfl:

iamsalt

De lurking to say, we litter pick our village regularly, especially since a few of us discovered we have the same feelings on litter.

I found a carrier bag one Autumn day which felt heavier than usual, so I looked twice and a baby hedgehog had got it caught on its spines and couldn't uncurl. I work in nature conservation so took it home and carefully cut him out, I didn't hold out much hope for him, but after a few minutes in a box he emerged and I was able to feed him and nurse him through the winter...he was too small to hibernate. He still snuffles round from time to time to say thanks!
Every time I collect rubbish I think of the little hedgehog who survived because of my annoyance of litter.

Keep up the good work everyone.

Ps you have been inspiration to me and I have started very slowly kondoing

loocyloo

I was at my mums at the weekend and managed to sort a pile of stuff for the charity shop. I ended up bringing some bits home with me ... but re-sorted stuff today, and have a bag to take to charity shop!


REALLY need to do airing cupboard and old bedlinen/towels! But as soon as I say CS, DH puts them in a bag for the workshop ... H currently has at least 4 binbags FULL of 'rags' that I know don't/won't get used!

Siebrie

I got through two days of working from home, with dds playing around me. Never again! I was at my desk for about six hours, but I have finished only about three hours, and have to come in a full day tomorrow to compensate. Normally, Wednesday is my parental leave day. DH had forgotten to ask these days off, as it is still school vacation, but no longer any organised care available. He knows I was not happy that he forgot He did get Wednesday off so I could work and not have to ask a vacation day. Too bad we cannot give each other our vacation days . DH will have to take dd1 to math tutoring, which I think will benefit both; dh likes to leave that kind of thing to me.

Next on the list: dd1 birthday party this Saturday, which we will celebrate at home with six girls from her class. We have made a piñata, I have bought cheap candy in my hometown, have part of the programme and some ideas.

What has all this to do with kondoing? Well, just that there is so much going on in my mind, that I don't have time or energy to decide if something sparks joy. It all seems a nuisance to me at the moment . I'd kondo family life and work this week, if it was solely up to me.

Karmacat

Charly27 wrote: »

Karmacat thanks for posting this, sad to hear as this is where I was born only a little more than half a century ago. I still have family in Wallasey. Be the change you want to see in action. If we waited for someone else to do it it just wouldn't happen. Wonder if they'll be 'honoured'?

You're very welcome - but I'm really scared I may finally have met someone else who lived in Wallasey on here it's going to be even weirder if you went to the High School/Weatherhead. At least I'm older than you, so I *know* you weren't in my class :rotfl:

Siebrie wrote: »

I got through two days of working from home, with dds playing around me. Never again!
.......
What has all this to do with kondoing? Well, just that there is so much going on in my mind, that I don't have time or energy to decide if something sparks joy. It all seems a nuisance to me at the moment . I'd kondo family life and work this week, if it was solely up to me.

Oh Siebrie, you sound at your wits' end though I can't blame you for wanting to kondo work. Never mind about sparking joy, anything nice you can do for yourself this evening, a cool bath perhaps?

SaveSave

GreyQueen

Morning all.

Hey, you recall I mentioned Mum and I sorted out and paired a lot of socks a couple of days ago? It was getting a bit muddled and time consuming until I intervened by sorting them roughly into colour, then into pattern within colour and then it went rapidly.

And there's even a name for this kind of sorting! Check out this linkie: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-3765364/How-sort-socks-using-SCIENCE-Mundane-chore-sped-algorithm-say-researchers.html

I wonder how many other kinds of items we can sort, as part of kondo-ing, using this method?

Serendipitious

GQ you are an algorithm in action.

My socks are all black cotton-rich bought in 5pr packs which should make it easy, but like the article says, they fade at different rates so it becomes a matter of pairing according to shade.

Incidentally two years ago I discovered that Sainsbugs Basics have a higher cotton content than the cotton-rich variety at Emm and Ess. Don't know if it's the same now but worth checking out. :money:

Charly27

loocyloo wrote: »

I was at my mums at the weekend and managed to sort a pile of stuff for the charity shop. I ended up bringing some bits home with me ... but re-sorted stuff today, and have a bag to take to charity shop!


REALLY need to do airing cupboard and old bedlinen/towels! But as soon as I say CS, DH puts them in a bag for the workshop ... H currently has at least 4 binbags FULL of 'rags' that I know don't/won't get used!

I can so relate to this loocyloo how many bags of rags does one person need?:A