KonMari 2016 - The Life Changing Magic of Tidying Up

GreyQueen

Afternoon, all.

Been up since six (and fed the chicks )and went out to a car boot sale. Got some fruit and veg and two small things off the wants list. There were very many things I liked at excellent value for money, but I had no need for them and no space to put them, do stayed my hand.

Tomorrow, me and Kid Bruv are going on an outing to a Castle. He thinks he may have gone there once before on a school trip, I have never been, so it should be good. The entrance fee will be paid for from the few euros I cashed in.

I did think about bringing my camera with me (a film camera) then dismissed the idea. I know from experience how it would be;

1. Several pix of Castle, from various angles, all less good shots than the postcard pictures for sale for pence in Ye Olde Castle Gifte Shoppe.

2. Picture(s) of Kid Bruv with bits of Castle in background.

3. Picture(s) of me plus bits of Castle.

4. Picture (lop-sided) of us both plus Castle taken by some passing stranger totally unused to using a film camera.

5. Long distance artistic shot of Castle silhoutted against the westering sun. Which will involve me precariously balanced on a wall somewhere a mile away and make us late home for supper.

All of which will be followed by paying good money to have the film developed. I will then trash about half of the prints as too poor and album the rest, which I will never look at and then kondo at some future point.

I decided to cut out all of the above stages by just not taking the camera. I shall remember I am there, Kid Bruv will remember he was there, and that's enough already.

The parental units are out this afternoon visiting, so I took advantage of the peace to de-kippleise parts of the wall unit in their sitting room. This is seriously OMG territory.

At one point a whole section of books fell on me (birding and cookbooks and french dictionaries). Don Aslett's Freedom From Clutter also fell, but missed me. Proving irony isn't yet dead.

I also found a lot of old video tapes with progs on them, including an episode of The Hoarder Next Door from 2012. Mum and I watched it before they went out.

I also found five of those yellow dusters in a 3 ft wide area. And an awful lot of dust. Strange how they won't work without supervision, hey?:rotfl::rotfl::rotfl:

tibawo

Can't quite believe that it is coming up to 5pm already as I've not stopped but don't seem to hve done half as much as usual, even uniforms aren't ready yet!


Anyway, here's my 100 min things to bring me up to date


50 photos
3 albums, decanted and have thrown obvious scenery ones away!
custard and face pack from fridge - binned
one book used up for book art for DD craft fair
tub emptied that DD dumped in my room consisting of x2 frames, mug, bracelet, x3 half used sprays,
10 more pencils straight to tub for Brownies [17]
15 calvin and h books to car boot [booked for one at local church on 22/10]
3 empty toilet rolls and 2 empty conditioner bottles
5 more odd socks that did not find partners and all the washing/drying is done
2 salad servers, been in drawer for 9+ years and never used!


Phew!

PollyWollyDoodle

GQ, you're so right - I have pretty much stopped taking photos. When I look through the ones on my computer, which I'm still slowly Kondoing, there are any number like the ones you describe that are never going to be seen by anyone else. I have deleted numerous shots from friends' 40th and 50th parties - a couple to show that we all did fancy dress and that there was a fabulous cake, I don't need thirty blurred pix of people dancing to the band. I know I was there, we all had a good time and the interesting stuff (friend getting very drunk and misbehaving, and various other things) is not recorded!

Serendipitious

Following the rubbish/recycling allocations, DD had enough space in her garage to really get to grips with the remainder. First stage was a salvage operation - looking at unopened/unused packages and returning to suppliers. This resulted in £83 in refunds, plus £41 in credit notes and giftcards.

Next stage is to consider whether any partially used things can be sold eg rolls of cabling wiht loads left on them, then, after that, the freecyclers can have their way with the rest.

This is of course, not actually my kondo, but today is a work day so I have had to enjoy these kondo successes from a distance. Very proud of her.

GreyQueen

Great work, Serendipitious. Nice when kondo-ing means ££ gained as well as lbs lost.

Mum is delighted with the strip of wall unit beside her chair which I have cleared. There is space for her coffee mug, the remote control and for the book she has been reading. I also found half a dozen paperback novels (or, more truthfully, they landed on my head in the book-slide ) which she hasn't read, so I have lined them up neatly for her to read and then they'll leave via the chazzer.

She is now sitting in the recliner resting with help from The Queen of Sheba. Dad was trying to read the newspaper outside but kept being pestered for attention by the other cat, Wild Thing. WT won't be coming indoors until about Nov-Dec, she spends 9 months of the year Out, but she's over-friendly if you are also Out.

You'd never credit that they're from the same litter. We think WT must have been dropped on her head as a kitten, she's a trifle odd, but very cute with it.:rotfl:

Igamogam

Your post Polly reminded me so much of when I was growing up too - school uniform was always bought too big and hemmed!!

Soap box moment....... You have been warned!!

PollyWollyDoodle wrote: »

When did we start needing so much?

When somebody started telling us we had to have it.When producers and consumers realised delayed gratification could be side stepped and the 'flexible friend' became universal and no longer was saving for something the thing to do. When advertising became big business. When built in obsolescence became almost a design feature! When cheap meant throw away. When plugs became integral. When 'I want it' became the way to accumulate possessions/stuff/things based on being influenced by the notion it will make you better brighter bigger whatever..........wowzers I could go on. I had a trip to recycle centre today and I am always amazed and annoyed at what people throw away - we where there with stuff that is broken beyond repair - REPAIR such an alien word these days:mad:

I saw bikes pushchairs, perfectly good golf clubs/chairs/garden tools etc etc just being dumped. Cars laden with stuff and a 20 minute wait in the queue to access the site....always like that whenever you go. People just need to stop buying more of what they already have, buy fewer things they really dont need and maybe just take care of it a little better!!

Right a few more things freecycled. Something on FB to sell. Dinner and bath before Poldark - my weekend is over!!


GQ - maybe its time to KM the camera!!!!????:rotfl:

short_bird

Where was I with the Mins game??
63.
OK, 1 large envelopes of receipts back to their owner.
1 craft project finished; patchwork cushion well received by the new owner
2 books to sale pile.
4 recordings off the computer
71 for me.
But it didn't stop when I was away visiting...
12 items kondoed from friend's fridge to bin.:eek:
6 items kondoed into 2 meals from friend's freezer.

Serendipitious

Igamogam wrote: »

Your post Polly reminded me so much of when I was growing up too - school uniform was always bought too big and hemmed!!

Yes, my gymslip age 11 was bought with the 15 yr old me in mind. I don't know what it was made of but it was scratchy and itchy, impossible to hem because of the pleats, and never ever softened in the wash. I looked a nightmare.

Thing was, I never actually grew into the darn thing. Well, I grew, but by my third year there was a uniform policy change and we could all wear skirts. Took some persuading but I got a skirt. Straight skirt with a one inch waistband and again bought too long, but by then it was the mid 60s so we all without exception rolled them up at the waist as far as we dared. And rolled the waistband down again if the Head Mistress came in sight, else she'd assess how high it was above the knee and write letters home. :eek:

GreyQueen

I have a ticky-tacky little plastic film camera which looks like it fell out of a cracker. Actually, it fell out of argossy. I have resisted buying a digital camera. Nor have I bothered to learn how to use the camera on my mobile phone, literally have no interest in reading the effing manual.

When I was an art student, I was a middling-talented photographer and did photography as a second subject, including learning a lot of things which digital photography has rendered obsolete, like darkroom skills.

Somehow, over the years, I lost interest in capturing images. It's partly a level of annoyance at a world of posterity perverts, a gadzillion and one people who cannot just LIVE in real time, they must be recording everything, all the time. Including their flippjng dinner.

I feel if I see one more pic of people with their heads shoved together and their lips pouting like overgrown babies, I might just take a selfie stick and shove it where the sun don't shine.:rotfl:

Excuse my grumpiness, I am a middle-aged person and getting more Victorina Meldrew with every passing month.

Soo, we shall got to the Castle and look at everything really hard. The outside bits and the inside bits, the view from the top, and the details. I will read the information boards, look at the exhibits and may even Ask Questions if there is some kind of guide.

Me being me, the questions will be rather mischievous, such as asking the way to the oubliette (I love a dungeon tour). I shall also look at the view across the countryside from the battlements and towers and lodge everything in my memory. I may even borrow a library book about the Castle afterwards.

And then I shall go away without buying any souvenir tatt from the Gifte Shoppe. I have a particular loathing for Shoppes and Fayres and think this level of tweeness ought to be rewarded with extra business rates and/ or capital punishment.:rotfl:

greenbee

Am I right in thinking that your family have the pleasure of your company for a whole week GQ? Good luck

Am away for work. Have brought my food for the next two days with me as I had lots of salad left and want to try to avoid hotel food.

Have just changed rooms as I was in a wheelchair accessible room, and the make-up mirror and basin were at waist height, which really wasn't helpful. I now have an upgrade and a slightly better view of other hotel rooms. And a mirror I will be able to use to do my makeup tomorrow.

However, I really do need to decide what I'm going to talk about tomorrow. I probably should have worked this out weeks ago - but everyone else is just relieved that my slides are done. I finished them on Friday. The deadline was a month ago...