KonMari 2016 - The Life Changing Magic of Tidying Up

Mrs_VP

I'm on holiday at the moment but will be travelling home tomorrow. I'm looking forward to getting back to my Kondoing.

Condolences GQ. Your posts about your nan have had me reminiscing about my wonderful grandparents. When/if I become a grandparent I hope that I can give my grandchildren as many wonderful memories as my grandparents gave me.

building_with_lego

VJ's mum, if you want to get rid of that Lego....

GreyQueen

Gawd, Reginald Molehusband, that takes me back.

My best ever big vehicle was a 1950s double decker. It was only about 7.5 ft wide but the extra height was a bit of a number. One evening, we got stuck in Luton, kept coming onto bridges we couldn't get under and having to reverse. Whilst running very low on diesel.:eek:

When we eventually escaped suburbia, we were critically low on fuel and had to go into the first fuel station we could find. We normally tried to use one with lorry pumps but beggars couldn't be choosers so with four outwalkers and yours truly inching 'er along, we crept under the canopy with inches to spare............. I can still see the gaffer almost wringing his hands with anxiety as he sweated about us demolishing the roof of his petrol station.

Then there was the time with a blown head gasket at South Mimms services (the truckers' side). Oh dearie me, life on the road ...... We got the AA to come out to it once by telling them it was a camper van. Which it was - sort of. I think they revoked our membership after that.

Dammit I miss that bus, it's a pile of spare parts in a bus museum these days, but I have some happy memories. Top speed downhill with a following wind was a whole 35 mph.:D:D

One time I was manoevering it in a very tight area with an HGV driver as an audience. Parked and got out, and he asked me with considerable respect Does that thing have power steering?

GQ (very nonchalantly); Hun, it doesn't even have syncromesh!

MMF007

Ya see, you should have a blog GQ so we can all be entertained by tales of daring -do!

I actually have a bit of a knack of being able to start reluctant vehicles, it's been passed down from my grandad who was, wait for it, a used car dealer! Something in the genes I reckon. He started his working life as an apprentice mechanic, flew as a test pilot in the second world war after building a few planes, and eventually had his own repairs and sales garage. He had many repeat customers and absolutely adored fixing cars. I don't think he thought of it as work! My gran had to do the book keeping, as well as collecting any spares from suppliers, so drving and cars featured a lot in my youth. Anyway, I digress. Sorry.

Kondo'd another 1lb weight

Took a couple of books to CS but bought another one at a well known high street bookseller using a birthday voucher (not sure I have really grasped the idea of the kindle!)

Had a good tidy round before dinner but still have to mop kitchen floor and vac upstairs,
tomorrow!

Housework, which I am happy to do, is much easier and quicker these days of course!

Also spoke to friend to arrange to take her to lunch week after next. There are a few jobs she needs a hand with re clearing some of her late husband's things out. She seems to be coping and has always been an organised person but is physically a little frail so I have offered to lift n shift.

M

GreyQueen

Ahh, happy memories of that bus. I lost track of it about 20 years ago (didn't own it) and thought to track it down over the 'net. An exchange of emails with an enthusiast revealed its whereabouts and that it's sadly in bits being used to repair other old buses. I had hopes mebbe it had been restored and was somewhere I could go visit it............

But they can never take the memories! We used to get followed around by the Polis as it was the height of the new age traveller paronoia. GQ, part of the stripy handknit jumper tribe. Such fun.

Some more yarn came to light in the bungalow, including several balls of the same colour. Mum and I have each started a handknit hat from a pattern in Nan's knitting basket. I shall make big fat pom-poms for each and we will donate to charity. Should bring joy to someone, and will bring joy to me, I love making yarn pom-poms, have done ever since I was a nipper. I think if Nan could be looking on, she'd approve.

mavvymoo

Morning all sorry I have been awol but have had an awful few weeks and internet problems to boot.

GQ I am sorry to hear about your Nan.

I will be back again later to catch up with what you have all been doing as I havent been able to until now

So until later

Mav x

Pooky

Friends move didn't go to plan yesterday. They arrived at the new house only to find the current occupiers hadn't packed or started to load a rather inadequate van. We were due to meet them there to feed the troops and I was a fresh pair of arms and legs to help unload.....instead I organised everyone into a chain gang and we emptied the entire contents of the house onto the front drive and garden - it took 8 of us 4 hours of constant shifting......no it probably wasn't the nicest thing to do but monies had changed hands, the house was legally required to be empty so empty we made it. Within an hour of being empty we had beds in the right rooms, put together and made up, sofas in the correct room (admittedly with a lot of other stuff around them) and the garage full of boxes ready to start on today.

The outgoing people were not best pleased to see all their stuff outside and faffed about wondering what they'd like to take first. I left at 6pm, they'd only managed to take 2 loads by then and they still had 3 bedrooms worth of furniture, sofas, 4 bikes, tables, chairs, white goods and all their garage stuff to shift. I doubt they finished before the early hours of this morning. Their excuse......I didn't realise we had so much stuff.......there was a pile of back issues of the n*xt catalogue, they were considered worthy of going in the van before piles of washing and open draws of underwear...... astonishing.

I was very glad to come home to my tidy home where everything has a place.

greenbee

Underestimating the time and space needed for a move seems to be fairly common Pooky. My vendors just about managed it last time, although they left the house filthy. I had, however, made clear that if there was stuff in the house or they weren't out when I got there that I'd be reversing the payment as i've had it happen to me before. No vacant possession, no completion...

Apparently they only left minutes before I arrived. I spent a week cleaning (staying at a friend's house while my stuff was in storage, having put it there a few days early to clean my old place) having had my suspicions about what it would be like.

House has been a state since work travel kicked off last month. I haven't been home much this year, and when I have the builders have been here. I really do need to get it sorted as it looks like I have a couple of months free of work travel. Plus I have family here this weekend and next, and don't really want them to see the chaos I generally live in.

Working is also easier when my environment is clear and uncluttered. And cleaning is easier when things are tidy...

Karmacat

Plus one to the underestimating - but it was the professional movers I hired that did it, honest! They said I needed one Luton van, I ended up needing two. Astonishing! These days, my KMing is going so well, I *would* only need one

Am accidentally KMing my craft stash yesterday evening and today - no wonder I haven't used it, its all over the place ... oops.

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MMF007

Oh Mavvy, sorry to hear you've had a bad time. Sendng (((((0))))))), in case that can help any.

M