KonMari 2016 - The Life Changing Magic of Tidying Up

Floss

I've found a dress agency that will take some of my excess clothes, particularly the 3 spare outfits & 3 pairs of shoes that I bought for D2's wedding so this afternoon will be having a good sort of my "occasion wardrobe"

greenbee

garden waste all cleared away. I should probably do more clearing in the garden. Or some laundry. Or possibly even some work

silvasava

Greenbee - decisions decisions

Serendipitious

GQ, you have my ongoing sympathies as you continue through this difficult time. And you have my admiration too, for a marathon job completed in record time.

I've been busy with work, shopping and family, including a run of birthdays, but have still managed to achieve some chunky sales which will leave me with more space. The joy of space is a wonderful thing! I never thought I could get so excited about a few cubic feet of emptiness... must be the kondo magic!

Everyone is doing so well, and reading everyone's progress is very motivating. DD is doing a second sift of her loft - I'll be roped in at some point soon, no doubt!

GreyQueen

:j Happy happy happy.

We have quite a quantity of worn-out household textiles (i.e not clothes) from Nan's bungalow. These are taking up a lot of room at the parental home.

None of the charity shops in their town takes textiles for ragging although several in my city do so. Think the going rate is now circa £3.50 per bin bagful. So, we took some knackered curtains with us on one of the runs to their town's HWRC and were told that only clothes could go into the textile recycling bins they have up there.

The operative was very nice about it - they're always very pleasant and helpful men - but it was a bit of nuisance as we didn't want all these kilos of textiles to be landfilled.

We came away with them and the plan was for me to drag them up to the city a bit at a time on the bus and rag them up here. Which I don't mind doing, but which lengthens the time the parental home is in a shocking muddle.

Anyway, I thought about it for a while and then thought that it couldn't be correct. Rags have value, even if only for insulation etc. But, their town isn't in the same county as the county I live in and work for, so I couldn't be 100% sure without emailing the other council.

I've just had a charming email response from someone with a fancy title and a lot of qualifications after their name, and we were mis-advised. All clean, dry textiles and shoes but not pillows and duvets (because they can't find a market for the latter).

I've just forwarded it to my Dad and suggested he print it out to have with him in case challenged when offloading textiles at their HWRC.

This is great because it will mean several large bags of things can leave sooner rather than later. I'm chuffed.

Knowledge is power. Or, at least, damned useful.

mrs-moneypenny

Good news indeed GQ always good when we can avoid putting things in the landfill and recycle them.

Fen1

I know it's been asked on the main forum, but could anyone recommend a floor/ multi-tool steamer?

I had a Vax one a couple of years ago but the handle gave way after a couple of months.

I really want something that can do my wall tiles. My whole bathroom is tiled and looks so much sparklier when steam cleaned than when rubbed down. The wall tiles take priority as the rest of the house is carpeted. Vertical cleaning is a must.


I have a thing about shiny bathrooms. The rest of the house might be a tip, but the bathroom has to gleam. Does anyone else get the "I really don't want to pee here, let alone wash my hands" in a non-sparkly bathroom?


I'm about to reread the second Bible. One reading wasn't enough; I need time to digest and ponder. I'm thinking about 2 things: does it spark joy ( obviously), and would you pay good money for this if seen on a shop shelf? The second question is a GQism and has been very, very useful. It is helping me decide much more than the 'spark joy' alone.
I think it taps into my post-poverty mindset of having to hold on to everything, just in case. Yes, I have X, but would I buy it? The answer is often a big fat Nope.

The Joy-woo plus Skinflint combo works for me. Thank you GQ.

GreyQueen

I'm a turrible skinflint, Fen1, just pushed the boat out and spent a whole 50p on a DVD from the chazzer and almost had to go lie down in a darkened room to recover from the shock.

Re sparkly tiles, I rub mine over with a microfibre cloth and plain water (after regular cleaning) and this causes sparkliness to happen in this hard water area.

I confess to liking cleanliness in a bathroom but not being troubled to an excessive degree about shininess. I do, however, cringe at stickiness in kitchens, it really makes my flesh creep.

My Dad remarked last weekend that when you're younger, and hard up, keeping a lot of things just in case you might need them seems reasonable. But, with every passing decade, the chances of you needing them in the future decreases. So you end up with your life rammed with Stuff.

My parents have been married for over 50 years and have been over 45 years in the same house. It's a small terraced home and, if possible, it would benefit from having its seams let out and some elastication to cope with the unruly amount of belongings in it.

:p:D Between crockery on hand and crockery inherited from Nan's bungalow, I think they've achieved Peak TeaSet.:rotfl:

greenbee

Does the local fete have a plate-smashing stall? If not, maybe they could have one next year?

Alternatively, you could make your candles in teacups instead of pringle tubes.

Or your parents could have a HUGE tea party and everyone gets to take their cup, saucer and plate home with them...

GreyQueen

:eek: You mean have people around one's own home?! Steady on, there's barely enough room for the family and the cats, never mind company.

The teaset situation will be rationalised in coming weeks. Mum will rehome most of them to the chazzers and will totally reorganise (i.e. get rid of) most of her own crockery to absorb a more favoured set from Nan's.