KonMari 2016 - The Life Changing Magic of Tidying Up

GreyQueen

Floss wrote: »

:rotfl: It was the WRVS ladies hospital china where I grew up, and apparently was in use on the tea trolley when my dad joined the civil service in 1974!

It was ubiquitous, wasn't it? I don't know if it was only sold in the UK, and what mila might be making of these Britishers waffling on about obscure stuff: http://thevintagekitchenstore.co.uk/en/woods-ware/145-ber.html

That's 'my' teapot! Except mine is Iris colourway and not the Beryl.

ETA maryb, I like that idea, I don't have a digital camera but Mum does, I'll see if I can capture the teaset before it's rehomed so I can enjoy the warm & fuzzies. I've got a desktop of a random maine coon cat which is a dead ringer for Wild Thing (a mongrel mog of dubious parentage and eccentric habits).

Fen1

I'm trying to find a photo. No luck. I think the utter hideousness would break the Net so no one will dare post it.
I think it may be the porcelain picture of Dorian Gray.


GQ, I too am trying not to confuse memories and momentos. Not everyone gets it.

The screen saver idea is lovely.

GreyQueen

The memories/ mementoes thing is difficult.

It starts innocently when you take some crocks or trinkets or pictures from someone's leftover chattels as mementoes. Not that you're in danger of forgetting your relation or your friend or your late spouse or whomever, but it's what everyone does, right?

Then, this inaminate object becomes elevated above the mere pottery/ glass/ paint/ wood/ metal of its construction and becomes a Sacred Object which is like a fetish, in that it embodies all of the love/ sadness/ regret about that person.

Once it has this Sacred Object status, you can never dispose of it without feeling as if you've killed the memory of that person. And, even if you manage to work your way past that emotion, others in your circle may be aghast at you daring to part with great-grandmama's anti-macassars or whatever.

But, all things are dust, and the Sacred Object will decay over time. It might rot, or get broken or even be stolen. And then you will weep and wail because they've stolen Grandma, or whomever you are memorialising in this object.

My recently-deceased Nan was a beloved person. She was not an armchair, or a set of crockery, or a picture or a knick-knack. I have a few things from her home which I am going to use. Like her microwave and a pair of warm gloves which are in my coat pocket right now. And her standard lamp and her CD player will be coming up from the hometown in the next few weeks.

I have fifty years of happy memories and some photos, and the marigolds and beans which grow on my allotment (saved seeds from her garden).

It's enough, and to spare.

MMF007

We went to the Denby factory shop when we set up home together and I picked through all the seconds and bought an entire dinner service and 6 mugs, a teapot (selected piece by piece), 4 gratin dishes that were same design but they were changing the shape so they were half price, a lovely serving platter, a massive fruit bowl and 6 'first quality' dinner plates to complete the set. Ooh, I forgot, we also got 4 pasta / salad dishes (also seconds!).

We spent so much that we couldn't have a week on holiday that year!

The pattern was called 'Energy - leaf'. We use it everyday*. I still love it :D:D
* it is helping my weight loss programme as well...... my portion control uses the gratin dish for my dinner. A small portion looks loads when it fills this dish, whereas it would look skimpy on a breakfast plate! :rotfl:

Today DH has kondo'd lots of xmas presents. He's been wrapping the gifts for his bro and the kids because he will see him at the weekend and we may not see him again til after xmas.

I kondo nearly 2 hours in a shoe shop whilst my elderly neighbour was trying to choose new shoes. This lady is notorious for her indecision and pickyness. I must admit it felt like I was in the shop for about a decade but eventually she bought 2 pairs, total cost £39.50 :rotfl: Oh, and she spent 20 minutes dithering about knickers in Sainsbobs! Anyhoo, I was paid for my time so all is good.

mrs-moneypenny

I remember the pale green school crockery that seemed to grace every staffroom through my years at school. There are a few pieces languishing in the back of our cupboards in the staffroom. It was classic style plain green with some indented bands around each, then of course there were the school glass drinking tumblers with the same indented bands around them (squat little tumblers they were, almost indestructible but exploded if they hit the canteen floor right, we children were actually allowed to use them)
My best friend collected eternal beau crockery and had every piece imaginable, including the matching oven gloves napkins and tea towels that were of course saved for best!

Gq your post about your grans memory not being in a trinket or keepsake is wonderful and so true. It took my Dh 5 years to realise he was not desecrating his late fathers memory by letting go the broken lawnmower that resided in our shed.
I've got a beautiful handblown engraved glass water jug that was a wedding present of my gt grandparents it is too fragile to use but brings me great joy because of what it is and how it looks, the memory of the tiny sparrowlike gt gran with Pompom slippers, a faded paisley apron and soft grey hair in a bun and my gt grandad in his faded collarless shirts, leather waistcoat and tortoise shell glasses will never leave me. I can shut my eyes and see them both clearly and they passed when I was at infant school. We always called them granny and grandad in the room as they lived over the road in the same house as my gran (mums mum) and various aunts and uncles. I would be sad if the jug broke as its is a lovely ornament but it is not a memory.

GreyQueen

You've more patience than me, MMF. Even if I was on the payroll I would've been getting antsy with all that.

I've been accused of shopping like a bloke many a time. Women voice this opinion disapprovingly, men approvingly.

Shopping can be done a bit like an armed raid, if you're determined and easily bored. Get in, get the stuff, throw money at the till and get out of there.

mrs moneypenny, my bestie from school collected Eternal Beau, too. Everything matchy matchy including the tea/coffee/ sugar canisters and breadbin. Used to bore me witless.

In my school in the 1970s we had squat tumblers with curved-in bases and a band around them about an inch down from the rim. I think they said something like ARCO France on the bottom, but I haven't seen one for 40 years.

If you pitched them just so, you could bowl them across the parquet floor of the dining hall. Or so I'm told, not that I'd ever have done anything of that nature...........

greenbee

Eternal Beau was another one that was 'donated' for us to use as students... think that went to the CS too

mrs-moneypenny

They are the ones GQ, I knew they had something French written on them and yes my friend also had the breadbin and canisters. She had a whole sideboard specially for storing it in all year, the tureens and serving bowls wereallowed out at Christmas as I remember. Lol

GreyQueen

mrs-moneypenny wrote: »

They are the ones GQ, I knew they had something French written on them and yes my friend also had the breadbin and canisters. She had a whole sideboard specially for storing it in all year, the tureen sand serving bowls wereallowed out at Christmas as I remember. Lol

Mine had the placemats, the kettle, the teapots, the oven mitts.........

She was a nice girl but rather conventional. We drifted apart decades ago, I don't think my semi-nomadic boho lifestyle quite matched her suburban eternal beau-i-ness. She comes to mind affectionately whenever I encounter that china in a charity shop.

MMF007

Yes indeed, GQ, there was a bit of this :wall::doh::huh:
and a few rolly eyes!

I am a bit of a hit n run shopper too. I do sometimes check out websites first, to aid planning, but very rarely buy cllthes online, I then enter shop, do a quick scan, zero in, select from the limited number of items of suitable style/size, maybe try on, pay, exit stage left.

However, selecting an outfit for my luncheon outing yesteday made me realise I need to target a few specifics to cover gaps in my wardrobe so perhaps I shall have to concentrate better next time :rotfl: I ALWAYS clothes shop on my own. Cannot be bothered with company when I just want to concentrate on singling out one or two pieces