KonMari 2016 - The Life Changing Magic of Tidying Up

LizzieR

So it's been about 18 months since I last posted.... Stuff seems to have managed to pile up in the interim, so last week I decided it was finally time to continue my Kondoing journey! Can't remember why I stopped exactly, I think it was something to do with an asthma attack and feeling rubbish for a few weeks after that, then spending lots of time at the allotment... After a while I just fell of the Kondo wagon and abandoned myself to the clutter

However, I have been busy in that time - managed to Kondo just over 4 stone in the last year (plenty more to go yet though!), get really into walking and raise over £700 for CRUK by doing a 26.5 mile hike a few weeks ago - many hours of training to achieve that, and am in the process of setting up my own business. I have been loitering on here now and then, so have seen how well many of you seem to be doing, and have been known to occasionally dust the KM bible with the intent of re-reading it....

I think I realised I needed to do something as I've been getting pretty good at avoiding my home during daylight hours - either at work, visiting my folks, going for long walks, pottering round shops, going to the allotment, or spending hours in my workshop, etc... And I certainly never allow visitors as I'd be far too embarrassed.

Anyway, last weekend I managed to Kondo 40 items of clothing to the CS (all now too big or just look :eek:), 3 to my parents to look at and pass onto the CS if not 'them', about a dozen items to go for rags (I was clearly in denial about how many times I could sew up leggings before I ditched them), 4 old jars to the bottle bank, and a boxful of paperwork in the recycling bin. Also got a lot of cleaning done and did a lot of relocating items to their rightful location. Still a very long way to go as I have many boxes of stuff in my spare room and the garage (from moving to another city for a year and then coming back), but I feel like I've made a good start. Whilst I know that logically if I haven't needed much of this stuff for over 3 years I should be able to just ditch it, I just can't do that - I will have to go through every single item, which does feel a little overwhelming, but I was surprised how quickly I was able to make decisions last weekend about clothes, so I just need to keep that momentum going. I know I have a lot of duplicates of kitchen stuff due to relocating for 3 months before all my stuff joined me - so there should be some easy decisions once I find the right boxes.

My aim - I'd better put it here, so I feel some level of accountability - is to have my flat in a condition that I would feel comfortable to invite guests round at Christmas. Guests who won't look in the garage:p As much as I'd love to imagine I could get that cleared I know I won't have the time - getting the spare room cleared will take quite a lot of work, and between a p/t job and setting up my own business as well as trying to keep on top of housework I think that's enough of a challenge for now!

GQ - sorry to hear about your Nan, and hope today went as well as it could. It sounds as though she had a mostly happy life, which is all any of us can wish for I suppose.

Right, after typing this essay - sorry to bore you all but I needed to get it out of my system - I'm going to face the garage for an hour or so, whilst it's still light and sort out the camping stuff - I want to relocate it to the under stairs cupboard to keep it away from so many spiders - didn't enjoy having to clear cobwebs off it all this summer....

mrs-moneypenny

oceanspirit wrote: »

Mrs money-penny, I am intrigued as to how many DVDs you started off with as loads seem to have been passed on over the past few months!

It would rather embarrassingly be in the top 100s maybe even 1000+

I've never dared count the lads have a cupboard and bookcase Each in their own rooms which are theirs, there's a bookcase full of children's and Disney in the spare room, Dh has a cupboard full of training ones, then a shelf of fitness ones, there's a rack of war films, a couple of racks of classics, a DVD rack full of boxsets then two kitchen cupboards and two crates under the to stand in the living room:o
BTW when I say DVD rack Im Not talking those little hold 20ish jobs I'm talking piece of furniture holding possibly 70/100.

And then there's the books!!!!!:rotfl:

greenbee

Think of them as insulation Mrs MP

mrs-moneypenny

Oh the videos were even worse as they were so much more bulky! Dh (and I do love him to bits) once had the rather dubious idea of rather than having them on shelves he created a video wall where they were just stacked up on top of each other the whole length of the living room and reached about neck height (I'm 5'6") it will be a talking point when friends come round he declared (laughing stock more like!) and we'll be able to see them all. It lasted about 6months before we got fed up with it, it was like playing Jenga every time you wanted to watch one!
They lasted in boxes on the drive for about seven years after we stopped watching them before finally conceding that they could go to the CS we'd found that were still daft enough to take them.
because we have so many it's terrible finding the one you want to watch and you can waste half hour looking for it in various places by then it's usually too late to put one on. Now we are culling them and passing them on he's feeling the love and joy of being more organised and knowing where they are when he does want to watch them so rather than watching and putting it back now well watch and decide do we actually want to watch that again before it's on tv and if we really do they are only about a pound from the CS if we need to buy it back.
It's funny the more space we create the more he's happier to let go!


PS
Welcome back LizzieR

maddiemay

Mrs MP, I know that your explained "on the drive" a while ago, but it makes me imagine them all stacked up along a long drive leading to the roadway.:rotfl::rotfl::rotfl:

MMF007

LizzieR, sounds like you are doing brilliantly, and we've all found that once you get the hang of KM joyful tidying it just gets easier and easier and life gets better! Well done on the weight loss. I am at the 2.5 st loss, with about the same to go, so you have done better than me!!

Good luck with tte new business venture, how exciting!! :beer:

Hope it went ok today GQ.

MrsMP, well done on the vids and dvds, I am totally impressed that you have prised them from family members and set them free. I am going to try and source 4 dvds to replace vids I want to release, so DH can actually watch the episodes rather than store the blasted things without a working video player to play them kn :mad:

Work today included more packing of suitcases (different client), ringing to make appointments, food shopping and buying & setting timers for the lamps will they are away and, at different houses, changing 5 beds. Oh, and applying whitening to a pair of ancient shoes :rotfl:

No kondo-ing here, other than a cheeky chinese take away about to be consumed (no carbs or sugar, just chicken and veg!).

M

mrs-moneypenny

MMF007 I know I've got rid of a lot of DVDs recently but the racks I describe on the above post are still with us. But are leaving slowly and regularly.

Dh said it was over 800 videos that went to the CS. Maddiemay they were boxed up when they were on the drive. For those who didn't see my previous explanation of how and why we can keep things under our drive. It's actually a carport type run through under the two bedroom extension we had a few years ago. Mostly used for Dh to do his training but also a dumping ground/ storage area that became an extension to the shed.

Charly27

Finally back from work after first parent consultations and a quick most before crashing out. Feel awful today, stomach cramps and awful headache so some drugs to Kondo it and then an early night.
GQ I do hope today went as well as can be expected.
Welcome back Lizzie.
Kondoed a book back to MIL but that was an October read not November. Night all

silvasava

Beautiful chilly day so got out in the garden and kondoed the greenhouse - not the greenhouse itself but the dead/dying remainder of the tomato plants and cucumbers. Cleared all the fretwork of supports and emptied the soil in the tubs onto the compost heap to be broken down and mixed in. Swept up, cleaned the tubs and trays and disturbed a huge black spider but I put her back in the greenhouse as she's been keeping the insect population down! I also tidied and cleared out all the various pots, tubs and packets of plant foods, bug repellants and stuff that died in storage. All looking clean, neat and tidy ready for next years planting.

Igamogam

mrs-moneypenny wrote: »

It would rather embarrassingly be in the top 100s maybe even 1000+

I've never dared count the lads have a cupboard and bookcase Each in their own rooms which are theirs, there's a bookcase full of children's and Disney in the spare room, Dh has a cupboard full of training ones, then a shelf of fitness ones, there's a rack of war films, a couple of racks of classics, a DVD rack full of boxsets then two kitchen cupboards and two crates under the to stand in the living room:o
BTW when I say DVD rack Im Not talking those little hold 20ish jobs I'm talking piece of furniture holding possibly 70/100.

And then there's the books!!!!!:rotfl:

Are there enough hours in a lifetime to watch all those:eek::D