KonMari 2016 - The Life Changing Magic of Tidying Up

Igamogam

Non Christmas present buyer here too. Very liberating.......well we buy for our DDs and my close circle of lady friends have a Christmas meal out which involves a secret santa of no more than £5 that has to be something useful. .....but that is it. OH always buys me a ball of string....long story.....and I get him a chocolate orange . I send out no more than 10 Christmas cards.

greent

My xmas present buying list has decreased over the years and I've never been keen on buying just stuff. Things I've bought this year include artisan alcohol, local handmade candles (in such cute tins and gorgeous fragrances:)), rose bushes and a clematis. My mum has asked for secateurs and slippers - both useful items I shall get OH a new ipod as his was stolen. DD (at uni) is having a mix of lovely things and practical things. The 3 boys are getting the usual 'stuff' - but as its things like Lego, and games for consoles it is extremely joyful to them!

Re-tidied and sorted bottom drawer of my bathroom c-o-d yesterday (where all my spare toiletries live) - found a handful of items to come out to replace ones used up and some manky make up brushes were binned.

We have mice in our garage. I'm not overly concerned as the garage is detached from the house by about 10ft or so and the guinea pigs live in there so its inevitable as they have access to food and bedding as a result and are rarely disturbed (g-pigs go out in the garden around 7.45 on a morning and back in (at the moment) around 4.30). However, our sleeping bags live in the garage (all our camping stuff does) so I am going to find some space in the house for those

x

mavvymoo

wort wrote: »

Hi Mavvy , can I ask what happened to the litter of kittens you found?
I've not been on for a while so apologise if you had already updated us x

I still have all of them 5 kittens all neutered and growing and all so pretty and mainly hanging around on the doorstep whining for food Also still have Lola the Mum of the kittens but she does wander off for a day or so and then comes back. Also Lolly the really sick little black kitten is doing really well and still here
They are still eating 28 cans of cat food a week but no rats spotted for at least 6 months :rotfl:


Glad everyone is checking the back of their doors for missing dressing gowns



Mav x

GreyQueen

Morning all.

Bumped into a fellow allotmenteer yesterday afternoon who knows a plot-holder who has the number of Farmer John, who will sell us manure by the trailer-load, to order. We're in a city, so it's a bit awkward getting our hands on manure in quantity.

I've given him my number to text me Farmer John's number when he gets it. If I can get several tonnes of manure, it will indeed be a very happy Xmas in my world.

I told Mum I wouldn't need to have it gift-wrapped.

Storm Angus seems to have fizzled out before reaching my neck of the woods; it rained overnight and is grey now, but perfectly calm. I have a lot of bitsy little errands to run around the city, and some crafting and domestic bits to do at home, so have decided to have a catch-up day.

Have also been re-considering a couple of items of clothing which will be added to the next chazzer bag to leave the premises. Books go in the moment they're finished with, it's a simple habit to get into, but really makes the difference in the amount of Stuff on the premises.

Hope everyone is having a great day.

ETA; MMF007, definately with you. If I could live my entire life in basketry, I would be perfectly happy. You could even call me a basket case. My most favourite kind is red willow, the proper stuff, not buff willow treated with a wood stain, like some cheaper imitations.

Pooky

Storm Angus kondod my apple tree, a Jasmin and the obelisk it was climbing, a rose hip bush, next doors new shed roofing felt and several bits of concrete from the edge of the roof. It also took the door out of DHs hands and obliterated the restrictor arm (new one on order).

We only buy for DDs and parents for Christmas, all nephews and nieces are now over 16 which is our family cut off point. Parentals get something useful/edible or tickets/vouchers for days out etc. My friendship group is small but we all agreed when the kids were tiny that we spend time together not money.

Did slip up and bring some stuff into the house yesterday but all were winnings on a Christmas fair tombola and all were of the booze variety so they'll slowly get kondod back out

oceanspirit

Loving my kondoed bedroom and re-kondoed bathroom. It's so much easier to keep bedroom tidy now although I'm kind of missing the thick layer of dust that used to reside on the telephone on the bedside table :rotfl:.

More paper and other items leaving the office on a daily basis which is very satisfying. Glad it's going gradually as I think I would find sudden space too overwhelming. Slow and steady suits me just fine.

NattyB

I've been working on this for a while now. I find it really hard to let go of the "what if i need it later" feeling though

GreyQueen

NattyB wrote: »

I've been working on this for a while now. I find it really hard to let go of the "what if i need it later" feeling though

We all struggle/ have struggled with that emotion.

After all, very few of us are so rich that we can afford to squander what we have, particularly if we might need it in the future. Been there, done that, [STRIKE]got [/STRIKE] used to have the tee-shirt.

How much is enough, and how much is prudent to hold onto in reserve? Say you're like my parents, in your early seventies. It's very easy to be SABLE for household linen, clothing, winter coats, knitting yarn, books.

If you're thirty-something, you have more life to look forward to and will have more need of Stuff. So, logically, you could keep more.

When we shed something, we tend to think of the money we're wasting (because we paid for it and may need to buy it again, or because we had it as a gift, and would need to pay for it for the first time, if we hadn't kept the one we already own).

What we tend to forget is that Stuff isn't in some science-fiction stasis chamber, in impeccable condition, waiting for us to need it. It's sitting there undergoing processes of decay. It's also a sitting target for critters and at risk of accidental injury or even destruction as a result of leaks, spills, pet damage, child damage, insect damage, mold damage...... there's woodworm in the furniture, carpet beetles in the rug, clothes moths in your jumpers, weevils in the dry goods - it never ends.

Also, say you are a singleton or darby and joan but you live in a three-bedroom home with one bedroom in use and two full of carp. You pay more rent, more mortgage, more council tax, more utility bills, more furnishings and get to do more housework and re-arrangement to look after it all.

More stuff = less life.

One day, you will pass beyond all mortal cares. No one will be building a shrine or pyramid to house your remains both corporeal and material. Nope, people dear to you will cherry-pick a few items from your hoard, and the rest will be lucky to end up in a charity shop - it may be fit for nothing more than a skip.

Think of the goodness you could achieve in the world by releasing items. The party dress could go prancin' and party shoes could go dancin', the backpack could go adventuring, the cushions could be pillowing a weary head, all sorts of things could be happening with your unused Stuff.

And there'd be a tiny reduction in the demand for New Stuff in the world, which would mean a few trees still standing, a bit less ugliness and pollution, the air a smidgeon cleaner - what's not to like?

wort

Aww Mavvy, bless you for looking after those little kittens!
We picked up our rescue kitten at 11 weeks on 15th oct , so much has entered the house rather than leaving! But he's worth it! After buying all kinds of toys his favourite is a screwed up piece of paper which he plays fetch with! We are raw feeding him after some advice on the pet forum and he loves it.
Xmas apart from the 2 dds and their partners , my only other shopping is dgs and oh.
I asked oh to buy me a dyson cordless, which he has when they were on offer at arg*s .
And the girls after saying get me nothing and them insisting have been told to get me body lotion by sanctuary. And a pair of earrings for everyday wear.

My conservatory roof and insulation is finished and now only contains the couch a wicker chair and the cat tree :rotfl: Only 1 picture has gone back up and 3 candle lanterns. I love it :T

I've been in the garden today, chopped back the ivy on the fence, and a few others that had gone over. Table and chairs put into garage, and the other outdoor items will be tarpaulined up next week.

GreyQueen

Some things which happen to usused Stuff;

1. Stored clothes shrink. Serious shrinkage - you'll never get into them again.

2. Stored shoes; they come unglued (inside and out), crack, split or become comedically unfashionable. And they also shrink.

3. Store bedsheets long enough and the white ones go yellow. Some things even have breakage along the folds. You wouldn't want to know how much effort museums put into conserving textiles in storage - I've done a bit of it and let's just say that the average home is a stranger to acid-free tissue paper.

4. Stored china. Glaze-cracking isn't a good look. If crocks aren't used regularly, it's a very high probability that they will glaze crack when they are used.

5. Stored music in formats you can't play, like the LPs in the loft which are getting heat-warped and the mice are eating the sleeves.

6. Woodworm. Tally of woodworm victims from Nan's bungalow; two wardrobes, one COD, one dressing-table, one stool, one cabinet, one wooden scrubbing brush, one wooden plunger handle, sundry baskets and picture frames and three dining chairs. All bonfire material. Eaten alive in situ.

And that's just the start of it, mes amies, just the start of it.