KonMari 2016 - The Life Changing Magic of Tidying Up

greent

I have a washer dryer - have always had one form our first house (bought 1991) I refuse to give up the large amount of space required for a separate dryer I never used to use it much, other than for towel fluffing (I used to work from home as an aromatherapist and would have been mortified to have scratchy towels ) but have to confess that this year I have used it for towels and underwear pretty much all the time. There's usually towels in each/ every other wash (6 of us + towels for swimming/ gym/ camps etc) so I throw the socks and boxers in with the towels to dry. My wd does have a function where it switches off when it recognises the washing is dry, though, so it doesn't just go on and on for a set time.


I also have a dw


Curtains - our first house was a tiny 2 up 2 down thing. We had roller blinds in the kitchen and 2nd bedroom which we left there. We took our bedroom (old ones from my mum) and living room curtains with us to house number 2. House number 2 had strange sized windows. Our old bedroom curtains went in bedroom 2. We put our old living room curtains up in the living room and dining room. Bought new curtains for our bedroom and a blackout blind and cheap curtains (£6) for the nursery . I was in a job where I had mega expenses (often around £5-600 profit a month on them, as I had an allowance and could claim that regardless of what I spent) so I succumbed to some bespoke curtains from Laura Ashley for the lounge and dining room (£1400!! - and that was on special offer!) but I loved them dearly.


House number 3 (where we are now) - I couldn't fit my beloved Laura Ashley curtains anywhere - all the windows her were taller and wider I held onto them in the airing cupboard for about 7 years (why??) and then sold them on fleabay for £75. We had to buy lots of curtains and blinds when we moved here as nothing fit/ we'd left the blinds behind at house number 2. The only things we've replaced in the 10 years since living here have been the lounge and dining room curtains (curtains were a deep terracotta - didn't go with the new purple colour scheme!). 1 pair of lounge curtains have been moved to family room, other donated. Old family room & Dining room curtains (£30 + £24 in a sale) were faded but donated to someone for the middle pieces of fabric.


I don't have any spare curtains. I sell them/ donate them (sold some Next ones from kids rooms when they outgrew them - but they were passed down from boy to boy first ) I have spare bedding sets for everyone, ranging from 1 spare set for most to 3 for us (because 2 are Winter and 2 are Summery colours - so one spare set per season for us
x

Slinky

We have a tumble drier, I use it for towels, bedding and cotton underwear in the winter. Doesn't get used in the summer unless there's endless rain or a mountain of drying after a holiday. It sits on top of the washing machine in our utility area so takes up no extra space. The washing machine is quite noisy so today I've taken delivery of a mat to sit under it an hopefully absorb some of the noise. It's only a couple of years old but sounds as loud as the 12 year old one it replaced.

Curtains, we have some which OH had made about 16 years ago. We had them in two bedrooms in another house, then one set are in a bedroom here. We couldn't find the other pair for ages, then found them in a vaccuum bag in the loft. Another pair of his which were readymades we had altered to fit another bedroom. We may move at some point so have hung onto the pair in the loft in case they fit another window elsewhere. We'd get buttons if we tried to sell them but they were expensive when new.

silvasava

I have a DW - wouldn't be without it - I also have a TD but have never dried anything in it, its just used to air clothes and fluff towels.
I still have a pair of curtains I made for my first house in 1967! I actually made 2 pairs that were 3 widths in each. I cut up one pair for cushions a couple of years ago and the other pair have been used in all my 3 houses and DS1 used them when he first moved in to his house. They are washed and folded and in the loft. The fabric was a Sanderson cotton rep from JL at 15s 11d a yard!!! (Not got round d to Kondoing the loft yet)
Greenbee - if you spot a lady you don't want to deal with just tell her to wait till I get there

Igamogam

DawnW wrote: »

Most of them are old, but I like them and they look ok, so why bother to buy new?

Exactly!!:D

prudencekitten

My bedroom curtains are rose pink velvet. They came with the house (bought 13 years ago). They block out the light from the lamppost right outside the window so they're staying a while longer.

procrastinator

Hello
Can anyone advise what items can go in a rag bag for charity? I have old underwear and an old sheet - thin and torn at the edges around the fitted corners. I also have some very thin old towels (must be 35 years+.)
Have spent today doing tidy and cleaning. Took down my ironing board which has been up in my bedroom since the summer and has been used for storing things that need sorting. One bag by the door for charity, another 2 started, one rags, one good. Will have to re-do my drawers tomorrow morn as lots of items pushed in whilst clearing the board and several put by to be folded and stored.
When deciding if an item gives joy what do you do when it is a mixture of joy and not joy? For instance, I have a lovely t-shirt, I love the colour and the design but when I put it on the fit is not good. I'm trying to loose weight, will it look better in a month or two or shall I bag it?
Still have xmas cards here, is it too late to recycle, shall I just put them in with the council paper recycling? If not where else can I take them?
Tomorrow has been earmarked for charity shops, have posted this intention as many days I mean to go out but don't, so now I have to because I have told you all that is what I shall do.

Libellula84

Hi folks!!!
This is my first ever post on MSE so please be nice!! Well this thread is always nice anyway.
I've lurked for years on the site, it's been great, even got my council tax band reduced, but this thread has inspired me to get involved!
I read all of the first thread ( sorry havent worked out how to 'tag' people yet) and like others I'm gutted I don't have like 150 pages to read in one go, I check in every day to see what people have been up to.
Like procastinator I have a bag of men's boxers as my OH decided to clear out his underwear drawer AND fold them kondo- style with absolutely no prompting from me!!!! It's the magic......
Are they for the bin or can they go in the charity bags you get through the door?
Nice to say hello!!!!

Floss

I forgot to mention my TD...always had one since first marriage in 1984 in a FF flat, DS1 in 1986 was in terry nappies which came up lovely & soft on his bum! We use it now for bedding & towels as we don't have anywhere to hang washing out.:o

Dishwasher, ah, there's a tale...we did have one up to 1999, but when i got divorced the ex got custody of the 3-piece suite, dishwasher, half the bookcases (Ikea Billy!) and the cat. I got the washer, TD, fridge freezer, cooker and the kids Oh, and half the costs of selling the house :mad:

Flylady_Flower

Hi everyone, I would love to join . I started reading Marie's book last year and it helped me clear out a lot of my bedroom clothing, I now have room in my wardrobe (although I think I could have let go of more )
Anyway, looking forward to any other hints and tips you may have.
BTW, how do you fold your sheets? I fold mine as usual and put everything together inside one pillowcase before I put them away so that I have a complete set to hand when I take them out. I have not been able to find an MK method, so interested to see what you think?

Igamogam

procrastinator wrote: »

Hello
Can anyone advise what items can go in a rag bag for charity? I have old underwear and an old sheet - thin and torn at the edges around the fitted corners. I also have some very thin old towels (must be 35 years+.)
Have spent today doing tidy and cleaning. Took down my ironing board which has been up in my bedroom since the summer and has been used for storing things that need sorting. One bag by the door for charity, another 2 started, one rags, one good. Will have to re-do my drawers tomorrow morn as lots of items pushed in whilst clearing the board and several put by to be folded and stored.
When deciding if an item gives joy what do you do when it is a mixture of joy and not joy? For instance, I have a lovely t-shirt, I love the colour and the design but when I put it on the fit is not good. I'm trying to loose weight, will it look better in a month or two or shall I bag it?
Still have xmas cards here, is it too late to recycle, shall I just put them in with the council paper recycling? If not where else can I take them?
Tomorrow has been earmarked for charity shops, have posted this intention as many days I mean to go out but don't, so now I have to because I have told you all that is what I shall do.

Cant comment on the 'rags' thing but someone will be along to give advice.........

Christmas cards can go in council recycling

As far as the T shirt goes I understand where you are coming from.........I ditched a lot of clothes to CVS in my first round of kondo as although I liked them - colour, style etc - when I wore them They were hideous - needed to lose weight. Fast forward a few months and I decided to do a second round of clothes an came across 2 tops that somehow missed the first cull......I tried them for one last look and lo and behold they fit - weight slowing dropping as the clutter leaves the house! I then realised a lot of my clothes where getting too big and I felt really resentful that i had let so much go because I had convinced myself I was never going to wear again because they brought me 'no joy'. The downside to KM I feel!! Cant afford to replace it all so am wearing baggy winter stuff to see it out!!