KonMari 2016 - The Life Changing Magic of Tidying Up

Siebrie

I had a great womble at work from leftovers of an overcatered company breakfast. Three of the boiled eggs were used in our lunch, some of the yoghurt was used for yesterday's dessert and this morning's breakfast, half the butter is in the freezer and the other half is in the oven as part of cupcakes . I will freeze the bread rolls and use them to fill dds' lunchboxes over the coming weeks, and I will freeze the gouda and pecorino cheese for future use. It needs to move! As soon as it is 'stuck' it becomes komono.

GreyQueen

Mum had the cookery book and the home management book, indeed, I saw the former on the shelf on my last visit. Had them, not used them, btw.

She hoards cookery books and cooks only a small amount of stuff from memory (the family being small-c conservatives when it comes to grub). On an earlier occasion, I did query the 30-odd usused cookbooks, but they all had to be kept back then because Justin might need them? Because the family might suddenly get past their loathing of rice, pasta, spices, anything other than good plain English cooking. I may try to re-visit that category at some point in the not-too-distant future.

Small anecdote which isn't strictly on-topic but which may amuse. I have a friend who has appeared elsewhere on MSE under the alias 'P' (not his real initial). P is something of a gourmand, and an adverturous and talented home cook. There can be few countries' cuisines into which he hasn't dipped a spatula, so to speak.

A few years ago, P was having a heartfelt complaint to the rest of the gang. He'd had houseguests who were actually distant relations from the US of A. He'd cooked for them magnificently, a particular recipe was much admired and the cookbook noted. A cookbook which had oh-so-coincidentally disappeared at the same time the rellies left.

I asked what this cookbook was, imagining something rarified along the lines of 1001 Ways to Stuff a Sheep's Eyeball or Lacto-Vegetarian Curries of Ulan Bator and was astonished to find this fought-over and mourned volume was - waitforit - The Dairy Book of Home Cookery!

When Mum heard of P's loss (they've met) she offered him her copy but he'd restocked with a used edition from Amaazon.

Karmacat

greent wrote: »

Welcome back, Kc xx

:wave: :j

GreyQueen wrote: »

Nice to 'see' you again, Karmakat. Would you very much mind sending me a link to your blog via PM, hope I don't violate any MSE rules by asking?

Nice to see you too, GQ :wave: :j

Will send a linkie over now.

Smiling at the image of you performing kondo-magic in front of the disbelieving siblings. I've done similar with my Mum over the years. At one point I asked her why she had over 50 unused purses and she flatly denied any such number, owning up to one or two, max. When I laid them out on the table in front of her, she was gobsmacked.

I only realised what it was when I read this thread this morning - you know when you say something that seems self-evident to you, and it's met with polite silence? Thats what it used to be though it's better now because they can see I get results.

I think my mum's disorganisation was because of her evacuee status. You say "evacuee" but she lived in dozens of places over her teenage years, and had to be able to shift her stuff in a suitcase and a handbag. No sense of choosing things, though she had more than most because she sewed so well, and made her own clothes, including coats - imagine a 15 year old doing that today!

When Mum was a girl, she recalls being sent up to her room to tidy up, and quickly being derailed by something to read and not getting much tidying done. How many of us have ever been taught how to tidy up, or why we're tidying up, other than to appease some exasperated parent or housemate having reached the end of their tether?

Never happened to my mum :rotfl:my nan wasn't a very good housekeeper :rotfl: which may have been yet another reason for my mum's disorganisation.

Right, the snow is still drifting gently down, but its not sticking, and its not all that cold - I'm going to kondo some built up earth on the decking at the bottom of the garden, and then I'm going to weed. I may be gone some time, as the man said

Save

silvasava

Its true - housekeeping is not necessarily a 'taught' skill. Depends largely on your Mum. Mine was 'a place for everything and everything in its place' & her house was always immaculate. However, her scatterbrain daughter (me) who would rather read a book than tidy took a long long time to take this on board! In fact it was my matron of honour who stayed with me the night before my wedding who taught me how to envelope corners on flat sheets!
I have always been a subscriber to the 'life's too short to stuff a mushroom' brigade.

[Deleted User]

[QUOTE=GreyQueen;72084181
was astonished to find this fought-over and mourned volume was - waitforit - The Dairy Book of Home Cookery!

When Mum heard of P's loss (they've met) she offered him her copy but he'd restocked with a used edition from Amaazon.[/QUOTE]

lol :rotfl: I used that same book yesterday, made three superb date and walnut loaves. The recipes are so reliable and full of old fashioned goodness. One of my most favourite cookbooks

I didn`t really kondo today but made a dip into some of my food stores, slow and steady. Fruit and nut bread and a veg soup, whizzed with canned beans. I am in slow and steady mode at the moment, had a bit of an alone moment yesterday evening but got stuck into spinning, slept like a log and a new woman awoke today, always thankful to be well and living in a warm comfy home

New feng shui book came today, didn`t cost a lot and there are bound to be crossovers with MK. I did a course years ago and am not into baguas etc, more about energy flow for me. Easy to get stuck at this time of the year but lots of spinning today and several episodes of tenko, nice. Too cold to go out for the sake of it but did feed the birds

Will get food on as needed basis when my stores are down

greent

5 parcels made up today - 2 left this morning, 2 will leave tomorrow and the last one (massive) on Monday. 4 are fleabay sales (3 large ones being bundles of toys and the 4th small one being a freebie I got) and the 5th is Ziffit (child related books and DVDs) - toys are an oft-revisited KM category by necessity - as the children grow their tastes and needs/ wants change, so things can leave.

These items have left a massive decorative storage box empty - I have put a few transient items in there for now, but am looking at seeing if DS3 will transfer his huge collection of Octonauts (CBeebies character toys) into there in a couple of weeks or so - which would free a massive (much needed) space in his room - it will make the room feel larger if he will agree. He doesn't actually play with them anymore, but isn't ready to let them go yet, so moving them out of his room is also a transition towards that at some point....

I know I have less than I used to - but it is a constant battle with 3 children at home (and another one at uni)!! However - the improvements are there - I just have to remind myself of this at times!!
x

ETA: also managed to drop off a bag of fabric recycling (mainly old clothes of the children's which weren't for passing on) to H&M this week and exchange it for a £5 voucher - DD will no doubt use that at some point

oceanspirit

RL has been pants over the last couple of weeks and will continue to be busy whilst sorting out the pantsness.

Will finally get the keys to our new home this week so at least we have that to look forward to. Won't be moving in for a few months as some changes need to be made first.

Wanted to scream at all the stuff in the office this week. It really got me down. So, made a start today with several old yachting charts going into recycling. If a miracle cure is found for my condition and I can start sailing again, I will buy new charts.

Have sailed in Holland with out of date charts before. Conversation went like this:-

Father popping his head out of the cabin after studying the chart: Ocean, just keep following this channel.

Ocean: Sorry, can't do that.

Father: Why?

Ocean: There's a bl**dy great concrete dam in the way!

Father: Oh, they must have built that some time in the last 20 years then!

Other papers from the office have been put in recycling, shredded or are in the scrap paper drawer for writing lists upon. Newspapers from Christmas and New Year weekends have been flicked through and put in the basket so they can be used for lighting fire. Holiday brochures and various 2016 catalogues removed from filing cabinet and put in recycling.

Have also continued deleting electronic clutter from hard drive and email.

Whilst the office looks worse than ever today, I know it will suddenly become a joyful room. Just wanted to thank Tibawo for mentioning that the baby steps approach does work for those who don't have time/energy to kondo their way rapidly through each category.

My office and kitchen still need a lot of items to leave however my bedroom, living room and bathroom are just about done and they are so much easier to look after and live in.

So, take heart anyone who feels they have a huge mountain to shift - you will get joyful spaces at whatever pace you Kondo and those spaces stay clear. This method works and it is a way of life.

Charly27

Hello all not the best start as I had an eye problem which kept me off line for most of January and received some very bad news about my dear Dad. We're now planning to go visit this holiday before he starts treatment. We spent most of today making soup and casseroles to freeze and take up as he really hasn't been eating well and has already lost a stone. He's very slim already so didn't need to lose any and he's not sleeping well either. I've been out of my mind with worry. This holiday is now mentally busy but I wanted to share what KonMarie has taught me.
I now have a very organised wardrobe. I fold my socks and underwear so it's easier to see when the socks are wearing thin and the pants are pants! I'm less likely to hold onto unwanted gifts and items of clothes or books which don't spark joy. Gifts I give tend to be cash, homemade or consumables.
I've even Kondoed work to part time from September. I can never catch up with all your posts, the last memory I have was GQ's legendary status for finding the 'window key'. So I will Kondo the daily emails and join in when I can. Wish me luck, off to the South to see grandson for a couple of days, then back to work on plans for next term and marking, then up North to see dad. Keep calm and Kondo

Charis

GreyQueen wrote: »

I had a bit of a LBM once when reading a blog where someone remarked that if we're holding onto things we don't need and don't use, we're harming other people than ourselves because we're depriving them of the opportunity to use those items. Or the components of those items, if they have gone beyond use in their present format and need to be returned to the component parts to be re-born.

One of those smack-upside-the-head moments for me, I must admit.

Hi GQ, this is not a negative comment on your lightbulb moment, it's more of another way to look at things.

I have things I don't need or use, other than very occasionally. I have haberdashery and needlework tools that may be SABLE. Then there are my books, thinned down by kondoing, but still more maybe than I will ever find the time to read from cover to cover. They are very useful for information when the occasion arises (I write as a hobby). The Internet is a useful tool, but usually ends up leading me to yet another book, as I have a more than rudimentary knowledge of my favourite subjects. The Internet is wide, but not deep, and it is expensive to subscribe to academic journals. I also like to check the credentials of an author before taking on board their worldview, so I have favourites I return to. Before you suggest the library, I live in a small market town where the tiny library is under threat of closure, again. Most visitors (tourists), on seeing the library section exclaim loudly "Is this it?".

I would never want to pass on everything simply because of the belief that I might be depriving anyone of the use of some thing. I find that very idea quite threatening. It has a whiff of communism. We can't all have just the barest minimum of possessions, there are those who have a genuine need to be a little over the top. I do appreciate eccentricity even though I don't practise it.

If I knew someone who needed an exact item and their need was greater than mine, I would give it to them, or loan it to them if I needed it to function. I have done that. Sadly I have also found that people will sometimes take things just because they are at no cost to them, or because they don't want to say no and cause possible offence, then they may, in their turn, deprive someone of their use by leaving them stored in an unfavourable environment where they will quietly die in storage. I have seen it happen at close quarters.

TBH I think the idea that we are harming other people by holding onto our own possessions is a very grey area. We or our benefactors have paid for those possessions with a chunk of life, bought from the small percentage left of salary after all other expenses had been met. Who decides how often you have to need or use an item before you cross the line: weekly, monthly, triannually? How much joy does it need to register?

I prefer to appreciate those special things that I have custody of, and maybe use occasionally, until the right person needs them . In the meantime, they spark joy by just being available.

Pooky

We've been busy little bees at Pooky towers and have kondo'd a huge piece of furniture out of the house (currently in the garage but it's hopefully out of here in the next few days). Out of the hundreds of things kept in said bit of furniture I've kept one carrier bag of stuff. The rest was either sold via the local FB pages over the past couple of days or in a box awaiting a boot sale later in the year. It freed up a huge space and £60 in ready cash so far. After a wiggle round of other furniture it's given us space for a lovely comfy cosy seating area in the kitchen, the sofa that was languishing unused in the conservatory (where's it's either too hot or too to cold to sit) is now in the kitchen window (south facing so lots of lovely natural light for me to see by).

DD1 moves home from Uni soon and we'll have 4 adults in the house for the foreseeable future (house prices being what they are) so we needed more "pockets of space" for people to be on their own, doing their own thing, without being banished to bedrooms.

DH commented when we went to bed last night that the house seemed to have relaxed and felt clear and flowing....this is a man that poohpoohs all such notions normally.....but then this is a man who normally wakes at 4am.....it's now 8am and he's still asleep.