KonMari 2016 - The Life Changing Magic of Tidying Up

mrs-moneypenny

Just had a decidedly woo moment dd3 in the spirit of experiences not items has just told me my Mother's Day present this year is tickets to see Adam ant.

GreyQueen

Hoping the meece have been vanquished, siebrie.

I just emptied and racked the washload. And the first thing I saw when I opened the machine's door was the flannel which the machine 'ate' on the previous load.

WTH?! I swear I searched that washer's drum, rotated it several times, felt all over the inside of the drum in case it was stuck and that flannel was.not.there. Ach well, mebbe it went behind the drum and then came back out again, who knows, I am in Woo territory atm. And I may also be missing one sock......... perhaps it'll reappear in the next load.:rotfl:

Gonna put the pooter to bed as can get pie-eyed if looking at a screen in the late evening. Have a good evening, folks.

ETA Ooooh, Adam Ant, he was one of my poster boys back in the day. I may quickly look for a recording of a coupla toons. Big fun.

ETA2 - happy half hour watching them on u toob. I had forgotten quite how h o t the lad was........... rushes off for a cold shower, lol.

I'm now thinking I'd better get me some ant music back again, I graduated from them into some seriously heavy rock but I've always loved my music drum-heavy. Whatchamean, most bands only have one drummer, that's not the way do it.

PollyWollyDoodle

Ah, you mean it wasn't to the sock-monster's taste and he spat it out! He really prefers socks or very delicate stuff, and he always knows which socks are your favourite ...

Sorry my question above was badly phrased, GQ. I completely support the idea of less plastic waste. What I really meant was 'what will you do instead of cling film' ? I try and avoid it e.g. by using Tupperware type things in the fridge but I can't quite do without it. I have one of these http://goodcookshop.com/poppy-silicone-lid-6-inch - it's immensely joyful and I'd love a couple more but I can't justify the cost! I wondered if you had any handy tips for alternatives to cling film.

tattycath

Ok, I'm improving but not there yet.
I've decluttered a drawer every month for 3 months-same drawer. It is definitely getting emptier but I still have a mountain to climb before I can actually say that I've followed the mantra...wish I just had more willpower to just sort it once and for all.

Charis

The key in in your word 'declutter'. MK says that's where she went wrong. She passed out once while trying to fathom why she just couldn't understand why she couldn't finish clearing up. She says a voice told her to look around her at her possessions.We aren't supposed to declutter, we are supposed to decide what to keep.

Make a big heap of everything in one category, then go through it one item at a time and keep only what sparks joy. If the whole lot sparks joy, keep it all. Maybe nothing does, but for practicality it may be necessary to keep those things which you can't do without, until you can afford better. After all an old pair of shoes sparks more joy than walking barefoot in the winter

That's why she starts with clothes, because she thinks we have less psychological attachment to them, although some have argued that British women may have 'body issues' because the clothing market isn't geared up to cater for non standard and plus sizes, and there are probably not the same issues in Japan, at least not to the same extent. So if clothes are not your easiest category, could you pick another and start there?

Most of us started with our knicker drawer and got hooked. It has had a profound effect on me and on the way I regard 'things'. I look at everything in a different way now and I've only been doing it since the beginning of November.

grunnie

Sorry about your dad Greenbee. I had that news way back in 1974 I remember it well. Be brave and enjoy each day making memories.


I don't use clingfilm. If it's a sandwich it goes in a Tupperware box or freezer bag or if it is something to go in the fridge or microwave I put a saucer or plate over it.


Thanks for all the birthday wishes for yesterday I got some great pressies all needed and joyful. Woke this morning and we have loads and loads of snow.:cool:

GreyQueen

Morning all.

Sorry not to have grasped your meaning, PWD. At the moment, the sole use for the cling-film is to cover over one large rectangular tray-like Pyrex dish which I use to cook certain things in.

All the rest of the time, I avoid cling-film and either have things in a bowl with a plate over the top, on on a plate with a bowl over. Other things would be in plastic containers, I found a cache of these in Mum's loft.

They'd been put away as surplus to requirements years ago, were still surplus and she was delighted to release them into my care.

Charis, interesting point about clothing in Japan. Now that I think about it, all the Japanese people I've ever seen IRLdo fall within a pretty narrow height range/ type of build. Unlike in this country, where a grown woman can be anything from under 5ft to 6 ft plus, and vary from waif-like to substantial ..........:rotfl:

tattycath, as Charis posted, the reason that kondoing has worked for many of us who are serial users of other decluttering methods, is that it starts from the opposite end; what to keep not what to get rid of.

Such as piling up all your clothing at once. It isn't so you can have this kind of internal conversation; OMG! Look at all this! This is enough clothing for a whole village, this is disgusting, I've been so greedy and wasteful, whatever was I thinking?! Oh, I'll never get into that size again and oh! I'm not a young girl any more and would look so stupid if I wore X again, all that money spent and and and........

Well, you get the picture and we will all have variations on a theme.

If you start by thinking these drawers won't close/ are so cluttered I can't find anything, I'll tidy them a bit/ remove a couple of items for donation or storage elsewhere you're not kondoing, you're just fiddling around. We've all done our share of that.

Get the items out of their storage areas and handle them all and feel for the joy. Marie Kondo in her books makes it quite clear that she doesn't judge what makes her personal clients joyful. She doesn't say to people that they're adults and have no business keeping soft toys, finger puppets or novelty frog key-rings. Indeed, if she finds these items in clients' homes and they light up with joy at the sight of them, she wants them to have those items somewhere they can be seen and beam their joyfulness at their owner on a regular basis.

The key is the joyfulness of everything from a knick-knack to a plate. Most of us probably have more than the bare minimum of any category of item (or we wouldn't have a clutter problem lol) so there will be some things which are more joyful to us than others.

It's like best china. Most homes have some lovely crockery stashed unused from one year's end to another, whilst the everyday crockery is a basic set, or even a mis-match of somewhat battered stuff. Marie Kondo wrote about her own family home when growing up, where they had cupboards of fancy china, including lovely gift sets, which were seldom or never used. What was used was the very basic stuff they'd got on 'points' - I think she means something like a supermarket promotional scheme.

I've lost count of the number of plates etc, inc very fancy things which would have been expensive, which I have seen at chazzers, booters and jumblies with glaze cracks. If you store china too long unused, then go to use it, the body of the plate or cup can expand in the heat of the washing up water or from the food faster than the glaze, and the glaze develops dozens of tiny hairline cracks. Which let in water and are insanitary.

If you use stuff contantly, this almost never happens.

PollyWollyDoodle

That really sums it up, GQ - if you love it, use it. If it's beautiful in your eyes don't keep it in a box or hidden in a drawer.

I am still gathering junk in some hotspots but all the drawers, cupboards and shelves have remained clear and ordered. I know where everything is in my house and I love it!

tibawo

Just bobbing in before we go out to our various clubs etc! I have been through the sewing drawer [did my material ages ago as stored elsewhere but will in time go back to it]. The drawer was hard to open as things have just been rammed in when in a rush. I found some of them zip lock bags for tape measures, laces, elastic etc so they are now all together. Buttons altogether, bits for sewing machine back in the tub. It is now a third empty but as I like where it is, it is staying there!


I get where grey queen is coming from with 'putting things away for best' and clothes we keep because one day we might get back into them. I liberated some spoons i bought that have probably been in the packaging for ten years waiting for the appropriate time to use them. I do like them and they are now in and out the cutlery drawer as much as the others. Every time I use them they bring back a happy memory.


I must confess I do still have a few clothes that i could not part with like my levi denim jacket. i have only done round one though of my clothes as i noticed i have various sarongs/scarfs that i could not part with last time but don't really use them yet they are so colourful and remind me i need to get my money sorted so i can go on holiday!


I have noticed one thing doing my KD that is i find something whist tidying that needs doing I am either doing it there or then or at the end of the task in hand e.g. I found a photo cube when i was moving some things that needed photos in. I have printed off two photos already!


I hope my 'in the mood' tidying day is still with me when i get back. It would be nice to have a tidy home and all the jobs with some KD done today so that I can spend some quality time with the girls tomorrow!

Ryanna2599

Greenbee sorry to hear about your dad's diagnosis. I hope you get to spend lots of quality time with him.

I am most definitely feeling inspired after reading everyone's posts to keep moving forward and KM more this weekend. Another 2 bin bags and several carrier bags of clothes / bedding have left the house. Shoes and handbags are next to be tackled! No more decluttering for me; I've been converted...

Have a good KM day all.