KonMari 2016 - The Life Changing Magic of Tidying Up

GreyQueen

Pooky wrote: »

GQ - I was looking at my living room and study curtains thinking they need a wash but until we stop using the open fire there seems little point, I do love a bit of spring sunshine to show up just how slovenly my housekeeping skills are.

I don't think of it as slovenliness at all, just the steady attrition of airborne grime. My curtains are mostly a colour which I guess you could call 'stone' and tend not to show dirt too much, plus I'm not of the lifestyle to have mucky child-mitts all over things. They just accumulate mild grubbiness slowly and gently from the air.

Have decided to wash the bedroom curtains over the weekend, too. I only have four windows in total, so there are two with curtains, one with a venetian blind and one which is small, above head height and obscured glass - the bathroom - which I don't bother to cover at all.

Started another of my to-be-read pile books yesterday evening and am already halfway through it. I am aiming to clear as many of these as possible as they have been sticking and I like to have my limited amount of book-space lively with things which I love/ refer to/ am actively engaged with because I am excited about reading them soon.

I've toyed with feng shui in the past, not on a serious level. Some of it is a bit oh s**t sherlock, as in you won't sleep well if you have heavy things above your bed, which I would take as a given.

But the stuff about energy moving around the home really resonates. Compare and contrast the energy in a pile of stuff which is the fallout of a project which you're busy with to the dead lifelessness of a pile of Stuff which you have lost interest in, cannot face dealing with etc.

There's no comparison, is there? Yet the mess quotient could be as bad or even worse for the active messy stuff as for the inactive messy stuff.

Hope everyone has a great day. I will be at the job and will be Out for most of the day so don't expect any more decluttering than the ongoing daily working through the stubby-pencil-and-scrap-paper stash.

Have a good 'un, one and all.

wort

I have to say photos were the hardest category for me, they took forever. I agree with Pollywollydoodle that I take less photos now, and didn't hubby buy me an expensive camera right after I decided not to take photos so often . That is definitely a guilt gift that I can't get rid of, it's a big bulky one too!!! I'm quite happy with pics on my phone, which is light and small.
Re the landscapes ,we are due to go on a cruise this year our 1st. I know I'll see things I want to take pics of cos they look fab but then know once we are back they won't see light of day again! And who wants to look at someone else's holiday pics:o
Any solutions ??
Off to work now hoping I arrive drier than I did on Tuesday!

[Deleted User]

I had to get some identity docs sorted, easy to find but as the file was out, thought I might as well do some paper kondo and in process transition to a much thinner, concertina file albeit no handle. This will go into a glass cupboard in my craft/study and is where I keep all my personal financial stuff re pensions, wills, probate etc, all to make life easier for children as my time will come, eventually. So all my life will be in two indexed files, one is a nice tactile black document folder with rings, pockets and a zip and tax, pensions, bank accounts, savings etc are all indexed in there. Other is house/car/odds and sods based stuff. I have a pile on the floor to shred and am now just keeping the current utility bills but having a paper list of payouts for water and electricity. Polypockets were a very good invention. Soon be done

Today washing machine is re-vamping two cycling/outdoor jackets, washing first and then proofing both to give them new lives

I still want to sit indoors and enjoy the sun on my legs as I read, maybe later

[Deleted User]

Is there an end to all this? the peripheral stuff, like paperwork, like the endless magazine articles that you want to keep. I haven`t sat down, one thing led to another and I worked all day, just a short interlude for a cycle ride to check my heart was still beating. I have to concur that, for me, clothes are relatively easy. There are upsides, for my children, in case I pop my clogs and for me a bit of a release of space. I was so engrossed that I had a rubbish lunch and not enough to drink. Maybe a good thing is that this work today extended into my craft/study room in a good way and some things have moved from there

I am making no plans for tomorrow, as plans are not working, I just see stuff that needs doing and I do it. Maybe tomorrow I will finally clear the large basket tray that is near the printer and perhaps then I will see what is finally what. I do know that tomorrow I must get back to my normal healthy food, no second chances at my age

The frames came and they are everything I hoped for, got lots of photos in them and yet they look spacey and light. That was a huge improvement in that corner of the room yes, its been a good satisfying day and I have reduced stagnation in a corner, so I am happy

[Deleted User]

Hi everyone, I did Kondo about a year or two back and it really had a positive effect on me, though I did not get rid of enough really, but at the time it seemed like I had emptied the place. I really want to do this again - a final 'forever' time (lol, but that would be nice). Can someone tell me what the categories are. I am going to tackle clothes first. Personally, I could not pile it all on my bed again, I nearly had a nervous breakdown last time at the enormity of the task I set myself, so I will do my wardrobe, including my bags & shoes, then my drawers, I only have one set, though rather large, they are folded in a Marie Kondo style (in a drunken sort of way), though I am going to change that and roll them, and I have separated out the small top drawers with dividers, but they have nearly busted, as I have been mindlessly buying stuff, then I will tackle my bedding:- THEN

Toiletries
Papers
Bric a Brac
Kitchen
Pantry

I am listening to 'Spark Joy' audiobook, fast forwarding a lot as I feel she goes on a bit too much, bit like me now, but really am feeling quite overwhelmed at the thought of starting again, as mess sends me into a spin, so it gets hidden in drawers, cupboards, etc., hence procrastinating a lot. If I give myself today & tomorrow to do clothes, then I will feel like I have achieved something. It's inspiring to see how well people are doing.

Knit_Witch

Save_Dosh wrote: »

Hi everyone, I did Kondo about a year or two back and it really had a positive effect on me, though I did not get rid of enough really, but at the time it seemed like I had emptied the place. I really want to do this again - a final 'forever' time (lol, but that would be nice). Can someone tell me what the categories are. I am going to tackle clothes first. Personally, I could not pile it all on my bed again, I nearly had a nervous breakdown last time at the enormity of the task I set myself, so I will do my wardrobe, including my bags & shoes, then my drawers, I only have one set, though rather large, they are folded in a Marie Kondo style (in a drunken sort of way), though I am going to change that and roll them, and I have separated out the small top drawers with dividers, but they have nearly busted, as I have been mindlessly buying stuff, then I will tackle my bedding:- THEN

Toiletries
Papers
Bric a Brac
Kitchen
Pantry

I am listening to 'Spark Joy' audiobook, fast forwarding a lot as I feel she goes on a bit too much, bit like me now, but really am feeling quite overwhelmed at the thought of starting, I do tend to procrastinate a lot. If I give myself today & tomorrow to do clothes, then I will feel like I have achieved something. It's inspiring to see how well people are doing.

Why not start with all your bags and shoes? The maybe all your undies, then all your tops and so on

Oh and there are some links on the 2nd post of this thread that might help with the order (if that helps at all)

[Deleted User]

Knit_Witch wrote: »

Why not start with all your bags and shoes? The maybe all your undies, then all your tops and so on

Oh and there are some links on the 2nd post of this thread that might help with the order (if that helps at all)

Thank you, I like that idea, as I'm already putting myself off at the amount I'm setting to do.

Charis

I opened a new bank account last week, thanks to the MSE weekly email. I'll get more for switching than interest on my ISA. However you only get the bonus if you do a complete switch, which means closing your existing account.

While I was perusing the T's and C's I noticed a reminder that if you close your account you will no longer have access to your online statements, and suggesting that you copy them before you do. Just thought I should mention it, as I remember someone on here recently saying that you don't need to keep copies of your old statements because they are available online. You may be able to get paper copies but that will take time and the way the banks are squeezing the interest it may be that they start to charge for paper copies.

GreyQueen

Thanks for that excellent point, Charis.

Back when I worked in the debt advice field (10+ years ago) I can recall that some clients had to pay their banks to get back-issues of conventional statements, if they'd destroyed them.

It may not be kondo-esque or even entirely rational, but I will admit to keeping all bank statements. They don't take up much space when archived into sealed envelopes by year but would be invaluable in the event of a dispute.

My employer went online for pay slips and P.60s years ago, and I print hardcopy of those as well.

I've seen very serious consequences to not having easy access to this data so am prepared to sacrifice a few inches of storage to buy my peace of mind, but it's horses for courses, naturally, and others will have different opinions.

Don't know if today will involve any kondo-ing at all but I finished one book last night and started another, so the pile of to-be-reads is transferring into the pile of have-been-reads. Rellies/ friends will get first dibs but any they don't want will be offered at the Easter car boot sale we're planning but if not sold, will be donated. They're all in good nick, relatively recently published and should be desirable.

Hokay, time for brekkie, have a great day, kondo-ites!

silvasava

Charis - you can transfer all your credits and DD's to a new account but that does not mean you have to close the old one. Just leave a small amount of money in it. It is perfectly legal to have more than one bank account and sometimes quite useful!