KonMari 2016 - The Life Changing Magic of Tidying Up

jackieb

mavvymoo wrote: »

Now I need to do a bit of cleaning as I hate going into the New year with any kind of carp around me


Mav x

I have a husband like that. He goes mad at hogmanay cleaning. He also opens the front and back door at midnight so the old year can leave and the new one can enter. He's working in Angola just now though, so it's a messy new year here - hopefully the last messy one lol

Love your philosophy too :A

mavvymoo

jackieb wrote: »

Thank you

I was looking at the new book too but guessed it was just similar to the first except it has illustrations, so in the spirit of less clutter i'm just going with the one :rotfl:

I have a question for anyone who can answer - I have a lot of stuff, and from what I can surmise is that you have to gather all your like for like stuff in one place that you are going to sort out. My stuff is all over the place. It's everywhere! I don't know if I could even put my hands on all of my similar items at once. I don't even know half of what i've got that is lurking in the back of cupboards, or in boxes and bags in the bottom of my wardrobe or behind sofas. Clothes would be easier to do, but I was wondering if I could apply some of the techniques to doing places like the cupboard under the stairs? eg, if it brings me no joy, then away it goes. If I were to search for all my like for like items and bring them all to one place at the same time I think i'd get buried under a mountain of clutter, and my house would be even worse than it is now :eek:

jackieb
You need to get it all in one place really :eek: Start small get all your knickers,bras and all that type of stuff and put it on your bed and sort it does it bring you joy ? Does it fit ? When that is done decide where you are going to put it and do it fold it as KM.

You need to start small but you need to do this way as you need to face it and realise what you have

Some kondoties do a declutter first but thats all it is a declutter its not KMing.

Break it down if you need but its going to get worse before it gets better So get on that train and start no looking back and get that knicker drawer fully kondoed and take it from there


Good luck with your first mission

Mav x

GreyQueen

I like the idea of having all examples of a category in one place at one time, but it is very difficult with a home as small as mine. And others who have bigger homes will probably have more contents, so the issue is the same.

I regard decluttering as a series of passes. Take an area like one drawer, one catch-all pot of misc, one understair cupboard contents, and hiff it all out. Then sort, with a bin to hand for the most obvious carp.

First pass is the obvious stuff, which should have been in the refuse or recycling from the get-go. Second pass is for things which have become dmaged and un-usable in storage. Third pass if for usable things which aren't in the right place. Fouth pass is for things in groups, of which there is excess.

This final stage is kondo-ing in my way of working. Do I need this category of Thing at all? Do I need so many? Which ones are joyful? Would family or friends like first refusal? Would a school or community group I know benefit? A local charity? Is the item only fit to be dismantled for spares/ recyclable components? Is is good enough to be donated to a charity shop as is, or does it need a bit of attention first (washing and ironing, a couple of stitches? Do I want or really need to try and sell it to recoup some money?

I have some things which are waiting 'attention' such as books to be read, and then they go into a charity donation bag. I also presently have more towels and teatowels than I need. All of them are part-worn and not really good enough to donate. I am concentrating wear on a few examples of each type, with the intention of not replacing them when worn out, therefore the inventory will shrink with natural attrition.

Well, we hauled the contents of the kitchen counter off onto the tabletop, Mum and I. There was a huge amount of small fiddly stuff, including tubs and containers of mini jumbled misc. Stuff like washers, screws, nails, nuts and bolts, savety pins, sewing needles, drawing pins, twisty ties, elastic bands and other things all muddled together.

I shot these out and we've sorted through. Some are in the bin as they are too damaged to use (rusty, bent, etc). Some are sorted into categories to go back into the workshop shed. A small quantity of hardware is put aside to go to Nan's for when Mum sometimes has little repair jobs to do over there. Others will require further sorting.

Sorting was interrupted by a shopping run, and lunch was being prepared when we got back, so table contents back on the unit. Lunch is now over and I am about to go back and reverse the process. The final stages of a clear-up are the hardest bits, but are utlimately the only bits which make a real difference.

Keep the faith, fellow Kondo-ites, I'm an ME person in a severely-stuffed home (not even my own) and I am Making a Difference one paperclip at a time in here.

Onwards, upwards, outwards and Beyoooooooooonnndd!!!!!

pollys

I joined this thread, sorted a few areas and then stopped. I'm now back on it!! I have revisited the areas I kondoed but I have used what works for me. In the kitchen drawer I have tea towels beautifully folded, in the same drawer I have, a couple of small kitchen hand towels, dishcloths, rubber gloves, oven gloves, pan scrubbers, dishwasher tablets and dishwasher cleaner.
I originally kept dishwasher tablets and cleaner with the cleaning stuff, this way it's much easier - next to the dishwasher and easy to see. What I really like though is that the drawer is so tidy and it's always tidy, I never quickly shove stuff in there because I don't want to spoil the look!
I'm looking forward to the rest of our home being the same, this time next year I want to be fully kondoed!!
Please keep posting if you are, your posts are my motivation.

Polly

PollyWollyDoodle

JackieB I agree with others, you need to be flexible but I think the point of putting everything in one category together works because you can see just how much of everything you've got.

I don't agree with MK that you only need stuff in one place - I have scissors in nearly every room in the house for example and I'm not going to run downstairs for a pair when I need to cut a thread off something in the bedroom. But putting it all together to Kondo it made sense.

I did tackle a couple of areas as stand-alone projects; the scary understairs cupboard was one. What you'll find as you Kondo is that stuff finds the right home - so e.g. if tools end up in one place, when you come across other tools they'll go there too. However you won't have really looked at the tools to see what's there, so you'll need to revisit that.

If you can categorise, do - if you can't, just be aware that you'll need to go over it again later.

MMF007

Thanks greent, this is great! Obvs I'm joining in again for 2016. I have made a good start to KM but no where near finished. Still have lots to do but am enjoying it!! The 'magic' is there and has indeed changed my mindset. As others have said, weird things happen during this journey and new opportunities find there way into our lives, presumably because they have space to? Does that sound too WOO?


Mavvy is right, there will be days of tears (and I am NOT prone to getting worked up about 'stuff' but it's part of the process) and there will be euphoria. It has to be said that the euphoria may relate to having folded your t-shirts and fitted them all in one drawer


The result of doing just one or two categories, and I do agree that 'categories' are the key, even if you have to break the main categories into smaller chunks, is that you can feel the weight lifting off your shoulders. You can notice the reduction in the 'noise' made by stuff' that sits there challenging you to find something or laughing at your struggles. You WILL feel calmer and more in control and, of course, joyful. I am not a 'woo' person but this just gets you.


So, best wishes to everyone for 2016 - see you there!


M xx

fuddle

I sorted through my PJ's etc. I have discarded more than I have kept, which being a prepper kind of goes against my 'just in case instinct'. I've kept the discarded stuff for charity in my wardrobe as I expect there will be an influx of charity bags through the door come the new year. Some cotton items have gone in the sewing box just in case and a couple have gone into the black bin along with the sieve.

I have just moved house so have everything in it's place I just think I have too much just in case. My next kondoing will be the bed linen. I would like it to fit on the shelf but in reality it's spread to a vacuum bag under the bed too. I don't like things under the bed so it would be a cathartic exercise I am sure, plus I have no attachment to bed linen. I just hope I don't move it from the linen collection to the sewing box... just in case. :cool:

GreyQueen

Many thanks to greentiger for my Latin translation, now into the sigline.

Mum has just decided she doesn't want to do any more clearing stuff out today so I won't push it. We still have considerable amounts of stuff all over the shop but this won't be resolved until Sunday when the car will take me and Stuff back to Provincial City. There should be acres of space left behind......... :rotfl:

Going the rehome a few more items and then put t'kettle on. Got to maintain proper hydration when kondo-ing, don'tchaknow.

PollyWollyDoodle

Old friends Justin Case and Mike Ummin-Andy are familiar to us all, Fuddle! :rotfl:

drusilla

Jackieb, have you had a look at the categories list that greent posted? I keep revisiting it. For me clothes was the biggest issue because they all take up so much space. They are all done now though. I have a small chest of drawers and a small double wardrobe- neither are full.

Next I did towels. I had so many but never had enough as kids carpeted their rooms with them. Now the towels are reduced they have to hand them in for washing or they will have to dry themselves with a face cloth.

When the big stuff is done it feels much easier to get the little stuff together. I agree with the others though about your knicker drawer.. My underwear drawer was 2 wide deep drawers stuffed full. Full of stuff I never wore. Now it's cleared I have 1 small drawer which is great. I can find what I need straight away.
Hope this helps.
Good luck.