KonMari 2016 - The Life Changing Magic of Tidying Up

GreyQueen

GoingToDoIt wrote: »

I was glad to see GQ worked out a "cost per use" I did wonder if I had been "overthinking" but lately I have been questioning the same of some of my household goods. I'm debt busting and building an rdf, and have been thinking "but what if x needed replacing?" And from that, was it good value?
Since konmarie I have been looking at clothes in a different way - I'm buying smarter, but also thinking of resale value (as plus size clothes do well on the bay). I think I'm also less keen to buy "cheap bits" such as PJs, leggings, face masks, nice pens, all manner of "stuff". Before I would think "it's just a few quid" whereas now, I think all of those little bits, £5, £3, being equal to a couple of months worth of a new washing machine?!
I think in the past I failed to think beyond my bills being paid and what was left was "spends" whereas now I think "this is MY money and I need to maintain a certain standard of living for myself (including an RDF so I can replace any broken item easily and without stress). Also, not wanting more clutter to creep in helps too!

I think 'cost per use' is a useful way of looking at things. It's certainly useful to me, anyway.

I seriously begrudge money on new clothes, as they are mostly worthless once bought new. By buying secondhnad for 95% of the time, I can get maximum value for my £££ and let someone else take the depreciation.

When I was at uni, we had a modest amount of business training and one of my takeaways from that it that businesses often fail to factor depreciation into their costs. Therefore, the eventual replacement of plant, equipement and vehicles etc comes as a shock.

I'm not suggesting that one could - or should - run a household like a business but it helps to regard appliances etc as having a finite life. Let's say, for example, that you put £1 into a coffee jar alongside the laundry detergent each time you ran your washer - it would go towards the replacement costs. It is possibly a more efficient use of money than the extended warranty scams out there, and you don't have aggro with third parties when you want to claim.

Partway through the life of the previous washer, I started keeping a five-bar gate tally in my diary each time I used the washer. I have done that from the commencement of ownership of this washer and am running 85-90 loads per annum. By the appliance's end, I will be able to have a cost-per-load price as well as a cost-per-week of ownership.

I also choose appliances after carefully checking their ratings in Which? (up at the reference section of my library).

All the time he has had a car, my Dad has followed this strategy.

1. Buy a good used car for cash, usually one about 2 years' old, often ex-fleet, with lots of useful life left in it.

2. Have a dedicated savings account (ISA mostly) to which he adds money for the replacement of the car - at about 15-year intervals, he is a low-mileage driver. Sell old car for cash when niggling repair costs start mounting up, and buy replacement from savings.

This strategy means that he never has to buy on finance and has the flexibility that the money is (potentially) available to use the cash for other things, as needed.

Back when I owned cars on a shoestring, I used to use the Parker's Price Guide to research the prices of the supermini-type of cars which I owned. I plotted the price drops in Metro and Fiesta cars and found depreciation was progressive apart from two sharp drops; 18 months and 8 years, from memory. I actually graphed it, and thus could aim to come in on the downside of the drop, not the upside of it.;) Oh, and PPG cost £2.50 at the time, I used a copy to assist purchasing my last car and then took the magazine out booting that same month and sold it easily for £2..... :rotfl:

One concept that you will find on blogs and in books on personal finance has been described as absolutely key to money management; pay yourself first.

Seriously. Put money aside when you first get it as payment for your future self and regard fritteration (just invented that) as theft from yourself. Theft of future opportunities and/ or theft of peace-of-mind, something which is priceless in itself but vastly helped by not being on one's uppers, in my experience.

:happyhear Thank you all for your superb advice about the fridge. I will actioning these suggestions in the next few days and will report back. I shan't be on it today as I need to wrangle the freezer off the top of the fridge and do a pretty intense shuffle in my 6 ft square kitchen in order to get at the back of the fridge, and one has to be minded to do that as well as feeling rather strong.

Today, the strength is reserved for allotmenteering, which is where I will be heading in about 30 minutes.

GoingToDoIt

Fritteration - I love it! And the idea of "pay yourself first". I will look into the GQ, thanks for the suggestion.

Clothes - I'm willing to spend more- being an unusual size, finding little to suit when browsing chazzers and enjoying the ease of using t'internet to buy things in the sale which I can then "click and collect" easily, similar for returning them too. Also no tramping around shops getting tired!

I am currently the owner of several items which had original selling prices of £50+ which I purchased for £20 nor less, on a points credit card, via tcb and will be sold on for hopefully £5-10 when no longer required. This may be the "best" collection of clothes I've owned in some years.

I'm also frequently reclining about the house dressed in an odd but comfy mix of cut off old leggings, tshirts past their best, and all manner of bits that "only" cost a few quid but pre-Kondo were shoved in drawers, bags etc awaiting a call from Justin. I am currently wearing at T shirt bought for £3 in a sale which was worn a few times to a gym class. It used to have a cost per wear of around 40p. Has been worn maybe twice per week for past 18 months thanks to Kondo, so approx cost per wear is now closer to 4p, and will go to the ragbag shortly as has become very hokey!

GreyQueen

Probably about 25 years ago, I came across a library book called, if I recall, correctly; How to Buy Just About Anything Secondhand.

Quite a lot of the advice therein has been superceded by events but one thing which I recall is this concept; that when you are buying something secondhand, what you are buying is the amount of useful life left in it.

This lodged in my brain as a very useful idea. If you buy a stainless steel saucepan stacking saucepan set which originally retailed at nearly £100 for £6, as Mum did early one bootsale morning, you are buying decades' worth of useful life for pennies on the £.

Righty, off to sow the fields and scatter etc etc. Laters, GQ xx

MMF007

' afternoon All. 2 pretty glass jars (not jam jars, ones with fancy dome shaped lids for Cotton Wool balls and the like) now in CS. They escaped round one of kondo-ing because they were pretty but I have not used them so why were they taking up space??

Have not got to kondo larger clothes as i hoped - will do it tomorrow.
Got distracted doing some internet research last evening to help MIL source some items for their new shower room.

Off topic warning -
I hope no-one minds me telling the tale, but I am just so pleased that a much-needed refit of MIL's bathroom has been completed!
MIL is quite disabled but was still trying to use the bath and the shower over it despite the getting in and out being Very painful and definitely unsafe for her to do so. DH and i had tried to get her to consider a walk-in shower but after several convos it became apparent that there was no way she could afford even the basics and we couldn't afford to do it for her
After nearly a year of research into possible financial assistance, form filling, and a moderate financial input from DH and I, the bathroom has been converted into a wet room with a shower, a fitted shower seat, a higher toilet and easy to operate taps.

Thanks in great part to a little known, long established ex-services charity that does not spend a huge amount on self-promotion, that sourced most of the finance.

Needless to say we have sent a large bouquet to the lovely lady who did the financial assessment, and sorted out the physical needs assessment, a survey and found the bulk of the funding. We have, of course, sent a donation to the charity itself so they can continue the marvellous work.

MIL has never had much money. Although she worked all her adult life the jobs were poorly paid, and she is the most generous person who constantly gives to others, rather than spend on herself. If anyone deserves a bit of help she is the person! I am just so glad to have played a part in it.
*hope this ramble doesn't sound smug or self congratulatory, I only did some paperwork and a bit of research! Just want to celebrate that someone deserving DID get help. Doesn't always work out that way, does it?

Right, off to research how to fit replacement brushes on a client's Panasonic vacuum cleaner - have bought the part, just need the knowledge!

GreyQueen

:T Well done, MMF007 and you don't sound smug at all.

For those who may find themselves - or someone they wish to help - in a not dissimilar position, there is a telephone directory-size reference book which your public library should stock in the reference section which is a guide to all the charities out there which award grants.

Many of them are extremely niche and handling applications to foundations which are, in some cases, centuries old. Lots of them relate to professions and trades as well as military service (SSAFA is excellent btw).

We had a copy of this when I volunteered at the CAB so if you can't find it, try contacting them. HTH.

MMF007

GreyQueen wrote: »

:T

For those who may find themselves - or someone they wish to help - in a not dissimilar position, there is a telephone directory-size reference book which your public library should stock in the reference section which is a guide to all the charities out there which award grants.

Lots of them relate to professions and trades as well as military service (SSAFA is excellent btw).

.

Hey GQ, it was indeed SSAFA that helped MIL. They were so good. They recognised that most people don't like needing help and they dealt with it very sensitively. I cannot priase them enough.

Siebrie

Mum and Dad decided to come for dd2's birthday, and they arrived at 2pm already. It's a four-hour drive, and they are 81 and 75. After a short celebration and a nap, they hepled in the garden. I now have a mowed lawn and swept terrace. Where do they get the energy?!?

tibawo

How come on the days you can lie in, you wake up, not just wake up but are wide awake before a normal working day?


Already done a load of washing, the dishes and some of the general tidying and am writing a plan of action for the rest of the day!


I have made space for my next gathering of things for a 'job lot car boot' - I am actually a lot better about buying things on the spur of the moment or because they are bargains with no real use to me. to spur me on I would like it gone by half term so not in way for dd bday.


My new allotment is looking ten times worse than when i got it because i have had to pull up the top layer of grass because the previous person has left lot of things lurking and random placed larger stones. We have initially been working on area for some seats... levelling the soil is taking far longer than i thought! Alongside this trying to decide how to lay the growing areas out. Traditional? Quirky?

Pooky

I'm still fitting the bathroom....luckily I'm now on the bit where I'm kondoing the boxes of tiles from my bedroom so I'm slowly regaining some space.

I brought a couple of new t-shirts last week as they seem to be the one thing I can't find in a decent state second hand. But at 2 for £6 I wasn't that fussed. A few weeks ago I spotted a dress, still with tags on, in a little charity shop that I don't venture into often. It wasn't a style I'd normally wear (I'm not a dress person) but with DD1's graduation in September I'd been keeping my eye out for something. For £3.75 I got £35 worth of dress that I wouldn't have picked up in store but I took it home, it fits perfectly and actually the style is quite flattering. I doubt I'll ever have occasion to wear it again afterwards so it will get popped online next time I have a few bits to sell and I'm sure I'll get my money back.

I've really appreciated the effort made with getting the house straight before I started the bathroom project as I'm still able to keep it clean and tidy with minimal effort even after 10 hours of DIY. I highly recommend it!

camelot1001

That's a lovely story to share MMF007, I'm so pleased to hear your MIL has the bathroom she needs. Well done to you for organising everything, I'm sure she is very grateful.