KonMari 2017 - The Life Changing Magic of Tidying Up

[Deleted User]

yes polly, I realised this year that I don`t have to put them up. I would if people were visiting or my husband were here but I am not having a family gathering at my house this year. I breathe a sigh of relief tbh, no re-wrapping them to put away and that is another half day added to my life

catshark88

I haven't sent cards this year, for the first time. It's not a particularly ethically based decision, cards just seem to have run their course amongst my usual card sending circle (I will still send to 2 older people as I think they would miss them more).

I felt guilty that I was sending late, but feel quite a relief now that I've decided not to and have made a donation to a charity close to me. Funny how things go, I was quite into sending them last year.

I think social media has made quite a difference. I'm in contact with my more distant friends and acquaintances far more than before and so the annual "catch up" is more redundant.

Are you guys sending the usual number of cards this year?

camelot1001

No cards from me, I made a donation to a local charity that supplies christmas dinner hampers to families in need.

I've cleared my mess in DDs bedroom, holiday things all over the place, they are mostly packed, just need to do some ironing! Lots of product wrapping has gone in the recycling/bin.

Just one small bag of presents to hand over, the bags have slowly gone down this week, gives me much more space.

I love your tales of the Juntique shop cellar GQ, would love to have a rummage down there myself!

wort

I have filtered cards this year, some because when hubby died in June didn't even bother to send a card or attend the funeral- you soon realise who is worth bothering with.
Some others I've not sent,but will send if they bother!!
Pollywollydoodle ,I did that one year with the Dec's. I feel a lot more minimal since kondo, and there was just too much. Having said that I do remove some of my normal ornaments to put out Xmas stuff, so it's nice and not crammed.
Kittie I wished I'd known you liked the cozee home , I got rid of a brand new duvet cover pillowcases and sheet, I really didn't like them:o they reminded me of the Bri nylon sheets we had at o e point growing up. I prefer flannelette.

GreyQueen

I had a panicky call from the juntique shop mid-morning as pal was suffering from a pre-Christmas rush of customers, especially ladies buying the vintage costume jewellery, and could I...........?

I could. I have done dafter things for pals at short notice, like icing a 3 tier wedding cake on the wedding day itself (what I know about icing could be written in capitals on the back of a stamp, frankly, but it's amazing what you can do in a blind panic, hey?):rotfl:

So, I've been playing shops today and have assisted in the rehoming of various shiny baubles. It was pretty busy (city is full of manic shoppers, I expect the same is true everywhere) but there was a quiet spell over lunchtime when I begged to be allowed down into the cellar.

Ahh, mes amies, the cellar, a smallish area which somehow seeps wondrous things. Or wondrously bizarre things, anyroad. I fetched up a carrier bag full of old phone cards. Someone bought them, I expect them to appear of t'Bay before we're very much older.

I have bolstered my reputation with my pal by bringing up a dusty placcy bag of old watches (well, mostly the workings minus the cases) which had been cannibalised for the gold and silver to be sold as scrap. Only, in some cases, the cannibalisation hadn't been fully completed before they ended up in the cellar. And to think I had to brow-beat him into looking at them, he just wanted me to put them back again.

One 14ct watch case, one 18ct watch case, one big silver fob watch and some other bits of silver inc a silver watch chain, customers are always keen on those. Pal cannot believe they were down there, the 14 ct bit alone, which looks like nothing, will realise £53!

That cellar is going to have to be re-named The Kondyke if this goes on, I'm just itching to get back in there.:rotfl:

elona

GQ

Is there anything you can't do? I was gobsmacked at the idea of icing a wedding cake if you had no experience, never mind on the actual day.

You have been a real treasure to your junktique pal, even more than the discoveries themselves. :T

I am really impressed by your finds.

catshark88

If the people on this thread were running Brexit, things would be going far better. You lot would have it sorted by lunchtime, in a way everyone was happy with and with a big pot of tea going for all who needed it!

GreyQueen

elona wrote: »

GQ

Is there anything you can't do? I was gobsmacked at the idea of icing a wedding cake if you had no experience, never mind on the actual day.

You have been a real treasure to your junktique pal, even more than the discoveries themselves. :T

I am really impressed by your finds.

It was using that roll-out icing. But I did hand-make the decorations - an art school education is seldom entirely wasted.:rotfl:

List of things I cannot do (by no means comprehensive); sing, dance, make a Victoria sandwich cake rise, grow a decent carrot, speak french fluently........... there are many many others.....

My juntique pal thinks I'm wonderful and tells me so frequently, even more so when I'm let loose on the paperwork. I am mid-progress chasing down £1,500 owed to him. I expect the process to have to pause-and-resume until new year, tho, but the gloves come off again in January. They can pay up or I'll have to send Da Boyz around.:D

elona

GQ

Send nursie! That should have them fighting to pay up

Maybe mardatha could recussitate the heffalump and a bunch of old stylers brandishing rolling pins could concentrate their minds wonderfully.

GreyQueen

Nursie is like Def Con 3 - we get there eventually but we start with dunning notices and phonecalls...... I am pretty good at phonecalls, being as they're what I do for a living.

The middles of the watches (sorry, I think watch-savvy people call those movements, although that conjures up something else entirely in my mucky mind) have been stacked neatly in a ferrer0 roche box and will be offered to a watch-mending pal of the pal. In case he can do anythng with the itsy-bitsy gubbinses. Less clutter around the place.

He's totally gobsmacked about the gold bits. OK, they are white gold, so basically look like silver at a glance, but they're clearly hallmarked so he can't credit how he could have missed them. I blame the many distractions of running a juntique shop, the public will keep bringing interesting things in to offer him, so I guess he got distracted and thought he'd finished with the watches and stuffed them down the cellar.

The clear placcy bag was grey and opaque with dust, so I reckon it'd been down there for some years.

Oh, and I found some more thrupenny bits. The cellar has 35 kg bagged and some loose ones in a bucket. This was after selling 30kg of them a couple of months back. Goodness knows how many millions of thrupennies there are loose in the wild, 45 years since they became obsolete.

I quite like thrupenny bits, can just about remember them a wee kiddie, but no one needs that many of the beggars............!