KonMari 2017 - The Life Changing Magic of Tidying Up

GreyQueen

whiteguineapig wrote: »

Minnie2 you can also use the bags that come through the door for clothing donation , we seem to get loads , nearly one each week

However, if you want to maximise the value to the charity, it would be better to get the things straight into their hands.

Many of these organisations have been critisised for donating as little as 5 % of the value to the charity whose name they are licensed to use and the bulk is sold overseas as a commercial proposition.

Also, if you or hubby are tax payers, you can register for Gift Aid and then an additonal 25% of the eventual sale price can be claimed by the charity from the tax man

daisy_1571

minnie2 wrote: »

So i have been attempting the system but finding it hard to gather everything together at one time to sort due to having two under 3yr olds.i have managed to find 111 pens (biros) so far and i do not collect pens!!!! I do have a question though .....i have managed to get rid of lots of stuff however as a lot of it is too good just to throw away have i messed up by doing too much at once? I feel like its going to take me forever now to offload to different places the mountain of stuff that is taking up my usually very empty living room!!! But when ive had the opportunity when the kids have popped to grandparents for the odd hour ive just cracked on.but i dont want the stuff to migrate back into the house.i did a tip run yesterday when my sister popped round.i did gift some radley stuff to her although she wanted more she tried to take items i wanted to keep!! I just feel a bit overwhelmed with the stuff i have to stare at all day

I think that's the only way to do it Minnie, every single time you leave the house try to take stuff with you, that way the mountain will go down eventually. Then once it's gone you have an empty living room again and space where these items originally were - result. And as you do each category or drawer or cupboard, you will gain a bit more space.

It's easy to get 'stuck' in the mindset of trying to get every item to its 'perfect' place rather than 'waste' good stuff but the drawback to that is as you have discovered the mountain has to sit looking at you till you feel disheartened. Occasionally it's ok to literally just get rid of it and feel the benefit - after all, if you hadn't gathered it all together it would still be sitting in various parts of your house not bring used. So maybe the sign outside the house saying free or please take will be helpful? Or ask someone to keep an eye on the wee ones (hopefully at their house or anywhere outside yours ie swimming, pictures etc) and give you maybe 3 hours to distribute it as you would prefer. That might suit you better than a bit here and there and someone knows exactly what they are being asked to do ?

Stick at it, it will be worth it

Daisy

daisy_1571

Oh and re your 111 pens (well done BTW, that's impressive !) Don't try to store them all and use them all, take gq's idea and others on here - rubber band or store most away, leave out the most used couple and use them till they are finished - otherwise you will have 111 around for the rest of your life lol. Such a simple idea that has helped me with a few things.

Dxx

Karmacat

Took a shopping trolley and a binbag of stuff to the cs (fabrics like tablecloths) a nice stainless steel steamer, all sorts of things, but KM is going into reverse this week a new and new-to-me mattress has already come in, for my spare bed, so the old one has to go on freecycle (but I can't even photo it at the moment, there's stuff on there ) and a *lot* of stuff and paperwork is arriving on Saturday, courtesy of inheritance and inheritance work (scanning photos that will eventually be shared with my bro and sister, for example). One unexpected acquisition is the standard lamp my mother had for ages - neither of the others wanted it, but I love the design, its a very simple wooden imitation of a sort of industrial design. Beautiful. And the lighting in my bedroom leaves something to be desired, so this will help.

In the meantime ... there's a lot to do! Wish me luck, I'm going in ...

Save

MMF007

Ha . Have found the alien again. It has taken over my mum. I arrived yesterday to find 5 carrier bags of clothes ready to go to CS! Weather is rubbish, rain and wind, so may help find some more, if allowed

catshark88

Another bag to the CS this morning, including my wedding dress. i should have let it go years ago, but I somehow thought I ought to want to keep it? Anyhoo, ''tis gone.

I am rather hoist with my own petard though re my Mother. I've been (gently) on at her to clear out a few things she really doesn't want, so that she can get to and see the ones that do matter to her. She is now doing a big sort out, but in the process, is offering things to me. I'm immune to Justin and his friends and the things I'm considering, pass the "spark joy" test, but oh, they're giving my minimalistic tendencies a hard time! :rotfl::rotfl:

Picklepot

Hi catshark88

If your mum is offering stuff to you could you say " mm im not sure i will use it/need it are you ok with me me donating it on if i dont?" This is the way ive finally dealt with my family who cannot make decisions about things so kept passing them to me - could work if you want her to clear stuff albeit a bit of a hassle for you

catshark88

I may well try that Picklepot! It's mainly pieces of china, which have been passed through the family, are lovely, I would really like them, but they take up space! I do HAVE the space, im just a bit addicted to seeing lots of space around stuff on my shelves. There is a Japanese word "Ma" (no idea of spelling), which describes the space around things in art, flower arranging etc. I'm very fond of Ma, but my Ma is filling mine up!!

Isn't it interesting how contagious this tidying is? We have husbands, parents and kids all following us into it. :A

minnie2

whiteguineapig wrote: »

Minnie2 you can also use the bags that come through the door for clothing donation , we seem to get loads , nearly one each week

I havent got to the clothes yet ive got that joy to come

minnie2

Thank you Daisy !! I know i do not collect pens i have no attachment to pens what so ever!!! I was shocked.and that is so far. The last 3 i just found sitting in the car.its so hard finding the time to gather everything together at once.i have kept some of the blue ones i like using as i am a lefty.the rest i have bagged and are in the car to give away.my sister took a few.

Its so soul destroying seeing it all sitting there.i have just done my sons toys too so they are stacking up now.itll be my daughters next.

Still trying to sort through my paperwork too! So much and its all mixed but think i have emptied 3 box files so far its so draining and time consuming.i am looking forward to end result but just worried ive messed up by not strictly doing how she says but until i get to a certain point itll be impossible.my livingroom is usually bare because i dont like stuff my mum is a hoarder so i am the other way.i have two sofa a footstool and a tv on the wall and a dog bed.....and now a mountain of stuff and the dog bed has been relegated to kitchen for now.i will carry on but its just not feeling as great as it was.ive hurt my back so i am not very mobile at the minute to take stuff places and i have a feeling i need to go through the mountain and separate it off into what is going where