KonMari 2017 - The Life Changing Magic of Tidying Up

I am making a very big effort to use candles as a keep-warm and cheeriness factor. I`ve put candle sand in votive holders and plonked tealights in them, I must have a couple of hundred and dinner candles, one at a time in a wee willie winkie holder inside a very tall lantern with a metal top. The top gets warm, like a heater.

Three unused tall tealight lighthouse type holders are out as in KM, far too big for what they do, I also have three neat colourful holders for votives and they can do both jobs

What I do like is the fact, actual fact, that removing things leaves the equivalent volume of free space and it doesn`t half add up. Oh and yes, the karma woo I got a nice tax rebate this week

re very sentimental things like drawings, baby clothes, toys etc. We kept an awful lot of that and none of the children wanted any of it. They went a few years ago and I have never regretted it

I spoke to my parents yestereve and was told that they'd done a dump run and the last of the three hoarded windows from their house-before-it-had-double-glazing has now gone. As well as some misc metal and plastic and green waste. Feeling the wooo.... :rotfl:

Mum also told me she'd seen a very nice blouse in Sainsbugs, only £18, very pretty, and been tempted. Then she'd told herself that she wouldn't wear it as it doesn't have the three-quarter length sleeve she favours, and so she passed on it. She was pleased with her decisiveness.

She also (gleefully!) told me that she's almost given up ironing anything and found that the world still turns and that nobody notices or cares. The joy of pensionerhood, hey? I've only been trying since my teens to get her to do less - preferably nil- ironing. Result!

Been busy at work and doing other things. Just prepped some recycling to go out and am getting some Stuff off the wall unit. Am inspired by the fact that the family are coming over on Sunday for a few hours. I can just about seat the four of us but only if I bring my extra folding chair up from the storage shed, and any bags/ coats are dumped on my bed. Oh, and I'll get the extra mugs out from the cupboard as I only have one on the go at a time.

Many of the things in my life are to be kondo'd by natural attrition, by wearing them out, rather than getting rid and then re-buying a little way down the line. It means that I should end up with fewer of everything from pillowslips to towels to face flannels and time goes on. The goal will be to have a smaller inventory of everything, now I know how long things last and that I need relatively few examples of each category.

All I need to achieve is the ability to silence the anxiety about not having Enough and the excessive tendancy to spave by bulk buying - wish me luck.

Kondo'd a large beech hedge back to tidy! Also, a rose hedge, several shrubs and 4 trees whipped into shape.
Did a bit of reverse kondo-ing by buying some sandals in the sale -they are the same footbed as my all time favourite pair that finally gave up the ghost last year so I was delighted to find them

Tomorrow we are kondo-ing paperwork - a little bonfire, a sort of bonfire-ette, will do the trick

ooh, we love tealights, makes winter seem so cosy.

Upsy Staffordshire your post really sparked joy for me! It's great to hear from someone who's feeling the benefits. While I did complete the whole process, or so I thought, I still find pockets of 'kipple' (in GQs words!) that need sorting out. And things that made the first cut suddenly seem superfluous next time around. Every time I clear a little area that's built up I can see a future where I never have to do it again.

Greent I have a lovely pair of shoes with a matching bag that I wore for my niece's wedding - I don't think I've worn them since, but I love them and they make me smile. Ahem, my niece got married 12 years ago but they're a classic style so I'm keeping them!

Minnie2, it sounds as if you're powering through your house!

Re children's clothes, get them out and have a good look at them...even when washed and put away clean, stains seem to appear when they are stored for years, so that might make the decision easier if you're looking to cull any.

Baby clothes are only sentimental to mothers, not the children who wore them, probably because the babies don't remember. Even if you want to pass them on to be worn by your grandchildren, really no one wants to put their beautiful new baby in old, musty and even stained clothes, so I haven't actually seen any of my friends or family gasp with delight at 30 year old baby clothes, lovingly preserved by Grandma... it's harsh, but in the same way that you probably enjoyed making or choosing these clothes new, your children will want to do the same thing, not have to pretend to be grateful for a box of old stuff. I think it's the same with wedding dresses - women save them, thinking how lovely it will be for their daughters to wear them, but this is actually horribly selfish, because it's imposing your choice on your daughter, with a whole bundle of guilt added in around not offending mum...

Also, re your son's puzzles, there is a simple solution - sit down once a week with him and do a puzzle. If he doesn't ever want to do a puzzle, or if he loses interest before finishing it, you've got your answer and the puzzle that he's not interested in can go!

GreyQueen - I'm wondering about getting rid of my ironing board. I absolutely loathe ironing boards (I'm left handed, so always seem to trap my fingers), and as a result, I have designed my life so that I never iron anything apart from very very rare occasions...even then, I spread it on my bed and iron there. It must be at least 2 years since I got the ironing board out... But I keep thinking, what if I suddenly need to start ironing, and what happens if I don't have the ironing board?!! :rotfl: So it's still sitting in the cupboard...annoying me by falling over every time I get something out.