to wonder why Marie Kondo transforms lives

[Teenageromance]

This is a genuine question - on a recent thread about self help books that have transformed your life the Marie Kondo book came up a lot.
I’ve got the book on kindle but now need some inspiration to read and do it.
So tell me how it had transformed your life and home?

Ha! Beat you there. I haven't bought a coat for any of the 4 DC since... er, er, er.... I think the eldest (15yo) twisted my arm to buy him a jacket ~3 yrs ago.

Yes, we agree, obsessive decluttering can => more expensive than planning ahead or planning for maybes.

This week's weather meant no transport so could only have had the snowboots available by having bought in advance on the maybe-chance. IIRC, about £3 from a charity shop. D-kids are very good at scaling mountains and crossing bogs in ordinary trainers, true.

I have a lovely Lladro my gran left me yrs ago. I think it wasn't worth enough to sell, but will check Ebay in a moment...

Ooh... Lladro is worth at least £50 even after fees. Now, have I hoarded the special styrofoam packaging it came in?

It doesn’t feel more expensive to be decluttered - simply because by scaling back purchases I really do only try and buy what I need instead of getting a bargain. My problem was that I would buy too many bargains and lose track of what I spent!

It is transforming my life but also giving me mini panick attacks. I suppose the biggest way it has helped me is not so much in getting rid of things but in being more careful in what I do bring into the house.

I won't actually buy the book though as then that's more clutter!

It was my mother's dying wish that the piano stay in our family, Midnite.

But you don't get a dying wish that impacts upon someone else. If you need to spend more for a bigger house to hold her piano, then that's selfish of her, and she had no right to ask you of it. If you love it, then great, but if you only keep it out of obligation, then you need to ask yourself if it is really that important to you?

What is important to us is not necessarily what will be important to our children, and if you are asking them to hold onto something of yours because then that is selfish.

I have a holiday house that I have been doing up and will eventually live in. I hope that one day I can pass it on to DS and I dream of him having many happy holidays there with his own family. But that does not mean that I will ever obligate him to maintain or hold onto the property if it is not of interest to him. The house is a gift, not a lifelong expectation.

I wouldn't say I'm a hoarder, but I do suffer from the "just in case" mentality. It makes me happy to know that my home is equipped for pretty much every eventuality, whether it's the need for a particular sized serving dish, or a particular colour of cardigan to match an outfit. I hate getting rid of anything serviceable, in case I find myself needing it (and having the spend money on it) in the future.

This approach means that my house is pretty full of stuff. Clothes are a particular problem. Does MK have any strategies for dealing with that particular mindset?

.....having TO spend money.....

You're supposed to spend the money... MK is quite materialistic, really, a lot about loving stuff (but only having stuff you love).

MK would have a lot to say on the every-colour-cardigan situation.

Couple yrs ago I put all my (non socks/non underwear) clothes in bags; anything left in the bag (not worn even once) at end of the year could go to charity. Almost nothing was unworn (except thick wool jumper I finally wore 3 days ago!) so I guess I have the right amount of clothes.

BreakfastatSquiffanys i have to disagree with you there. It's a slower process but the Life Changing Magic happened for me and then my husband; now we're working on bringing the children along with us as they can see the positive impact 'it' has on our home.

Yes my dh did start to copy me (though couldn’t make him read the book) but there was an annoying phase when I would make room on a shelf/empty a drawer and come back to find it filled with his crap!

I mean, she thinks her clothes are alive, but the decluttering technique is helpful.

@icelolly99 I've not tried Kondo with small children but I assume it would be hard, but it's great that yours are coming round.
My husband has been "kondoed" , he just doesn't realise it!