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Original poster

'The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying' - Marie Kondo

999 replies

FrancesHB · 07/09/2014 15:46

Has anyone else read this? I did a search but couldn't find any previous threads.

Marie Kondo is a Japanese expert in tidying and decluttering and her book has been translated into English and is best selling. It's wonderfully eccentric and inspiring and in some ways rather a breath of fresh air compared to other books on the subject (have read 'em all and my house is still messy...).

She asks us to ask if an item brings us joy and if it doesn't we thank it and out it goes. A bit like fly lady 'you can't organise clutter', but in a less annoying and at times quite endearing way.

I wondered if any MNers had used her technique and if it helped them 'get their house in order'.

OP posts:
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Coughle · 04/10/2014 06:38

skinnyGrin

CoolCadbury · 04/10/2014 09:39

Coats done. Handbags done. I kept all but one of my coats and hand kept 4 out of 5 handbags. DS saw me put the handbag in the bin bag for recycling and took it out and said you can't give "her" away because "she" was too pretty. I managed to persuade him that although she was pretty she was sad because she was no longer used and she wanted to go to a new home where she would be used. In the end we both said thank you to it and bye. Smile

Note to self: don't de clutter when ds is around, otherwise I will never make any progress.

minkah · 04/10/2014 10:28

Oh oh..... That cupboard full of towels that are a colour I don't like anymore, that I'm saving for "guests"..... Blush

More space about to be freed up...

Thankyou for mentioning towels, and...aargh... Bed linen one no longer uses.

CecyHall · 04/10/2014 11:36

Having a shit few days to be honest. Kids are being horrible and my house is starting to get me down despite the headway I've made nothing looks better.

Also got a letter front the charity who I have a lot (like at least 5 bins bags full of lovely clothes, hair dryers, bric a brac etc) and they've written today to say it made £10.68. Feel a bit demoralised to be honest, feels a bit of a waste of my stuff.

Sorry to be on a negative but I just feel so worn down (mainly by the kids constant whining and screaming).

Original poster
FrancesHB · 04/10/2014 13:40

It takes them a while to sell it. I will get letters saying my things have made three or hour quid and then another a couple of months later to say more stuff has sold, and it's made twenty or thirty.

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Bluestocking · 04/10/2014 13:43

I haven't even looked at the book, but I can vouch for The Life-Changing Magic of this thread - having had a quick scan through it in my lunchbreak at work, I was impelled to spend the last half-hour of the afternoon enjoying epic desk de-clutter! Thanks, all!

mixedpeel · 04/10/2014 14:49

Nice one, Blue! I can also vouch for the Life-Changing Magic of this thread. Frances, you have changed a lot of people's lives for the better by starting this thread.

I've been reading it since the start, and I'm just amazed at how inspiring it's been. I've been gradually decluttering and generally sorting out where things live in the house for the past year or so, but the progress I've made since this thread began has been phenomenal. And the enthusiasm I've had for doing it is astounding me, tbh.

I was fairly aghast at the sheer amount of clothes I had, having never thought I was too profligate. Turns out I've got a bit of a dodgy charity shop habit. What I've found since sorting and folding (and returning many many things to the charity shops...) is that I now know exactly what I've got, and that probably the only thing I could really add would be one more pair of good work trousers. A surprising knock-on effect for me has been the enormous sense of peace I now feel when walking past shops. The other day I was working in a part of town with great charity shops, and a lovely craft shop etc. I would previously have taken pleasure in rootling around, no doubt finding some little gem to take home. Now, I know I have all I need, and can visualise where it all goes, and I don't want to mess it up by cramming more unnecessary stuff in.

Original poster
FrancesHB · 04/10/2014 15:38

Thanks mixedpeel ::blushes::

I have made a start on my books. It's been emotional... I have so many books that I liked, (say 4 out of 5) which are quite worthy, but I'm very unlikely to read again. And it's quite unlikely but not impossible that the children might want to, one day. Ian McEwan, I'm looking at you. ::glares::

Anyway. They're out. My visualisation is to have one or two lovely bookcases containing only books that I love and either will read again or just bring me joy, or will definitely be read at some point by my bookish children. Or that I haven't read yet and really want to.

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MrsCurrent · 04/10/2014 16:41

Well that was fun, took the bags to the charity shop and joked with the lady that I'll be back as I'm such a hoarder, at which point I got cornered by a lady who proceeded to rant about being given a police caution for hoarding. Apparently they accused her of neglecting her children and she lost her job, she wanted to discuss at length how unfair it all was however I eventually mumbled something and made my escape. Upside is I'm more determined to clear the house and rescue the poor, neglected children from their disgusting bedroooms. And I'm feeling rather squiffy off the fumes from my new bff!

Housemum · 04/10/2014 19:24

Towels - how are you all storing your trimmed down collections? Rolled? Folded? In the bathroom on show? In an airing cupboard?

OneSkinnyChip · 04/10/2014 19:27

Evening all :) No decluttering today as we were off visiting friends. I had planned to stop and do some clothes shopping on the way home after wailing to DH that I didn't have any. Except now I have millions of clothes all neatly arranged in drawers and wardrobes - enough clothes for about 3 weeks without doing a wash. So I will most definitely NOT be buying any clothes!

Current Shock You're like me, you attract loons :o

Agree heartfelt thanks to Frances. I had never heard of this book before but I can honestly say it is brilliant and has motivated me where all others have failed!

Housemum · 04/10/2014 20:20

oneskinnychip I could clothe triplets with DD3's clothes...

MrsCurrent · 04/10/2014 20:36

Big thanks here to frances too. My mum is amazed at the transformation, no de-cluttering idea has ever worked for me before.

15 pairs of shoes gone today too!

fuzzpig · 04/10/2014 20:53

I thought of this thread today when crying watching the end of toy story 3! Andy thanking his toys when he gives them away... they've served their purpose and now they are ready to make someone else happy.

holmessweetholmes · 04/10/2014 21:43

Yes I want to join in thanking Frances too! This method just seems like it has stuck where others have totally failed to.

Original poster
FrancesHB · 04/10/2014 21:54

Awww. I'm thanking my mum who is a massive hoarder who recommended it to me after reading about her in the coughDailyMailcough.

I've finished my books! From about 1500 to about 300. I've made two shelves of special books to pass on to my children and thinned my own books considerably. 12 carrier bags to the charity shop. I also cleared out my daughter's shelves.

Now to the paperwork. Confused

OP posts:
holmessweetholmes · 04/10/2014 22:08

My main remaining clutter problem seems to be Lego-related. My children move about the house in a kind of tidal wave of the stuff. And they are very resistant to having to break up their creations and put them away!

Coughle · 05/10/2014 05:19

holmes there are some good ideas on this Lego thread www.mumsnet.com/Talk/_chat/2200033-Lego?msgid=49886253#49886253

ZingOfSeven · 05/10/2014 07:53

interesting

Stuffofawesome · 05/10/2014 07:57

Did ds's clothes 2 bags gone. Well going. Havent made it to charity shop as busy doing hot stone massage course which is much more fun hard work.

holmessweetholmes · 05/10/2014 08:48

Thanks Coughle. The thing is we have perfectly good Lego storage. It's just that the Lego seems to spend too much time spread over the floor and not enough time in its storage box Grin. I fear this is a 'training your children to tidy up' problem rather than a storage one! It's a problem we're going to have to sort soon as we are getting a puppy in November and I dread to think about the potential effects of swalliwed lego...

Asheth · 05/10/2014 09:41

I decluttered our towels yesterday. The ones I'm keeping are rolled and stood up on shelves in the airing cupboard. I've thrown out lots of tatty/grotty ones. No idea why i even had them for so long!

DH has made no mention of his beautifully arranged t-shirt drawer....

JiltedJohnsJulie · 05/10/2014 09:44

Dd and I did her books yesterday. It was great. We now have some to take to school and lots for the charity shop and all of her books now fit into her book cupboard, no extra storage needed Smile

CiderwithBuda · 05/10/2014 10:29

No decluttering achieved here last few days I'm afraid. No reason either! Am off out to look at a tv unit with DH shortly.

Might try and relocate my tops from wardrobe into chest of drawers afterwards which will leave space for me to try and sort DH's stuff.

I think the folding method will work well with his tshirts and getting them to fit in the shelves. He has far too many and they are all in categories - gardening ones, every day ones and not so tatty ones! And I think there is a pile of almost new ones hidden somewhere.

JiltedJohnsJulie · 05/10/2014 12:02

Well dd has just cleaned the bathroom, as she was the one who had drawn smiley faces on the mirror. She has done a good job and then went through all of the bottles and threw loads away. Looks much more tidy now. (Preens at DDs good work although fears it won't last into the tween years)