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

[FrancesHB]

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'.

Still going here- another 3 bags gone today! Woo hoo!

Over the weekend I am going to tackle bed linen (we have about 20 baby blankets which are too small for the cotbed but we've held on to them!) and also towels (we have way too many!)

I can't face paperwork yet, it just seems to be everywhere! And I spent half of today trying to find a credit card bill as it needed to be paid, can't find it anywhere and now panicking I haven't paid enough! Agh!

what can I use as a kind of sturdy magazine rack to hold a few a4 files of homework on a hidden window shelf?

also can we please start a new thread as this one takes so long to load? pretty please?

chaffinch how about cutting a cereal box in the right shape and covering with wallpaper samples to stiffen it up and make it look pretty?

CoolCadbury No we don't even have anywhere to play the tapes! I gave my old cd/tape hifi system to inlaws and now he is threatening to bring it back here! He would probably be ok with converting to mp3 but he will never get round to doing it and I'm bloody not...and also there is a magazine to go with each tape that of course we have inherited it's all working against me haha. I have hidden them away in our large storage cupboards now at least I don't have to look at them.

That goes for your DH stuff too on the high shelves, at least you don't have to see it :)

Update: I have done my tights and they are all lovely and swirly looking in one drawer. I can't believe they all fit in one place. It seems a waste to throw out perfectly good clothes but it feels good to be free of them.

I have three bags for the charity shop and am naughtily going to eBay a couple of things.

Tomorrow I will start on accessories, shoes (gulp) and dd's clothes.

Penn my parents recently gave me a huge stack of cards from when I was born. I went through it and binned all but a couple which were from grandparents. Ask yourself what you are keeping them for, if they don't make you happy?

Do charity shops resell earrings?. Got loads of nice fashion earrings I don't want anymore..costume jewellery type stuff...but is there a hygeine issue?

I returned some clothes to the shops today and have pledged to not buy any more, at least until next year. Need to stop bulk buying as well. Bought about 20 of a particular pasta sauce I like when it was on offer, realised I have 6 bottles of hand wash waiting to be used and last time DH went to pick up our online shop from the supermarket he said he was embarrassed as there was so many packets of the jus rol bake it fresh pain au chocolats typing this out has really made me realise how ridiculous I have been!

I don't think they can if they are for pierced ears.

For those who don't know what to do with childrens artwork there are good tips on Goop:
www.goop.com/journal/do/304/goop-mag-21

Everyone talk a lot, let's fill up the thread so we can start a new one! Only 140 messages to go

I'm still struggling with paperwork... I just feel so blocked.

I am with you on the paperwork today coughie. We moved house a few months ago and I haven't filed anything since. I used to be fairly good and sorted stuff out every year or so but there are boxes now.

I think I will put the fire on and bring it all down to the living room to do and dd3 can watch some TV while I do it.

Keep up the fab work everyone :)

Can we really throw away old paperwork? I keep everything, I even print statements from online bank accounts as they only keep them for a year. I've had a couple of bad experiences of companies claiming that I haven't paid bills when I have southern water I am looking at you, it was only because I had the bank statements to prove it that I didn't have to pay them £hundreds . Since then I have kept everything, I just don't trust the companies to mess up.

Did anyone else smile at the bit in the book where she says that running out of things is fun? Clearly not the words of someone who has run out of nappies on a snow day

Hubb I think my charity shop sell them. I would buy them, surely you would just disinfect them before you wore them?

Just popping in to say hi! And to help fill up the thread. Won't get any decluttering done today as i'm working. I feel quite jittery at not throwing anything out! And i can't believe i just wrote that!

Pinterest has lots of ideas about storing children's artwork.

I have started trying to sort my digital photo's. DD1 is at school now and I haven't printed off any photo's since she was born. It's because I want the album to be perfect I think. Also, I find it hard to not use every photo even if we have 4 of the same thing but from different angles. It's silly as we have hardly any photo's of us as kids, just one from a holiday or party for example, but it's enough. I will have 20+ from a party and endless amounts from a holiday.

Morning all, I've been at work all week so nothing done at home, however the areas I have done have surprisingly stayed done. Does anyone else think their folded socks and rolled tights feel so much nicer to put on or am I absorbing some of the madness?!

I've slowly started chucking stuff at work too, needless to say my office was as bad as my house for keeping unnecessary stuff!

I got rid of some papers yesterday. Was a bit worried whether I should be burning them at first but then got into the swing of it! Will try to do another lot today but have to tidy kitchen first.

seasalt Last time I had a bid paperwork declutter the shredder kept overheating so I thought I would just burn them in a metal bucket in the garden.
I thought this would be easy and quite fun for DD2.
It turns out it isn't- they wouldn't really burn and were really stinky and I just ended up with a singed charcoaly paper that I had to chuck in a bin bag anyway

Oh dear Nanny . I did mine in the fireplace but they do make an awful lot of ashes.

I started off quite well a few weeks ago but haven't done anything since then as I've been busy and now I'm off work sick. I could sit in front of the TV and go through my tons of paperwork but not sure I can face it.

My paperwork is gathered into a huge pile in front of the TV. Sadly I will need to watch Nick Jr or cbeebies rather than something more fun whilst I tackle it.

I dispose of confidential paperwork by taking it to work and putting it in the confidential waste

This morning I got a real sense of satisfaction being able to pick my top from my nicely sorted drawers. I enjoyed actually choosing which top would go best with my trousers; before I would have sifted through my drawers until I came across one which was passable. And it was nice knowing that I could choose any vest top from the pile and it wouldn't be saggy or faded or have holes in it.

Today I have done

1. towels - I only chucked two handtowels as we don't have too many, but I have rolled the rest nicely and stood them up on their sides

1. My pjyamas - i only have two pairs and neither sparks joy as they are old and baggy and faded. I haven't thrown them out as this is better than being cold at night, so my compromise is to add 'nice pyjamas' to my christmas present list. When I get them I will throw the old ones out.

1. Started on dd's clothes. I'm finding it surprisingly harder than doing my own clothes. I think the problem is we genuinely do need to keep clothes which don't 'spark joy' - for messy play, and for nursery who seem to destroy or lose most of what we send her in.

DD has a wardrobe with those ikea hangy things which aren't ideal for folding. I cut up a cardboard box from some nappies which fits quite neatly to make a drawer for her tops. Now I can't find anything to use for her bottoms - unfortunately cardboard boxes are about the only thing I am good at chucking away. AIBU to order more nappies, even though we don't need them, so I can make a drawer out of the box

I'm still plodding along. Haven't achieved too much this week.

I tidied the utility room but need to clear out some of th cupboards. Might do that today. Also need to do under stairs cupboard and boot room. And I want to bake.

I found my Karcher window cleaner thingie that I bought about a year ago and never used. So I have been using that! And did all of the downstairs windows except the dining room.

DH looks after paperwork in this house. Although I have some too obviously. I have a desk which has a small filing drawer which is full. Another thing to add to the list!

Books done. Half of it gone. The ones left are mostly DP's. Paperwork now. I am drowning in paper work. It's literally in every room either hidden away or stacked high on surfaces. I don't think I have time to bring it all together and sort before the school run. What shall I do?

MsBug - great that you take the paperwork to be disposed of at work. And yes, it's lovely choosing clothes from such quiet, calm selves and wardrobes. I find that I am actually wearing a bit more variety of clothes, instead of the same old, same old. What I have also realised is that I only have 2 tops for work but lots of casual stuff.