'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'.

Ooh thought provoking post thank you.

It's actually made me think a lot. We've often gone for the cheapest or most efficent and have ended up with a fairly bog standard ikea house (I hate the actual house which doesnt help as we'd hoped to have moved). Spending the extra few pounds here or there to buy items which bring joy makes sense.....

That's the way I'm trying to see it too - having nicer stuff but less of it! For the Tupperware example, I no longer buy cheap plastic pots, I only buy the nice clicky ones as the lids always fit and I don't worry about spills - so in that sense they do bring me joy! Especially now I need to use two each day (one pot of fruit, one of veg) when doing DD's packed lunch!

I have a small saucepan which makes me happy every time I use it. It is perfectly balanced, and the right size for lots of things and it has a lovely thick bottom.

I love the click of lock & lock Tupperware, but I never choose the small round ones,only the squarish ones unless there is no alternative.

I don't love my water glasses. They are the wrong size and shape and I generally choose cheap plastic cups instead.

My Sellotape dispenser has a sturdy heavy bottom and makes it easy to wrap presents.

YY so the items in your house support your life, rather than just simply function, or really irritate you.

But as someone who aims to buy less/consume less I have to balance the practicality with consuming less and with replacing things with items that spark joy. But it can be done.

And I am now seeing that sometimes the joy is that I've had an item for a long time, resisted the urge to replace it unnecessarily with something different/prettier/another colour - that brings me personal joy.

I've needed a new broom for a long time now (well before reading this book). My old broom is yukky and horrid and I really don't like it (it's just normal nothing too revolting). Plus I have space issues with impact with where to keep the fecking broom. I have similar issues with the mop. So I've been looking for solutions. Rather than just replace the broom/mop because I don't like them, I've hung in there and I am looking for something that 'sparks joy' I guess, to replace them with - part of that joy will it will be easy for me to store.

I think I've settled on the Muji broom/mop/cleaning system though the handle might be too short for me - now if only I can find it in stock somewhere so I can physically see it!

I think as well if you actually took all of your saucepans or tupperware or mugs or whatever and put them together, you'd know immediately which ones you gravitate towards using most often and which ones you never use unless there are no others left. So take the ones you avoid using and put them in a box somewhere. They're still there if you absolutely need another one of whatever it is (and that prompts you that you need to look for a replacement which sparks joy) but maybe without them, you'll find that you just wash up more often or you don't really use them at all anyway.

Im getting this :)

I started a massive declutter earlier in the year but didnt really finish it. Itching to go through kitchen things... its making sense.

I scrolled through on kindle and grinned about greeting my home... when above I said how much I hated it!

My big kitchen declutter was 20 months ago. It was wonderful. I got rid of all duplicates, gadgets, things I never used, things I could use something else to do. Kept enough glass ware/plates etc for me & the DC and a couple of guests.

I kept the IKEA apple corer - it does bring me joy. I use it and love it.

I kept 4 frying pans - which is really a bit excessive but I use them all and they all work well and bring me joy.

ONE colander.
ONE corkscrew.
Only plastic containers with lids
etc

Today I found myself in Robert Dyas at lunchtime about to go to the till with a cake slice/cake pusher reduced to £1. The old me would have brought it in a flash - without thinking twice. The new me eventually caught up with myself and I realised "I can/will just use my lovely large knife for his task".

Cake slice put back, sanity restored, kitchen still relatively excess free.

I am in the middle of the 'put it in a box and see if you need it' process in my kitchen. I have needed nothing so far! I started in April. The best bit was decluttering the DC's plastic stuff. We have 2 plates and 2 bowls for them now and just wash them up. We used to have (well, still do in the box) tons of stuff and just used to get a clean one out thus making tons of washing up.

I also had loads of casserole dishes/mixing bowls/ serving bowls. I kept the 2 lovely looking but rarely used serving bowls and now use them for any mixing, but still have them if we do have guests over for a meal. I kept the lovely red (Le Creuset knock off) casserole dish and put the rest in the box.

YY to making kitchen items multitask.

I brought very pretty porcelain measuring cups to replace the hateful pound shop plastic ones, they nest in together so don't take up much space and I also use them as small serving bowls for nibbles/snacks.

I have now moved my stroppy 3yo onto cafe glasses for her drinks - in the hope that all plastic will be gone soon - which will free up an entire small cupboard & I can get the toaster off the work surface & into the cupboard.

I have refused to buy anymore lidl Cheerios until the Lidl Special K (brought on special request and then ignored) is used up. DD1 this morning conceded and started eating the Lidl K. Hooray!

Just finished my clothes. So little sparked joy, and it was sad going through some stuff and thinking, I really hate this top but kept it because my mum bought it for me. Crazily, I had been keeping some stuff just because I'd already kept it so long! Almost as if it were going to turn into an antique so it would be crazy to get rid now. It was a top with a photo picture of my face on it from when I was about 9. I'm now 30! I have always hated that picture of me, I hated the top the minute it was made. I just put it in the rubbish bag. It felt amazing! Why didn't i do it before?! I think I might go and do a second iteration now, because I kept some old shirts that were with logos from various concerts memorabilia etc. I will never ever wear them and I would really much rather have the inner calm of knowing they are gone for good. By the way, I actually did clear my clothes out before I moved abroad 6 months ago. This book made all the difference this time round.

I found it difficult to get rid of gig t-shirts too, even though I actually never wear normal t-shirts (if anything I prefer girly fit ones but they didn't do them in those days!). DH wore lots of them though and it was hard to see some of them go as they were stained/had holes, I remind myself it doesn't take away the memory of the show itself!

Marking my place. Don't think I'm going to enjoy this decluttering lark or anything .

I can't rid of clothes though, I still fit everything. And DD can have the youthful stuff when she's in her 20's.

But I might consider a little light decluttering....

One of my tshirts is 26 years old. All the others have gone but this one I kept. All folded magically like my other to is.

To is = tops.

Damn phone

Not quite ready to face clothes (need to finish washing pile and sort through house to do it "properly" so will do friday when daughter at preschool :)

I have, however, been putting "like with like" in preparation for the start (odd medicines and plasters in my room back into bathroom. It seems I have drawers of "things" in most rooms which mostly just need putting away.)

However I had to come back to this thread to post as I clearerld out "the drawer" in my bedroom. Ive hung onto jewellery (mainly cheap) forever as it seemed wrong to throw it away. Either sentimental value ir the fact I dont have much I like/always been broke/ought to like it.

I reality I wear one of two necklaces and like 3 pairs of earings.....so the drawer of missing earings/discoloured jewellery/sentimental bits have all gone. And I thanked them and held them and remembered times gone by. It really does help to ask if it brings you joy or you feel you ought to like it. Feels a real job done.

I wondered if I'd gone too far when I picked up some pens lying about thinking "I need to put you downstairs with your friends..."

I'm making my gig t-shirts into a pinboard! I only have two, though. I was mostly too skint at gigs to buy the t-shirts :(

You should look up crafts to do with old t-shirts if you are crafty and want to keep t-shirts but know they won't be worn.

Or just keep them and sell them on ebay when they're vintage?

Well, I have just culled approx 200 books from the shelves in my bedroom. I haven't got everything off the shelves as there is no way I could have got it all done in an eve, and DP is freaking out by the displaced ones already. Massive charity shop drop off on Sat!
I realized I've been keeping books to remind me of times past- old texts from uni, Anne Rice books from my gothiest phase... None of which I've looked at in 20 years, but have been lugging around with me without ever really thinking why.
I am 42 years old, I can't believe such a batty book has changed my way of thinking!

I must find this book!

yes bertie. I could run to a programme, no t-shirts though.

Plastic tat is starting to get me down. I treat the dc's to a happy meal once or twice a month, they don't care about the toys once the food is gone. All the plastic bits are sitting in the bottom of the toys baskets driving me mad, they need to go.

Half spam - we did similar a few months ago to the horror of relatives. But I really wasn't rereading them. I rarely reread novels, never used the reference books....it was several bookshelves plus boxes full. I similarly had the "reminds me of x" and took a photo of a stack of favourites... then charitied them!

Happy meal bits - my daughters get a ridicukous amount of joy from them so I have a tray in their ikea trofast for plastic tat. Its identifiable, all returns there so isnt all over the house and occasionally we go through together and discard broke ones!

Did bottoms and things that hang yesterday. Another bag and a half to go (but don't have vast wardrobe of clothes) including a hand made coat my mum bought I have never worn but felt guilty getting rid of. Does have a lovely lining though so I admired that for a bit before I sent it off!

Just a point.. some charities sell clothes in poor condition as rags so can still make money out of them, odd socks, crappy uniform, moth eaten etc, just put in a bag within the bag so they don't have to sort it all.

I also cleared off large bench space over the washing machine as I was putting up window film. makes me happy to look at it now! Should have taken before pic.

I bought two of these wrapping paper storage bags a couple of years ago, not the most attractive items but very practical for keeping it all in one place and tidy. I have one in the loft with Christmas paper and one downstairs with birthday/general paper.

I did a massive declutter of the kitchen about 5 years ago and organised properly what was left, I still get stuff creeping back a little and have to tackle the occasional overflowing drawer but it has made a HUGE difference to how easy it is to cook in there.

I still haven't read the book (and won't be able to for at least two more weeks as I have stuff to read for work) but I had a dream about this method last night! I dreamed I was going round the whole house getting cuddly toys and deciding what to cull, and being proud I was doing it properly by collecting them all and bunging them on my bed.

I love the book... I might not fo the folding though but its given me so much to think about in relation to attitudes to "stuff".

she thinks her things are alive...

She must be v young though (or at least a fair bit younger than me!) If she had coloured screen phones in school... do you think she'll regret some of it when shes older?