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Become a Konvert in 2015 - Kondo thread 5. All welcome!

999 replies

PeoniesforMissAnnersley · 09/01/2015 12:51

Thought I better set this up when I realised I had inadvertently posted the 999th post on thread 4! Shock

Join us in purging our lives of things which do not bring joy and discover the wonder and magic of folding your knickers! Grin

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lockie1983 · 15/01/2015 11:54

canI was in a similar situation too. Went to primark and bought a couple of their £7 Jean jeggings, £6 cardies (which wash amazingly well and are in lovely bright colours), two vest tops and a day dress. Spent about £35 and then got rid of two big stuff and lots off of small stuff. Made me feel good right then and there, rather than putting it off till i shed the baby weight.

Came in to confess that mum has just given me a big bag of clothes, shoes and accessories. I couldnt didn't say now so have now gained a bag of shit to store / look at.

Am loathe to just dump as she has awesome taste, can afford nice stuff and barely wears things before getting rid wonder where I get the constant buying from

Love her.

lockie1983 · 15/01/2015 11:55

*too big Blush

Iqueen · 15/01/2015 12:05

misscph1973 Magazine boxes should be OK if reasonably well packed. Or bx files may be better?

GrouchyKiwi Um, I thought that I didn't have many clothes... until I started kondoing! Then I realised that I only wear a few! Grin

Dunedin, me, but here from a babe. A loy of family there - settler families from Ayrshire!

BTW, standard Terry nappies were 24 inches square, in my day (1960s-80s).

Lindt70Percent If GrouchyKiwi doesn't have them, you should definitely get shot of real nappies on Freecycle!

Iqueen · 15/01/2015 12:07

Oops! Box files.

misscph1973 · 15/01/2015 12:51

Yes, I did think of box files, Iqueen, but that's not vertical storage ;) I just had a mad tidy in the childrens corner, and after 7 min it all looked neat again, and only a few bits of rubbish in the bin. Will take to kids about the binders, I am haoping that a good storage system will inspire them ;)

Am I the only one who has become obsessed with clear surfaces? At the moment I blitz the kitchen 3 x daily! Clutter seems to come from everywhere.

Has anyone read Do Androids dream of electric sheep? by Phillip K Dick? the book behind the film Bladerunner. I love the book and film and I'm a big fan of Phillip K Dick. In Androids he spends several pages explaining "kipple":

"Kipple is useless objects, like junk mail or match folders after you use the last match or gum wrappers or yesterday's homeopape. When nobody's around, kipple reproduces itself ... the entire universe is moving towards a final state of total, absolute kipple-ization."

That's my kitchen ;)

HermioneGrangerHair · 15/01/2015 12:56

Misscph, are you dealing with the kids' stuff by place or by category. What you're describing sounds like my previous experience of trying to declutter. You get one room/area looking nice, and then shit starts drifting in from all over the house. Grrr.

I actually think the process of gathering all things of a kind into one place is a great way to engage the rest of the family. If you get together every single comic in the house, every last one, pile them onto the floor and show them to the kids, it might help them rationalise their "need" to keep the lot. Yeah, you need to be firm, but you can turn it into choices for them to make (a lesson in personal responsibility!): you have this much space, you have twice as much stuff as will fit... What do you really want to keep.

Iqueen · 15/01/2015 12:56

misscph1973 My box files have an interior clip to hold the contents firm at the top, and I store them vertically.

Lindt70Percent · 15/01/2015 13:17

GrouchyKiwi I've got about 18 Motherease one size (including wraps) and a stack of large Fuzzi Bunz. Any good?

misscph1973 · 15/01/2015 13:22

Hermione, you make some very good points. Both kids are very reluctant to let go of anything, and I must say I have taken one room at a time, not one category as I should. But I do have very good results regardless. Thankfully we don't seem to have too many things migrating into areas where they shouldn't be. Kids have underbed storage boxes with toys that have been categorised for years, so it's not that bad. I am currently going through DDs boxes one by one and just not telling her that I chuck her stuff. She doesn't notice. I know she should be doing it herself, but it's too overwhelming for her and she is very attached to things, they all have a history and she know who gave her every single thing, so there is emotional attachment as well. DS is much better at it, he regularly brings me items of clothing that either doens't fit, has a hole in or he just doesn't like.

bringmejoy2015 · 15/01/2015 13:43

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

inadaydream · 15/01/2015 14:02

hiccups I thought I had posted on response to your asking about toy rotation but it was late last night - looks like I switched my phone off before it had posted!

Toy rotation was advised to my by my development officer - take photos of toys in each box and catalogue, let the children chose day to day what they wanted to play with. My problem with that is my only storage place at that time was the garage meaning I was leaving children unattended whilst I went out to garage to get relevant box out. Not ideal to me at all!! So it never happened!!

I now don't have that problem or a solution for you as I have just today written all my families their notices. I have decided to close the business as its making me miserable.

inadaydream · 15/01/2015 14:07

Oops posted this time before I meant to! Will still be working with the under 5s until the end of tax year and the after schoolies until June which is when my registration expires! Feeling much relief and it will be nice to have my home back just for my family! Career Kondo'd and feeling slightly scared at being a SAHM for a while eek!!

The ikea Kallax is really nice though with the drona boxes. We have just kitted out DS room with it and the boxes are surprisingly deep and hold loads. Lots of my CM friends use this storage system for their CM stuff!

Good luck with your rotation and hope your solution is better than mine was Grin

inadaydream · 15/01/2015 14:08

Oops and sorry for typos!!!

misscph1973 · 15/01/2015 14:13

bring, it is very interesting to read how you integrate your meditation and minfullness in your daily life and how it stops you buying non-essentials. My DH has been meditating for years, and he has become much less meterialistic, he used to be very exited every time Apple released a new product, but no more. Only yesterday he talked about how he should have politely asked to return the iPad his mum gave him for Christmas last year as he just doesn't need it.

I think we could all do with listening to that inner voice, and not just drown it in things. I hope that less clutter will ensure I am more able to hear my inner voice!

Iqueen · 15/01/2015 15:03

bring and misscph1973 I have been bringing nothing but essentials into my home for some years, particularly since I realised that all the STUFF we have today does not make us happier.

Sadly, many of us are raising our children to fall into the same trap of materialism.

Lindt70Percent · 15/01/2015 15:09

inadaydream Glad you're feeling happier now you've made your decision. No point continuing if it's making you miserable!

ALittleFaith · 15/01/2015 15:32

Afternoon all! I've not got much further after a couple of exhausting days at work and digestive upsets the last two days (me and DD!). However I did drop excess stuff that didn't sell at the table top sale at the charity shop this morning. I confess I have ordered new storage for shoes! They live in the hall in a blanket box at present. However stuff ends up over the box and the box is a crap magnet so shoes end up outside the box! I don't really like shoe racks and didn't want 'shoe storage' so I've ordered an extra deep bookcase! Just the right size, will be able to see and grab shoes easily so hopefully it'll be better.

Who asked about clean surfaces? I'm obsessed! After some effort I've managed to get one surface totally clutter free. It looks great.

Innocuoususername · 15/01/2015 15:33

lockie we have a similar issue with family giving us hand me downs for the DCs. I'm grateful as it's saved us £££ (think cot, pushchair, etc) but washed out clothes of the wrong season, not so much. Pre-Kondo I ended up storing everything, but loads didn't get used because it didn't give me joy. Now I'm only keeping the stuff that is in the right season, to my taste, that will actually get worn. About 50% of the last bag load went straight into the charity bag. And I Kondoed it straight away

Like you I still accept stuff though. Mainly because if there's anybody that needs to discard stuff it's my family, I consider taking it a favour to them Smile.

MrsGuyMartin · 15/01/2015 15:38

I'm crashing the thread a bit as I've not been able to keep up this time. But I'm still Kondoing!

A quick question, what would you do with an old video and lots of tapes? I can't think of anyone that might want it!

Pointlessfan · 15/01/2015 15:49

They are still selling videos in our local Oxfam, mrsguymartin. I was surprised by this!
Inadaydream, congratulations on kondoing your career! I think you are really brave for taking the plunge and I hope you enjoy life after childminding!

homeaway · 15/01/2015 15:53

Mrs Guy

I am not sure that anywhere takes them anymore. (

GrouchyKiwi · 15/01/2015 17:01

Lindt The nappies sound brilliant. Have pm'd you. Grin

Iqueen I'm from Oamaru. Have been here for nearly a decade. Family connections all over the country.

Feeling excellent. Have managed to get 3 jumbo vacuum seal bags of baby clothes down to one third of a bag. Can actually use the children's wardrobe! Doubt I'll manage to be as ruthless with my own clothes. Grin

Hubb · 15/01/2015 17:17

Just had about the gallionzth attempt at clothes while trying to get stuff in order. Finally ditching a dress I never wore that I bought nearly 8 years ago. It was for my sisters wedding but I ended up wearing something else.

Also some other stuff that I held up to me and then, disgusted, threw it on the Chazza pile saying "why did I ever keep that". This stuff has survived 2-3 other culls and finally it's going. Don't think I will ever be properly done but it must be about 90% there with clothes. Have other categories partly done too. I guess if I had hired MK herself I would have done this a lot quicker!

Anyway, so what's your oldest item of unworn clothing that you are giving away (or keeping Blush). I am SURE someone can beat 8 years!!!?

MangoBiscuit · 15/01/2015 17:59

Gargh, in my sleep deprived haze this morning, I left my big post on the screen and forgot to hit "post". Ah well, will post it now, then catch up on the thread. :)

Hiccup I also was inspired by the toy rotation blog, so I pulled out all the baby / shared toys, and made a huge chuffing mess! I sorted them by category (thinking / moving / pretending) and weeded out anything broken, or missing parts, or too young for ours DDs. I then split the 3 piles into groups, one category at a time. I already had the ikea drona boxes that the toys were "in" (read, all over the floor with discarded empty box near by) so I lobbed the sets into those. One of the blog pages showed someone using big ziplock type bags for the sets, and mentions someone else using shopping totes. I reckon anything you have that's big enough to store a set together is fine.

Very glad we started with the rotation. I had 3 whole days of the Christmas holidays with both DDs playing nicely together, no snatching, no squabbling over who had which toy first. Much easier to tidy everything up, and both DDs managed to help. Then Christmas hit, and it all went wrong, but for 3 days it was glorious! Grin

I have finished Kondoing the kitchen, and it's lovely. I know it is suggested to clean as you go when cooking. It's a great idea, but the practicality of it never quite worked. I always had to pull things out to get to others, so to put them back, I had to pull everything out again. Counter space was at a premium, so I didn't have much room to work with. So as I cooked, everything just gets pushed to the side, ready to be put away later. It works now! Use something, put it away! No clutter on the counter means I can wipe it down in seconds. I'm thrilled! Plus, for the 4th morning in a row, I've come downstairs to a .... clean, tidy kitchen! Shock Sorry for the boast, but I'm so pleased, and surprised, very surprised. Grin

HiccupHaddockHorrendous · 15/01/2015 18:04

inadaydream - oh my goodness!! That is true kondoing!! I quite enjoy childminding but there are certain aspects (and children) that get me down at times. I've just sent the last of mine home for the weekend so I'm feeling fairly ok about it (if not, totally knackered!!) hence my inability to form a proper sentence!!

MrsGuy - I put my video machine and tapes on free cycle about a year or so ago and had loads of people wanting it.

Well, the newly reduced toy system has been brilliant today. I didn't go to bed until 1.30am and have 3/4 of the many toys on my bedroom floor but I am calling it a success, so far. Things were so much easier to tidy away.

Now I just need to sort out some storage for the other 3 piles of toys.

3 bags filled for the charity shop and will try and drop them off tomorrow. I am so tired now but hoping after a power nap, I'll have a couple of hours of kondoing before bed.

Day off tomorrow but really need to crack on with my tax return.