Clutter, emotions, and folding our socks - Kondo thread 6. All welcome!

[SteptoeAndDaughter]

The Book: The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up: The Japanese Art of Decluttering and Organizing by Marie Kondo, Cathy Hirano

Summary of the process link from mipmop

Article of top tips by Marie Kondo

Thread 5
Thread 4
Thread 3
Thread 2
Thread 1

And BeCool's copy of Coughles list of ORDER from Thread 2 for everyone:

"ORDER TO DECLUTTER/LOCATE THE JOY*

Clothes folding by rummy
Books
Papers
CDs
DVDs
Skincare products
Make-up
Accessories
Valuables (passports, credit cards, etc.)
Electrical equipment and appliances (digital cameras, electric cords, anything that seems vaguely ‘electric’)
Household equipment (stationery and writing materials, sewing kits, etc.)
Household supplies (expendables like medicine, detergents, tissues, etc.)
Kitchen goods/ food supplies
Other (If you have many items related to a particular interest or hobby, such as ski equipment, then treat these as a single subcategory.)

KonMari stresses that sentimental items should be left till the end. So for example, when you are doing papers, don't include photos of your children, love letters, old school reports etc, leave anything with a sentimental connection for later."

*As discussed in previous threads, your order for decluttering and finding the joy/spark/recognizing may be different to recommendations.

I am getting our bathroom redesigned and have put a cupboard in for that purpose... Shampoo etc away after use. We'll see if it actually works.

Homeaway... Me too! I tried putting bathroom stuff away after use, and it's kind of stuck. It's sooo much easier to clean the bathroom (my mum, on a flying visit, volunteered how shiny the bathroom was looking, and that's never happened before), and it also sent a strong signal to DH about the Power of Kondo

I've done the bathroom thing. I quite like 'shopping' in the cupboard for products to use before a bath/shower

The bathroom looks quite bare without loads of bottles of stuff on the windowsill (I do like to have a couple of shampoos and conditioners in use at the same time and am a bit of a toiletry lover in general) but it's so easy to clean now. It only takes seconds to wipe down with nothing to shift out of the way first!

I also take out the shampoo, soap, conditioner, etc. from the shower when done. Having it all clear makes it easy to keep clean and, best of all, seeing it all tidy gives me the feeling that I'm in some fancy resort or hotel.

Knowing that I'm lazy, and trying to use that fact to my advantage, I realised that if I have only one cake of soap for both hand-basin and shower, then I am forced to remove it back to the hand-basin when finished bathing. And so everything else such as shampoo just gets brought back at the same time.

It also means that there is only one thingy on which the soap rests when not in use. What does one call these - a soap-rest? Anyway, it tends to accumulate disgusting soap-scum remnants. And having the soap and the soap-rest thingy with me in the shower means that I can wash the horrible soap scum off it with minimal effort, and regularly, while bathing.
(I know that lots of people like liquid soap, and that this is not an issue in that case.)

Incidentally, I also put one little section of the bathroom cupboard only for bathroom cleaning stuff. Not a huge amount, just dishwashing liquid (more on that below), the same kind of sponge that I use for dishes, and some rags to dry things up.
The idea was that if it is right at hand, and not with other cleaning supplies, it will be used more often. It's been several months now, and for me it works.

On the dishwashing liquid: about six months back we had to get our bathroom re-done completely, as all the tiles has become porous with age. So I took advantage of that to ask the bathroom people what was truly best for cleaning bathrooms. Their answer was, as much as possible, use one of those shower scraper thingies to get rid of excess water when done bathing. Then to use dishwashing liquid for all ceramic surfaces, and a dish sponge for applying it. They pointed out that dishwashing liquid is designed to dissolve grease and dirt, which is exactly what you end up having stuck on the inside of your shower, bath and sink. And NOT to use anything that scratches on the surface, as it will gradually damage the surface, making it harder to clean.

I must admit I was pretty dubious - what about hard-water spots, mold, etc? But so far it has actually worked. Do still use toilet cleaner for the toilet though.

We also put bathroom products away. One place for opened products and a different place for new ones. Our biggest untidiness in the bathroom is bath-toys but they do give DS joy and they are packed on a shelf so I just have to retrain myself to see them as joy-giving and not clutter.

anzu, I use dishwashing liquid for most cleaning tasks. It's perfectly adequate and one of the gentlest yer efficient cleaners yet you can get. I also use vinegar (any really, I just buy the cheapest), bicarbonate of soda and soda crystals. I have a bottle of bleach, but that's just for occasional use, and I feel bad whenever I use it ;) Oh, and if a pan has something really stuck, I soak it in a bit of biological washing powder and hot water over night, and it just rinses off, very efficient.

I remembered that my recycling collection collects clothes and other textiles! So there is bag waiting outside for this mornings collection.

I feel so motivated! Day off today and the washing machine and dryer have each been on twice already! Once first thing and once after the school run. Woop! Oh and the slow cooker is on too. Maybe there is a domestic goddess in me after all....!?

Oh god I've started 'komono'

What the fuck is all this shit !?!

This is a day I hate living in a 3 storey house- there is nothing in the right room. I've got balls of wool and craft shit in the bedroom to go to the ground floor.

Ive got 40 bottles of perfume and one neck!

How many empty attractive notebooks does one woman need?

Zippidy, any chance you can rub some of that motivation off on me? I'm unsure what to tackle next, so I'm procrastinating big time.

Did have a good weekend though. DH finished his clothes, so I kondo'd the luggage which is usually in the bottom of his wardrobe. Carry-ons are now all inside each other (handles out) in the bottom, and suitcases are neatly stacked on the top shelf. Found sewing supplies in the wardrobe so I pulled out all the rest of them, and all the craft stuff, the DCs craft stuff, and the bags and bags of fabric I've been hoarding. Was far more emotional about my craft stuff than I was about clothes, music, paperwork, toiletries, makeup etc. Projects I've never gotten round to, big guilt. Scraps from clothes I made and wore in my youth brought back lots of lovely memories, as did scraps from clothes I made for the girls, like DD1s first ever party dress.

I've cut down on it all. I've admitted that I cannot knit to save my life, and will be donating those bits, plus lots of fabrics, to DDs school. I rolled all the fabrics that bring joy, and stored them vertically. It all fits back on the shelving, in order, with a free shelf at the bottom. To top it off nicely, DD1 wanted to wear her new tights this morning, but they weren't labelled. No problem! Grabbed my sewing box, had the right needle, thread, scissors, and her name labels out in seconds, and was finished and packed away before she'd finished her cereal.

Oh, Mango, I have a lot of fabric and ideas for projects in my sewing and craft boxes, I really need to make some decisions. I do store fabric in the garage and only my sewing box in my bedroom, but I still feel guilty about all these unfinished projects. Only the other day I was trying to buy new pyjamas for DS, and he said he would prefer it if I sewed another pair of duvet cover pyjamas bottoms ;) His favourite duvet cover had tears in th corners, but part of the fabric was fine, so I made him a pair of pyjamas bottoms. It's just finding the time, I love sewing, although I only do very basic stuff.

How many empty attractive notebooks does one woman need?
I can relate to this Although I've managed to limit my collection to my office now.

"It's just finding the time, I love sewing, although I only do very basic stuff." Exactly the same here misscph1973 ! Duvet cover pyjama bottoms are a great idea, will keep that in mind if DD1 is still Frozen mad when her set wears out.

I think I need to do a second pass through my fabrics. I'm pretty sure there's some lovely bright red jersey cotton that I would happily make a top or dress with, but then probably wouldn't wear as it's not quite my colour. I've kept it because just holding it sparks joy, but I worry I'll never use it. Another piece of printed cotton that was getting thrown for almost the same reason has been re-purposed. I covered my (now only!) paper work folder with it. Much better than tatty, plain black. Little bit of joy in my office space. :)

I'm very particular about my notebooks - must be A5, spiral bound (for when I don't have room not to fold the book over whilst writing), preferably plastic covers or at least proper cardboard - none of these flimsy card-thinner-than-cereal boxes ones, and thick enough paper that my fountain pen won't seep through. What is everyone's favourite thing to buy me as gifts? Notebooks. Do they buy the right ones? Almost never. So I have a stack of lovely notebooks which I know I will never use (although I did upgrade this morning's to do list into a very nice non-spiral bound A6 book which I've been hoarding since I got it for my birthday, two and a half years ago Unfortunately, there are twenty things on that list (two of which begin "Kondo..." and another two which are also Kondo-related!) and I've only done two of them. But one of them was to read 35 pages of Nietzsche, so...

I made a birthday card for my DM last night - first time I've made a card in years - but it was so much easier with all my craft stuff neatly Kondo'd. My craft stuff is all in an ottoman, which has always been a pain because it was all stacked, and you had to take everything out to get to the stuff at the bottom, and also because there were always piles of komono on top of the ottoman which had to be removed before I could start and then put back again afterwards . But now nothing is allowed to live on top of there, and all the paper is organised into plastic wallets which are in magazine files, so there's a lot less taking things in and out to get what I want. Consequently, the card was made, and everything put away in less than an hour! This Kondo thing really works!

Now to stop being distracted by MN; I only came on the internet to check the Sunday School rota

I have to avoid Paperchase purely to stop myself from buying notebooks! I love them but never write that much in them.
I am hoping to get the paperwork sorted this week. I've done the discarding but I need to buy some plastic wallets before I can sort them. I'm a bit twitchy that important documents will no longer be stored in something fire proof.

Bringme , no particular make, but I usually find WHSmith always has at least one design which fits that criteria at any given time (thick cardboard covers, ringbound, thick paper, about 200 pages, usually £5.99 when not on offer) but that's not much help when you're not in the UK! I do use these for uni notes, but for my Harry Potter fan fiction (which is what notebooks are mostly used for ), I need lots and lots of pages to stop my carrying around too many notebooks at once (current story spans 410 pages across three notebooks!!)

Just Kondo'd the downloads folder on my computer. It only took 10 minutes! Why I have I been putting it off for so long?!

I like pukka pad project books, like these. Thin card and stiff plastic front and back, nice quality paper (makes my writing look tidier!) and movable/removable dividers with built in pockets. I think they do a slightly cheaper one too, but the paper is thin. But I'm a rollerball using barbarian!

anzu great tip re washing up liquid... Just tried it on front of stainless steel fridge and came up lovely and shiny. When I konded cleaning products had about 15 different types of sprays.... Bathroom/kitchen/delicate/antibacterial etc etc I think I'm an advertisers dream. This product will change your life and it's on special offer.. Great, give me three!! Have been working my way through whats there and not allowed buy anymore until everything gone and then washing up liquid and bleach only I think. (Had cif on the list until your tip!)
Well done everyone on progress, ye are all flying it

Iggi I'd love to sleep during the day (sometimes) but have a toddler as well as the baby and the toddler has given up on naps.

anzu I asked that question too, when we got our bathroom redone last year, and they said my plan to use white vinegar was a good one. It does a great job, but I think the dishwashing liquid will come in handy for the times when the soap scum has built up a bit too much. So thanks for that great tip!

For those who put the shampoos etc away after each use: did you have partners to convince and was that easy? Not sure I could get DH to agree happily. He's a super grump in the morning and would find it annoying, I think.

Re dishwashing liquid - it's also so much better for the environment, including your home environment.