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.

Bringme I use this one when I bought it it was £2.49 in WHSmiths (I'm not advertising for them, I swear!!). They're mostly durable, I think I've had maybe 5 or 6 of the exact same pen in about the last 8 years, as they do tend to break when you drop them on their nib! Ink cartridges are cheap too and I need to buy some more unless I want to write in blue which I haven't done since Y9

Sorry for derailing the thread, everyone! We'll shut up now maybe

yes, for hand wash ;)

bring, for to dos on paperwork, I was wittering upthread about GTD which is essentially a way of managing all your action points. The golden rule with any action is, if it's going to take less than two minutes, do it on the spot, if longer, then delegate or defer it (there's a system of managing to do lists of deferred actions which is too complicated to go into here). This works! It means you can focus on the task in hand rather than getting distracted and dragged away to pay bills, renew your passport, whatever. If just put those papers in an action pile and deal with them after you've done the discarding.

I have a few loads of part- used A4 pads! I just love starting a pristine, brand new pad. I suppose it's something like making a brand new start in life.

I love writing letters with my fountain pen, on Basildon Onion Skin paper - not made for years - and I only have one pad left now!

I use a Shaeffer Calligraphy Pen, with the broadest nib. Had it over 20 years.

I won a lovely Parker Harlequin pen in the 1980s for a letter I wrote, but... it is still, unused, in its case! Why??? Obviously, 'saving it for best', but what is better than a handwritten letter? Joy for the author and usually the reader.

BTW, there is one on eBay. Priced? £199!

Might have to start using mine!

Sell the pen on eBay for £150. You obviously don't need it!

I seem to remember a stationery addicts thread on MN last year. Lovely.

Am getting through my to do list and not Kondoing much. But some of it is long overdue home improvements. The bathroom has been on the cards for years and we probably would have needed a cupboard by the bath anyway (not many other spaces), but it has taken on special significance.

I don't have to make that decision yet - it will come under 'sentimental and emotional'... months away!

Something odd going on with Musnet on my browser! It took me off the thread when I tried to refresh - still on this website. I couldn't get access via my email Inbox and could only reach it through a search on Google - eventually! Very strange.

I am also avoiding a pile of folding.

I need to train my kids not to put clean clothes in the wash. Too much laundry... but also lots of energy trying to train them in this!

Feeling really good that I manage to finish Kondoing my clothes, including shoes and handbags. I thought I'd got down to very few pairs of shoes already when I got orthotics and couldn't fit most of them anymore, but it turns out I've been buying them without realising and have 6 pairs to give to charity!

Also feel proud that I said goodbye to my last pair of high heels. I'd been holding onto them since it was discovered that I can't do heels anymore in 2010, hoping that maybe my joints would get better, but this process has allowed me to say goodbye. They are lovely, lovely shoes, so I hope someone gets joy out of them.

My question: what do you do with old vacuum cleaners, irons and the like? My brother gave me a website link a few years ago for computers and toner cartridges that I've never got around to using. Any ideas?

Oh everyone, I've fallen off the wagon ! No Kondoing here in AGES. And I've just spent too much money on more gym clothes ... those that I have bring me no joy whatsoever though, which is frustrating when I'm working out as it distracts me from pushing myself.

Yes, I'm justifying it. ARGH.

I have realised I wasn't thorough enough first time round and I need to go again and be properly mindful about what I am keeping. We also need to start packing for our move and filing in the paperwork - luckily paperwork is in order no so should be fairly simple to find what we need to produce for the solicitors.

Glad to see you're all still going though ! Hopefully will be about a bit more now ...

GrouchyKiwi If they still work - Freecycle. If not, our local tip recycles electricals.

I have kondoed my long term supply job! I was due to finish in July but my working life became untenable. But I am so happy - the best I have felt in ages.

Ah, didn't think about the local tip! Thanks.

Re putting bathroom stuff away. Just me and my 9yo son so no-one else to 'train'

CoolCadbury Well done! I know that joyful, lighter feeling! I had planned to carry on teaching until I was 65/70, but my position also became untenable, so I walked, too! Enjoy your new joy!

I got through my 'clothes brickwall' yesterday, and managed to kondo my sparse hanging items - 1 black bag for recycling. Still have do most of my tops and other items, except jewellery, which I ruthlessy weeded pre-kondo.

At last, I've got the ticket and am on the journey! Let's hope that I eventually get the tee-shirt!

Wow cool, dramatic changes! How many have kondoed jobs so far?? Would love to Kondo mine sometimes, but think what I really need to do is appreciate the life my jobs allows me to live...
Delighted for you, and have a feeling that something better is there for you. Who quoted field of dreams many threads ago... If you build it, they will come... Kondo Magic!

Ah, more respect for those kondoing their jobs.... Mine is ok I suppose...... But with all the extra work, it's bloody hard, I miss my little one terribly, and my instincts are telling me to kondo the hell out of that job and spend more time with the incredibly fast growing baby

Been out all day- will see if my motivation returns once they have gone to bed!

Lockie - don't worry, it's just good to see you back! If the old gym clothes aren't doing it for you, thank them and ditch them. Motivating yourself to go to the gym can be hard enough, and if good kit gives you a little buzz, you've done the right thing.

Reading the comments on stationery really triggered something in me. I am a complete fiend for high-end paper and pens. I agree with much of obligatory's checklist, but I like a casebound notebook really: black'n'red, Claire Fontaine, or leuchturm. Then there's the fountain pens: Sailor, Pelikan, TWSBI, Montblanc, Waterman... I have at least a dozen, and quite a few were pretty expensive. And I have been known to spend £20 on a bottle of ink I've got a few hang-ups about them, so I'll be leaving them to the very, very end. Seriously, I'd be more comfortable with losing every photo i'd ever taken than I would about getting rid of some of those pens. I'm thinking about rehoming some of them with friends I think would enjoy them, but I'm not at all ready to make that decision.

How many job changes are we up to now??!

Well done Cool!!!
I've made the decision about work but have to have the awkward talk tomorrow I think. Then do the actual half done work on my desk to get it finished.
And try to leave without leaving a bad atmosphere.

Got the 2 plastic boxes of CDs down from the loft and put in front of dh. Very interesting: we started by phrasing it as 'which ones do we want to get rid of?' And sat there struggling picking a few.
Then dh said oh sod it lets get rid of them all
So i rephrased it:'which ones would you want to keep?' And we both picked a few out and left the rest.

Liberating.

Am now music magpie-ing the lot

Bring - they both kind of mean the same thing.
Taking advantage of someone or something.
Eg work says you can take home pens and pencils as needed for working from home. You take home a whole box from the stationery cupboard = taking the piss.

Or you say to your child they can have a chocolate, they take the whole packet of small chocolates.

Sure others can think of better examples.