Kondoing away the chaos: Kondo thread 7 for yet more life-changing magic

[LinzerTorte]

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 6
Thread 5
Thread 4
Thread 3
Thread 2
Thread 1

Tips and links thread

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 cashed in some old gold jewellery which I never wore and have a beautiful necklace I will wear every day. Happy happy days

works you are an inspiration. Those heady early days of kondo when the scales fall from your eyes. Congratulations! Life going forwards will be so different! I am so happy for you you've found it. It has and still is changing my life!

Works - welcome aboard. It was an eye-opener for me, when I started, that not all sentimental items are sentimental in a good way. Even things given to me by people I loved, I was hanging onto out of guilt and remorse. And then there were the things (like too-small clothes) that made me feel guilty and inadequate every time I looked at them. Let go of their physical manifestations, and you start to let go of those negative feelings.

Well done Ijust.

Works - I agree with others. Sentimental has always been used as a positive but now it can mean a negative thing too.
Also hiding away stuff is silly. If it's positive and important it should be visible. Eg the bride & groom statue thing for our wedding cake. I've kept it in a box for over 10 years. Ds1 saw it yesterday and has adopted them for his people box. Some people would say he shouldn't just play with them but why not? Now they're out of the box and being appreciated. Much better.

Tempted to try the bathroom cabinet + extras this morning..

works it's brilliantly simple, isn't it?! There are so many things we hang onto for absolutely no reason at all. And stuff that actually causes us pain is so common.

Oh I like the cake topper turned toy :) He'll have such fond memories of that. Perhaps he'll end up using it for his own wedding cake!

We had a Lego wedding topper for ours. DH keeps it on his desk at work.

One thing I have found liberating about her method is that it doesn't really matter where in the house you store things, as long as everything has a place. So I don't have to get hung up about finding the perfect storage space, just have to allocate it a space.

Aw ... thanks for the welcome, everybody!

Now my eyes are open, I am just totally astonished at the level of guilt, remorse, inadequacy and sadness that are attached to nearly all of my possessions. In hindsight, I am actually surprised that I have managed to keep on a stable psychological keel over the past few years.

You know the bit where Kondo says your possessions affect your relationships with other people, how you make choices and how you construct your life? I am actually starting to see how many of my possessions control me through invoking memories. I wonder what life is going to be like without all these demons everywhere in my house?

I have already moved the "evil pan" from the kitchen and, no joke, my pan cupboard now feels different -- it's a happier pan cupboard, full of pans that like me and are willing to help me cook things. Before, the pan cupboard just felt like stress and the pans seemed to hate me.

I can't quite believe I am writing this, but I now understand why the pan cupboard was a site of anxiety for me ... it was the influence of that old pan and the memory it invoked every time I opened the cupboard door.

I know Marie suggests you do things in theme order, so I need to tackle my clothes. The thought of this is terrifying, but I must do this. I am currently expecting again after a disastrous first pregnancy that ended in stillbirth, and this baby simply cannot be born into an environment of pain and sadness. I will not allow it.

I now have a new war cry ... I am not Miss Haversham!

Works - I'm so sorry to read about your first pregnancy. I really hope this one has a much happier ending.
And I love that your pan cupboard is happier :)

Dead xbox controller gone brought freecycle.
Bag of random cables going later.

New box of assorted komono brought down ready for Dh to look through.

Didn't manage the bathroom though.
And friends round later for rugby and pizza so nothing more today.

I think must be a Kondoer!

For people who don't have time to listen, the chorus goes:

Finally figured out
What I can live with or without
Get rid of what's crowding up my soul
What's the cost of living free?
What do I own and what owns me
Make a little room for love to grow
And a stereo
Everything must go

I'm trying to persuade my 13yo brothers they want to Kondo. They're not entirely convinced yet, but I'm working on it!!

I am really enjoying your posts works. I hope you find this as helpful emotionally as you do simply as an aid to having a tidy house. My mother died a few weeks ago and I have found the act of sorting through my things has helped me feel like I am starting a new chapter rather then just focusing on the loss. A lot of us have found ourselves thinking a lot about our wider lives and how we want to live in general. It really is very therapeutic.

I have finally done medicines and bath stuff today. The bathroom looks amazing! I am so happy. I keep just peeking through the door to gaze in wonder at the clear sides and ordered shelves

Thankyou for the shoe advice. I went through the shoes and put aside for recycling all shoes that were too small. I also moved less used items (sandals, wellies, trainers) into everyone's rooms and left out school shoes and also one pair each of daily casual shoes, so now it all the shoes fit nicely in the under stairs cupboard without a shoe rack.

Hello everyone! We were on holiday for a few days so no Kondoing here but the case was beautifully packed with all items perfectly folded . The friend who drove us to the airport was amazed we only had one case and was convinced we'd definitely bring more back but no, our case was beautifully repacked when it came home too.

That's my happy Kondo news . . .but coming back into the house, I felt as though I couldn't really see the progress I thought I'd made. I'm not sure why. A PP mentioned that when they started Kondoing they realised they had lots of items with bad memories. Perhaps I'm starting to realise that even some of our large furniture items don't bring me joy. They don't have bad memories attached. I just feel a bit meh! about them. Also I have that post-holiday tiredness that comes from getting up early and spending most of your days walking round the tourist spots. Maybe it will all look better tomorrow.

Aplace - I'm in the same boat with some of the large furniture. One huge cupboard in particular that just isn't really my style, but I thought it was essential storage. A month ago it was stuffed to the gills, now it's considerably less than half full. I've been getting rid of so much stuff without seeing a major change in the look of the room, but one day soon I'm going to get to the point where I can get rid of the whole cupboard!

Thankyou ohhelp, it looks ideal!

I got rid of two ridiculously massive cupboards last month and the bedrooms look so much bigger! I'm still not quite used to it

Checking in. So much still to do.

I just decided to get rid of a unit in my bathroom! Storage space no longer needed!

Welcome, works, and I'm so sorry to hear about your first pregnancy

Works are there things that can help you relax and create a positive environment? I'm thinking massages, long bubbly baths, comedy films, uplifting books? Talking is great though!

Works I am sorry to hear about your first pregnancy and I really hope that this process is a step towards a happier stage in your life.
Today I am feeling like there are still things everywhere despite the kondoing I've done so far. I still haven't decided where to put my new paperwork folders for example. I think I need to do even more discarding...

hello all

thanks so much for all your advice about the sentimental items a few days ago, I feel much more settled about tackling it once everything else is done!

we are expecting our first baby soon. looking at nursery furniture. we will get a cot and chest of drawers, dh thinks we don't need a wardrobe and in the midst of kondoing I don't know what to think! surely baby will need one???

Welcome works, sorry to hear about your loss. I hope this process is a really positive one for you. How far along are you?

With clothes, being pg might make it harder - some of us found we had to compromise a bit on clothes that are needed for pregnancy or post-natal period. I allowed myself to keep clothes that I know will bring joy if they fit again; but was quite ruthless about getting rid of things that I know will never suit me even if they fit.

Also, most people here haven't followed the order strictly, though everyone seems to think clothes is a good place to start as you get the benefits of it daily.

To all of those getting rid of furniture - well done!

Aplace, I hope you feel more positive once you've recovered from the holiday!

Weasel we didn't get a wardrobe for DD and haven't missed it, especially since I discovered Kondoing and folded all her clothes. Even her dresses are small enough to fold for the foreseeable future.