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.

Another (estate) car load full to the tip again today: broken hoover, lots of lever arch files AND loads and loads of pretty IKEA cardboard storage boxes and magazine files, bought in a fit of storage solution madness ... What ???? Well, I am not sure why I bought them but now the stuff that was in them - some were actually still empty - is condensed/recycled/binned/scanned... Much joy seeing the back them, finally. Was sure to thank all of it. Especially my old hoover, 11 years plus good service..... Much joy about the new one I have now :-)

Are people doing categories? I am sure that is why it is working so well for me. Previusly i would just do a drawer or cupboard here and there but never get the overview of all the stuff of the same type which was lurking all around the hiuse. So I am finding it definitely worth spending the time gathering each categiry up into one place. If that means having to break it down into quite small categories that's ok. I have been guilty of not finishing one category before moving on to the next though, and I do find that unhelpful as you're never really finished. Have now finally finished clothes, I think!!! After a few revisits...

Iggi thanks for the flowers. I had a last-minute contract to finish and DS is poorly with a fever so it's just been manic. I ended up dozing on the couch this morning, nipped into the office this afternoon for five minutes, did some baking to relax and am now going to watch The Voice whilst Kondoing the corner of doom

Oops and yy to doing categories and sub-categories. The extra clothes Kondoing is because I've realised as time has gone on that I could have been stricter with the first round of Kondoing. And my corner of doom is a mix of komono.

Hello all, checking back in to try and regain my kondo mojo as our house is total chaos. We've had bathroom and some other building works done which meant moving lots of stuff around to accommodate the work. Obviously it has all overrun so it's been two weeks now instead of planned-for five days.

Because I couldn't get to things we now have not only the out of place items cluttering our rooms but also piles of clothes that can't be put away; piles of extra washing from the building dust; extra cleaning from teh dust etc etc.

Fingers crossed it will be finished tomorrow, just as my DH leaves for a long work trip and my MIL (who has my eldest one day a week) is also away. So part of me knows I will need to be in survival mode to mange the DC on my own for the time they are away, but another part of me just cannot stand the mess any more and I don't know where to begin. I need to tidy and clean but part of me wants to just chuck it all into category boxes; clean; and kondo as I take it out of hte box. Does that sound too ambitious with a 3yo and 6mo and not much help this week? Should I just be patient?

Hazy I'd advise caution whilst knowing i couldn't resist either.
I'm in a similar boat. Dh is finally well enough to go back to work (mon-thurs away) and the nanny (2.5 days a week) is signed off. At least she's out of hospital though. But no clue as to return date.
And the helper provided by the council for ds2 to attend beavers cancelled as of fri morning. Sigh.

I need to just knuckle down and get through the week (s) but want to get on with stuff. And the house feels like chaos atm.

APlace, good luck with that tonight.

Sounds like JKS and Hazy are pretty snowed under. Hope things don't get too difficult.

When I've been itching to make progress but couldn't, what I've found helpful in the past has been to write down on paper or in my notes app on the phone a list of things I know I will definitely be getting rid of just to mentally tick them off.... Or consider best order to do things? Or reflect in what's gone and how you're enjoying the space created by having it gone? Not quite the same, but might help a wee bit?

Or revisit your dreams of the 'after' lifestyle as suggested by #konmarie, to be clearer about why you want to do it?

It's awful though, being surrounded by stuff and feeling unable to do anything about it.... Sending patience vibes....

Thanks JKS, I know I need to be cautious, and good to know I am not the only one with itchy feet, as it were.

Defk0ndo, revisiting the 'after' is helpful too - a main aim for me is to have more time and headspace to enjoy the DC, so in a way that also helps me to pace myself. The last thing I want is to get so stressed and focused on kondoing that I neglect/ignore/scream at them for weeks and months. Recently read a blog on a parenting site which spoke about 'staying well away from your exhaustion threshold' with little kids, by putting big projects on hold or moving slowly while the kids are small. So I try to remember that.

Which is why I shall now go to bed. I kondo'd DC craft things, and feel I could now start on games/jigsaws (of which we have a whole new batch cos DS1 had his birthday recently, planning the party and the influx of presents is another reason the house is in chaos) but I think I need sleep more.

Milly, Google 'conker shoes'. They weren't cheap, but they're the most amazing thing ever for my tiny, wide, high-arched feet. And they'll last... On one of the earlier threads, I mentioned my oldest item of clothing: a 20-year-old pair of school shoes... Same company.

Still can't see the thread on the board No idea what that's about.

Quickly popping in. Have been so busy getting things done on very little sleep. Photographer comes in on Wednesday for the sale of our flat so Kondoing has been put to the side for now while we make it all tidy.

Still, I went through my jewellery today before putting it all into a chest that used to hold our cutlery set. It looks good on there, with my makeup and hair things and the top of my chest of drawers is so bare. It's beautiful.

On way to post office with parcels of nappies, and more going in the next week. I've made enough to feel happy that they will be appreciated by new parents, and any that don't sell I will be happy to donate.

MrNC is having one last look at a set of magazines he says he probably is happy to get rid of, especially the ones that should make £5-8 each on EBay. I sorted out his desks of doom yesterday, getting rid of two carrier bags of receipts and expired special offers etc, and other paperwork is in near piles to go through later. If only I could train him to write down important phone numbers, login codes etc in one notebook rather than on any bit of paper, which means we have stacks of old envelopes etc with potentially vital data...

Also chucked some magazines and old conference notes from the living room Cupboard of Doom, filled MrNC's sentimental box with some more stuff from there, and hid more widgets in the cupboard. It's all part of a very slow Kondoing process of getting categories together. Getting rid of all nappies will mean lots of space in the bottom of my wardrobe at least.

*Hazy": "staying well away from your exhaustion threshold" - I just love reading that, it is so important! When DCs were little, DH was a total arse and complained about the service level, saying things like "other people do better". I nearly chucked him out on the spot, but after a couple of weeks of arguing he finally understood and for a few weeks he even helped a bit.

Kondoing is helping me in that respect, I am getting much better at recognising the balance - I can't spend all of Sunday cleaning and tidying. I have started asking myself if I will be thankfull 10 years from now if I grind myself into the ground - it's simply not worth it! I want memories of family time, not cleaning and tidying. So I tell myself that if I hoovered downstairs the day before, then I don't need to do it again, even if it needs it, that's just too bad, it can wait.

Oh, and it must be spring - yesterday I shaved my legs and died my lashes ;)

80 odd books bagged and marched up to the charity shop.

Several hundred DVDs/CDs boxed and waiting for a courier to collect. £140 made from musicmagpie.

Need to run 7 black bin liners full of clothes up to the local cash for clothes place.

I actually feel really ashamed of myself for having all this stuff. It's honestly no wonder my beautiful home depresses me the way it does. There's crap everywhere!

I am ruthlessly 'Tazzing' my way through each room and simplifying things. Massive thank you for these threads. I tend to lurk instead of post, but they've given me the boot up the arse I need!

Oh, well done, Vino! Very impressive. Once it's all gone, you will stop feeling bad about it, and start to feel relieved!

misscph, I feel so, so much better! I was getting into such a rut with my house. I have a lovely home too. Beautiful 200 year old cottage full of memories that is just being taken over by junk. No matter how much I tidy, there's still mess everywhere. It's a job never finished and it really wears me down.

My wonderful mother is always asking if she can come around to see me and dd and I'm always too embarrassed by the state of the place. I'm naturally quite clean and tidy but I've moved around quite a bit over the last 10 years and I haven't really decluttered in any of that time. Things have just been stuffed here, there and everywhere or 'hidden' thrown in a cupboard and never dealt with. I literally feel like my home is strangling me sometimes.

I'm an ex media student and I love my movies and books. It got to a point where I was borderline obsessive with them though. I just kept buying and buying. I raked through them all the other day and gave myself a bloody good talking to. I've still kept quite a few - one bookcase each, but they're all neat now and I'm a whole bookcase lighter. The living room is looking much better. I don't bother with TV (no licence) so I do want to keep some, but I invested in a Netflix account after Christmas and it's helping me to scale it all back!

I love old houses too - we moved from a new build this summer to a house, that we think is from the 1930's (renting, agent knows nothing), and it's just wonderful.

But it's like FlyLady says - you can't tidy clutter, but you can get rid of it.

I have Netflix too, and I do have a tv license, but I don't buy any dvds, and I rarely watch tv.

I have a literature degree, and some years back I realised that all of my text books from uni were outdated, so apart from a few favourites, I got rid of most of them. I have one bookcase now and I use the library as much as possible.

Hello hello!

I Kondoed quite a bit at the start of the year and then didn't feel the need to continue for a while. Now I've got the urge back again. Working on books today and I want 50 gone by the end of the day. That total might include other bits of random junk I find and discard along the way though (not Kondo but oh well! I'll ditch things when I find them, I'm not going to save them for later.)

Just checking back in. Someone coming to buy my old violin. Had been keeping it for offspring, but don't want to limit their choice of instrument... Anyway would have been years away and it's not fabby quality, just basic.

Have started paperwork. Took nearly the whole morning to even get various folders and piles into the study to get started. Surprised at how well it is going tho. Two concertina files into one small plastic wallet, for example. Instructions, warranties etc. manuals.

I finished my clothes last night. I still have over 30 tops though and that's not including my (6) work shirts and running tops. I've not quite got to grips with this yet, have I??!!

My drawers and shelves look pretty though.

defk0ndo, how did you go about selling it? I too have a violin to sell!

After finally cracking on and getting loads of things listed on eBay, I figured some would sell, some not, and I'd post and relist as people paid. Flipping heck, it's all gone bar one, and they've nearly all paid. I've just spent an hour sorting postage, boxing, wrapping and addressing everything. I've used up all my odd packing supplies too, so have cleared an extra shelf.

Also... I seriously think this may change my life how to fold fitted sheets

defk0ndo I had the same issue with my flute - actually, I would have got rid of it years ago but my parents (and it was being stored at their house) thought it would be good to keep it in case any of the DC wanted to take it up. But apart from the fact that none of them has shown any interest in the flute (although they're all playing/have played other instruments), I was speaking to a flautist who said that if they did want to take it up at some point in the future, it would cost quite a bit to have it reconditioned - I haven't played it for 30 years - and it would probably be cheaper and easier just to buy a new flute. I wasn't sure whether it was in good enough condition to sell, so I just gave it to a charity shop.

Mango Well done on all the selling; it must be such a good feeling to get it all out of the house and make money from it.

Trazzletoes That sheet folding method looks great; must try it later!

I've been having a bit of a wobble about some paperwork I kondoed; I decluttered my old mammogram x-rays when I was doing my medical lever arch file, but am now wondering whether I should have kept them. It would probably only be an issue if I go to a different radiology practice (I was wondering whether to switch to the other one in our town as it has an online appointment system and I'm a bit telephonephobic, but - even if you're already a patient there - they want you to take all your previous x-rays). They're a pain to store as they're bigger than A4 size so need to be folded to fit into the file and are very bulky, but I suppose it might be a good idea to keep the last one or two. It's yet another example of how this is a more paperwork-ridden country; I'm sure you're not given copies of your x-rays to keep in the UK, are you?

Trazzletoes, if all those tops bring you joy, then keep them. If it still feels stifled or oppressing, go through them again. There isn't a set amount of things you need to get down to, it's about finding the right amount for you.

Linzer, other than a copy of DD1s foot X-ray (as a treat from the radiographer for being so brave!) no X-ray copies here. As for the selling, I'm glad all the stuff is finally leaving, but I'm not sure that the effort of selling, wrapping, posting etc was worth it. Think I'll do as you did and take the violin to the charity shop. I feel a little lighter just thinking about it going with no hassle!

got book from library, started yesterday, want to Kondo my clothes now now now! DP is away, hoping to finish clothes this week while mum is down, as would be nice to have transformed at least one area of life!