Meet the Other Phone. Protection built in.

Meet the Other Phone.
Protection built in.

Buy now

Please or to access all these features

Housekeeping

Find cleaning advice from other Mumsnetters on our Housekeeping forum.

Kondo thread 8

993 replies

Isisizzie · 25/03/2015 12:02

New thread for Kondo addicts.

Sorry I can't do all the links that were on the top of thread 7.

OP posts:
Thread gallery
36
JKSLtd · 11/04/2015 10:16

Well done Gibble - how has it gone down??

Went through cookery books. Put a pile for dh to go through.
Mil (here on and off for 6ish weeks) says we can't get rid of the Delia series as she uses them when she's here.
How would our great leader respond to that I wonder??!!

Luckily, sort of, dh wanted to keep those anyway. Dunno why as he doesn't use them. They were all stuck together and stuck on the shelf where they'd been there so long.

I told mil I just google stuff but she wasn't convinced.

Anyway cut down the pike just need to find a better home for them as their old shelf could be better used for something else I think. Then again it's too high for me so I could bung them up there and see if they ever get used again...!

Iqueen · 11/04/2015 14:12

JKSLtd

MIL, Delia and MK: Does MIL's cooking bring you joy/a respite?

JKSLtd · 11/04/2015 14:47

Fair point Grin

Zippidydoodah · 11/04/2015 18:33

Today I swept the whole contents of our under sink cupboard in the ensuite, into a black bin bag! Grin (except for dp's wash bag of course, ha!) I will NEVER use the mineral bath salts, or the hotel shower caps etc etc! Wow, that feels good!

Gibble1 · 11/04/2015 19:15

I have managed an hour of ironing today........ Will I ever get to the bottom of the basket so I can sweep paperwork into it?!

Iqueen · 11/04/2015 21:15

As some of you, on here, know, I have been having a dreadful time trying to 'do' my clothes.

In a final attempt to finish kondoing my clothes and beginning to build a wardrobe that I love, I found this liberating blog:

into-mind.com/2015/02/03/minimalist-wardrobe-faq-common-pitfalls-how-to-get-started/

Don't be out off by 'minimalist' in the title - you will see, by reading these FAQs that 'wardrobe minimalism' is a totally individual concept - whatever is minimal for you and your lifestyle! It ties in very well with MK's ethos, of everything you have, bringing joy.

I have read several of her posts, so far, and they come from a surprising viewpoint.

HTH

thatstoast · 11/04/2015 22:20

So I'm starting on the book and I've printed out a checklist. All good so far, but can I ask what is probably a stupid question. If I organise my pens, for example, how do I do that if I don't know where all my pens are? Isn't there still going to be an element of organising by room rather than category?

BertieBotts · 11/04/2015 22:37

You don't just "organise your pens", though. It doesn't really work that way. Konmari says that you must first discard before you can store. So the very first category you do is clothing, subcategory "tops". You first empty out your tops drawer, your wardrobe, that chair in your bedroom, your laundry basket and any common piles or hooks. Pile them all up. Then go around every single room and double check there aren't any stray tops hanging around. Look on the backs of chairs, in other people's drawers/wardrobes, stuffed down the back of the bed or sofa, in a suitcase, left on the stairs, in a bag, etc etc. Any that you don't find in this sweep of the house, you are supposed to discard immediately when you find them later (because if you didn't miss them, they didn't spark joy). The only exception is clothes which are literally inaccessible - e.g. lent to a friend, in the wash, in a box in the attic etc. (Although if you had lots of clothes in storage I'd dig them out and do them all together rather than as two batches).

When you've finished discarding your tops, you can fold them as she says and place them back into a drawer, but it doesn't really matter where you place them at the moment - you've sorted them and tops are done and it doesn't really make a difference if they get scattered around any more (but hopefully, now you like all of them, you'll want to take better care of them anyway.)

Clothing is different really in that people normally have specific clothing storage, so once you've done ALL of the clothes, you could then do the "storage" part where you store by category within the clothes storage that you have. But the idea is that you discard in all categories and then don't worry too much about storing them again, until you've finished all of the discarding. Think about it - you reduce the entire content of your house down to what it needs to be, and then you can look at storage as a whole rather than doing it bit by bit.

So by the time you get to pens, you've kondoed a lot of things. There won't be that many places that pens can be hiding. But on the day that you decide to do pens, you go all around the house and search in every nook and cranny for pens to bring all of the pens together. Keep the pens which are nice to use or nice to look at (sparking joy!) and throw away the non working ones, the free ones, the broken ones.

When you've finished discarding you go back to storage from the first category again to the last. With something like pens you'll have ended up with a fairly small amount, probably, so by collecting them together again, even if they have strayed, it jogs your memory as to which ones you chose to keep. You'll know if you left the other one somewhere and if you did, you'll have a rough idea where it is. If not, it doesn't matter. Store them all together and when the other one turns up, put it away in that place too.

I didn't really understand this as much until I read all of the book - I only read the clothing part to begin with and did it as I went along. I think that's a good idea but definitely when you've finished clothes, read the parts about storage and why "tidying is magic" and you'll understand the method much better.

NotCitrus · 11/04/2015 23:24

Away atm. MIL has joyfully gathered many items of car boot bargains and komono and filled the whole boot of our car. I will sort as fast as possible and spark joy in the local charity shop! Though there's always a couple wonderful items among the bags...

I now have two pen drawers and can find pens much more easily - the house is still a tip but a more functional one!

thatstoast · 12/04/2015 08:36

Thanks Bertie! I think the thing seems to be that if I can't find something when tidying, I should then discard if I find something in a category I've already done. So the decision to discard has already been made as it wasn't important enough for me to know where it was. That fits in well with the 'tidy once' statement she makes. And now you've said it, it makes me feel silly for worrying about what I'd do when I find a never used pen in a box that my mum gave me for 2 years ago. I should just discard.

A similar question, inspired by another thread, if someone buys you an unwanted gift, do you discard it straight away? How do you stop feeling bad about this?

MILLYmo0se · 12/04/2015 09:30

thatstoast I focus on feeling grateful for the ACT ie someone deciding to spend time/money being me a gift ( I just have to let go of the irritation at times that it was obviously bought just for the sake of it cos it was my birthday or whatever and no thought was put into it lol !) If it's something I can pass on like chocs or something I'll hang onto it, if not it's goes into charity shop where someone will walk in and be delighted to find a whatever-it-is .

MILLYmo0se · 12/04/2015 09:33

Oh, and I found it helpful to have a box where I put 'komono' I found as I sorted catagories (stuff that I couldn't make an instant bin/charity shop decision on ) and a small box for staionery items I found along the way also. It was amazing how many pens/markers/erasers etc DD had managed to scatter all over the house !

Zippidydoodah · 12/04/2015 09:54

Hehe! I just threw a scratched old saucepan away and without even thinking, said "bye bye, thanks for all your hard work!" GrinGrin

CycleChic · 12/04/2015 11:04

That's awesome, Zippiedoodah Grin
Thanks for the summary, BertieBotts! That's really useful, it explains why she does the "how to store clothes" part with sorting them, then leaves off storage unit the end (which I have to read still Blush) But... does that mean not hiding putting anything AT ALL away until ALL categories are done?? Fine if you're just doing your own bedroom in a shared flat and don't have much stuff and do have a weekend to devote to a festival of tidiness. .. I'm not sure I can live with piles of komono for a few weeks while I'm working my way through it all...
In more cheerful Hmm news: I realised this morning that I don't have to wait for DH and finishing All the papers. I can finish all of what I can control (now down to filing, as of this morning! Smile), then get the last joint papers done with or without him! Of course, this isn't very interesting so why am I keeping papers where managing them aren't sparking joy, even if looking at them is? ConfusedHmm which is why nagging about going through files, then putting them back considerably thinner was more appealing!

Smooshface · 12/04/2015 11:50

thank you for checklist Bertie, will be printing that when I am home!

Iqueen · 12/04/2015 11:54

I'm gathering up komono as I work through, in a box. I am getting to the stage where some komono sub-categories need their own boxes, eg: DIY, gardening, craft. These boxes are kept in the room, or near, where they will eventually be homed, so they can be sorted/discarded when I get to the komono category. Unless it is obviously something for discarding, I don't waste time sorting these things yet.

BertieBotts · 12/04/2015 12:03

No you don't leave them in piles all over the place :) I think she means don't worry overly about where you're putting them back, I'd try and keep them roughly in categories and then shove them in a drawer or shelf or whatever to get them off the floor, but don't worry about proper storage until you're done with everything, then you start again from the beginning.

CycleChic · 12/04/2015 13:51

Cheers, both of you! Flowers

APlaceOnTheCouch · 12/04/2015 14:11

I have kondoed half of the kimono of doom from behind the couch including rationalising the storage for DS' figures and Lego.It looks much neater.

It's interesting because DS has always known where the little figures were (in a variety of different storage containers) but he seems to be enjoying them more now they are in one set of drawers. It remains to be seen if ease of access translates into ease of putting away!

ShootPeppaPig · 12/04/2015 22:13

Sweet Kondo'ers. I have only just refrained from posting an AIBU but that never ends well so shall ask you for help and thoughts on coming to terms with this

When DS was born I had a bulky piece of baby equipment (think cot/pram/changing unit) and it was no longer used and hard to store but I LOVED it and felt incredibly sentimental about it, expected hoped to pass it on to grandchildren and certainly hope to use it again some day for another DC.

I loaned it to a good friend and asked for it to be returned when not needed via a family member with space to store it but didn't perhaps express how sentimental THAT item is.

Just been informed she's loaned it to another person Angry and doesn't think she can get it back as she's quit speaking to them

I have given off Confused vibes without directly stating im fucking livid pretty upset with her and said I want her to try and get it back because it is very sentimental to me. She's offered to buy another one if needed.

I'm more AngrySad because I have a health condition that has deteriorated lately and means there's a good chance I won't be able to have another baby (basically I may end up with a hysterectomy if my treatment doesn't work) so her offer to buy another one "if needed" feels like a major kick in the teeth. Plus it's sentimental precisely because DS used it, and was meant to be kept sentimental by allowing first baby of who I thought was lifelong friend to also have used it

(she does know about my health issue but I haven't totally spelled it out for her, I thought she would put two plus two together and realise I may never have another baby if things don't go well but she is a bit self absorbed sometimes and may not have dwelled on it to think that deep about it I suppose)

But I'm trying to kondo and let things go. How do I make peace with this? I'm not sure really if it's the item, the friend letting me down or the fear of no more babies that's wound me up the most

defk0ndo · 12/04/2015 22:41

Oh Peppa, how awful for you. It might be a combination of lots of things. No concrete advice (other than give yourself time - and permission to be livid! I would be... ) but sending thoughts your way.
Any way of contacting loanee direct? Bit of a long shot I know. What a cheek, lending on sth that isn't yours....

ShootPeppaPig · 12/04/2015 23:04

I don't know loanee though I may ask for contact details to be passed my way if I still feel this upset in a few days. I feel like she should make the effort though and by doing that I free her from the hook of putting in some effort to get it back

It is a blooming cheek, esp to lend it to someone you can fall out and go NC with, she's gone NC with the loanee a fair bit over the years (I know of loanee but never met her) I would never be that free with something borrowed but in hindsight knowing her I'm kicking myself for lending out something I valued so much. I lent tons, most of which I'm not overly fussed about thankfully though I will probably be Angry now if it's in bad condition or things are missing due to this incident

Iv been looking for photos of DS in the item... But it's not the same, I want to put another baby in the same one DS had

APlaceOnTheCouch · 12/04/2015 23:32

Oh Peppa that all sounds difficult and upsetting. I'd ask for the loanee's contact details. Doing so might make your friend realise how important the item is to you and might encourage her to step up. I'm not sure KonMarie principles help in this case because it has such sentimental value and added emotional significance at the moment.
Flowers I hope it resolves in the least emotionally stressful way for you.

ShootPeppaPig · 12/04/2015 23:36

Thanks defkondo and Aplace Thanks

It's soothing to have some sympathy

Iqueen · 13/04/2015 00:01

ShootPeppaPig

I am very sorry you are faced with such upsetting health issues, this is obviously a very difficult time for you. Flowers

Your friend's behaviour, is disgraceful!

I understand that you planned to use this item in the future, but do you really want to use it, now it has such painful memories?

My best wishes for the future, I do hope that you get lucky.

Swipe left for the next trending thread