Kondo thread 8

[Isisizzie]

New thread for Kondo addicts.

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

I haven't made much progress since my initial flurry of enthusiasm. I have been putting like with like when doing general tidying, so that's a start I guess.

I think I'm an incurable messy, because looking at before and after pics, I often prefer the before (or at least somewhere in the middle). Bookcases with barely any books (or even worse, no bookcases at all!) just looks wrong to me. Has anyone else felt like this? Does your tolerance for clutter reduce as you go through the process of discarding?

I've lived all my life with clutter, I hate it, but think I would find a very minimalist place didn't feel like home.

Made a big dent in the paperwork. Phew!

Also, it isn't about minimalism, it's about the joy your things bring you ;)

JKSLtd

I'm SO glad that I no longer have school runs - tales me all my time to get a doctor's appointment at half eleven!

NowhereNow

I've not been the tidiest housekeeper in the past, but it was usually under control; and I've always done anything other than chores, if possible!

At present I am plodding, and still struggling with a 'maybe' pile of clothes, although I have decided to store away my winter warmers, as there so many for an unheated house! I have done some urgent paper-work that has made that matter easier and quicker to deal with; and I'm getting odd carrier bags of books out of the house (still hundreds to go!)

Don't condemn yourself to permanently being a messy! Your home is probably not as hoarded as mine! It's all relative.

Kondoing is helping me to get right down to my essentials - probably 50-80% less. I am hoping to become borderline minimalist, but I live alone and that, I think, will make me happy. Everyone is different.

You only need to aim for what you are comfortable with. More than a couple of knick-knacks around, and I can't think clearly, but others would feel bereaved without every flat surface busy with ornaments.

That's the joy of kondoing - we keep what we choose to keep. And less (every amount of less) makes tidiness easier and quicker, and gives us a calmer home.

"I have decided to store away my winter warmers, as there so many for an unheated house!" "I've always done anything other than chores" "Your home is probably not as hoarded as mine! It's all relative."
You know I think she really is "her maj". Imagine all those inadequately heated stately homes/castles and the sheer number of heirlooms to deal with. I'm sure she throws in a few other random bits of mis-information just to maintain her cover!

OK Arti, you've won me over. From now on, I will refer to Iqueen as ma'am.

Nowhere, I'm sure there's a happy medium between clutter and minimalist, but it's different for each of us. Maybe you've gone a bit past yours in some places, but take some time to think about it before you start recluttering! Also, if you've been focussed on getting things out, you do need to finish with the organising. If you just remove the joyless stuff from your shelves, you end up with an incoherent collection of stuff that's left.

If, like me, you've got bookcases all over the house, decide what the theme is in each room. We've got recipe books and "coffee table books" in the dining room; my most treasured books in the sitting room; paperback fiction in the spare room, for guests to help themselves; everything else in the study. You might need to rationalise the bookcases. I got rid of the joyless, utilitarian furniture that we bought when we thought the answer lay in clever "storage solutions". It's taken a fair bit of reshuffling, but although we have fewer bookcases, they now pack more impact. theres the odd book-free shelf among them, accessorised with a bowl here, a cactus there etc. That also gets some of my favourite things out of the sideboard, to be enjoyed every day. If you're fixated on the way you've always had it, drag a friend round to help you "curate" the space.

I've also lived my entire life with clutter, except for the odd moment of having a tidy room following a row from my parents (which means that I feel uncomfortable and anxious in a space that's too tidy ) BUT I am starting to enjoy the clutter free look, whereas before, my space felt wrong without dusty piles of books, magazines, and papers Hiding half of the baseboards. I think the difference is what someone implied up thread: when it's just the joyful possessions, I feel like i appreciate them and my space better. When it was the old "dusty piles and can't find the table under everything" way, I could hide behind the mess and now that it's all joyful, I don't feel that I need to hide in my own home. Not sure if I'm making sense anymore!

Thank you! I should very quickly point out that I didn't mean pictures on here, I was thinking of ones that came up when I googled.

I suppose I was wondering whether the process brings a change in your mindset. Do you start to see clutter that perhaps previously was just normal to you? Someone said their tolerance for things that don't bring joy has reduced, which sounds fantastic.

Oh, just noticed I'd missed some other posts as I had started replying on my phone much earlier then got interrupted.

Sadly I have barely started Hermione - I'm just imagining I might find a very tidy house a bit weird.

CycleChic yes, I too feel quite uncomfortable in really tidy places. Unfortunately I feel like I can't invite people over as our house is so messy but I seem to be looking for excuses not to do anything about it.

I did sort my tops but only got rid of a carrier bag of stuff. I'm not sure I've got the hang of this... At least the drawer looks lovely and tidy now

I do think it alters your mindset. Maybe opens your eyes to stuff you'd previously not notice.
What was that great German word the meant some form of blindness?

I've stalked massively as rl has got in the way but I still think in my new kondo way rather than slipping back into my old ways so that's reassuring.

I have altered my plan on socks though. If it was just me I could pair then up just folded (nestled?) against each other but with 5 of us here I want them joined together better. So ive started folding over one of the socks to make a sort of bag? I think they're happier as here not going to lose each other!

Lots of paper into the recycling - some stuff that needed doing something with some thats just gathered over the last few weeks.

All of this has made me a more generous person! A new Mum popped round the other day and was happy with the pile of parenting books I gave her. I won something and immediately promised it to a friend. Actually I used to enter competitions in the evening, and I don't really anymore because I have genuinely lost that drive to acquire 'stuff'. My DSis is concerned at how casually I'm giving things away, but I still have to shift things from room to room to tidy when people come over. I still have way too much stuff. My initial goal is for my possessions to fit in the existing (generous) storage I have.

I got 'Stuffocation' from the library. It promotes experiences over possessions. I would like to get to that point!

I'm definitely a posessions over experiences person, I think it comes from always getting everything second hand, and having to put up with crap versions of things for ever because I can't afford new and always feeling like I should buy the cheap version. I'd rather have nice versions of everything but not too many things, I think, but the things are important to me. DH is more experiences.

Well, no kondoing for me today! Except for comfort breaks and quick simple food, I've spent the whole day planning this bl00dy woodland garden! I hope my daughter appreciates my effort.

arti and Hermione ROTFL You are as mad as box of frogs! Thanks for the posts - I'm joyfully laughing my socks off! (We would hev made you Dames, bat we do not hev a sword hendy.)

CycleChic
You make perfect sense to me!

I had recognised, pre-MK, that my clutter was a barricade. Then I had to figure out what I was scared of. I did work it out, and now, as I work on my kondo project, I am happy again, and, once more, looking forward to the future.

It was difficult, but discarding clothes, linens, books and a couple of sentimental items that I came across, I have been able to let go of pain of the past. I have re-assessed some of my relationships, which could still hurt me... IF I let them. By taking back control and refusing to let myself be upset, I have kondoed the fear of hurt in the future. HTH

NowhereNow

A lot of people on here, and another website I look at, have found their mindsets altered. Mine has, too.

Although I had already addressed the acquisition of 'more', and become disgusted with the excess in my home, this discarding process has made me more aware of items that I had previously been totally blind to. Sometimes, I completely lose patience and chuck stuff out with barely a glimpse. That may just be a reaction to my plodding progress! I just want to reach the rainbow.

But it has affected my procrastination. Yes, I still do it, but much less. Now, I just get things done because I want to feel the joy, rather than the wearying guilt.

GatoradeMeBitch

Good for you, Gator! I've noticed that things in my life have changed recently - nice things are happening to me and I don't know why!

BertieBotts

I am getting rid of tat and (hopefully) will be replacing it with less, but better quality. It will take time, but I am happy to wait and save to get what will bring me joy for a very long time. Also, I'm working towards experiences over things - experiences can last me all my life, things won't.

Iqueen - do NOT kondo the sword!

educatingarti Thanks for the laugh! Best way to start the day!

Maj says: "We will not 'kondo' (Phil, what does thet mean?) the sword - it is samtimes useful, when one has mislaid one's walking stick."

No one in. They must all be kondoing their gardens.

Ds watching Toy Story 3 daily at the moment - so glad I have already kondoed the toys, or I wouldn't have the heart!

I've got a day off so hoping to get to it again.

From the other day!

prettymess

Brilliant work!

Small progress made here this weekend. We did DVDs and books. I just need to do recipe books now because my recipe book shelf is full and I don't want to expend it. In fact we didn't get rid of any DVDs but the space created from chucking out books means they are now all on the shelf in a single layer and haven't got any hidden in a double layer so it is easy to see all the DVDs.

Next up is paperwork.

I've found the joy thing helpful for just getting rid of bits and pieces as I come across them. And I moving the idea that stuff should be easy to put away.

Hello! I feel I know you all as I read the whole of thread one... Launched into thread two, then realised there were 8 of em...! I found my way via someone on a fb group and I am so so glad I did! I'm about 3 weeks in and we've got rid of a lot of stuff so far. Still have a mountain to climb (we got movers in a couple of years ago and it was 200 boxes of stuff
My parents are antiques hoarders and I always found it hard to get rid of things, hard to tidy and hard to find homes for everything. I am determined that this is no longer going to apply to me. We have loads of storage and its all bursting at the seams.

So far I have kondoed:

6 bin bags of clothes to charity
Finally sorted out all the loaned clothes for dd and given them back
Done mine and the kids clothes kondo stylee plus cloths and bibs
Got rid of 1/3 of my books from the bookshelves (several boxes in the loft to do, eep!)
Decluttered the kitchen - nearly done, actually have a cupboard empty now!!
Paperwork mostly binned
Craft cupboard and pens sorted but need to chuck a load more as we still have too many.
Towels and bed linen. Curtains need to go.
Tackled toiletries and make up today.

Did anyone else get a tummy bug doing this? I had really bad diarrhoea (sorry tmi) on Thurs which was otherwise unexplained and I wondered if it was the kondo effect?

I went shopping on Fri and bought only two items of clothing. It was sooo hard to find joyful things! But I did also buy two collapsible laundry baskets which I love! to replace the hateful IKEA bags DP insists on using, a josephjoseph garlic rocker to replace the garlic press which never properly worked and a colourful set of measuring cups that properly stack

PS I think I may be addicted to making things into rectangles and folding them into thirds!

Wow mighty, welcome! What a storming start! I'm 6 months in and feel I've losty mojo a bit. Still going but veeeery sloooooowly...