Page 25 | Kondo thread 8

Isisizzie · 2015-03-25T12:02:42+00:00

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

BertieBotts · 13/05/2015 22:51

Hmmm, I don't think I did clothes in mine either. But how did you picture yourself when you imagined all of that cooking, eating, entertaining etc? That might help with the clothes?

MightilyOats · 13/05/2015 23:13

Urg I feel MK will be the death of me, since I started this I've had an upset tummy a couple of times and my cough/coldy thing has turned into bacterial tonsillitis. I was relatively healthy before I started! Well, as healthy as you can be with a preschooler and baby anyway.

I am going to carry on, but it does impede progress!

Although certain areas do seem a lot better I keep looking around and seeing far too much crap around that just is miscellaneous and I don't know what to do with it. Anyone else in the same boat?

defk0ndo · 13/05/2015 23:27

Yes, mightily!

Starface · 14/05/2015 05:45

I started boxes for later categories to deal with when I got there. This helped me get rid of the in my face joylessness whilst not needing to tackle the whole category.

JKSLtd · 14/05/2015 07:23

Definitely Mightily!

And the categories I've done are all hidden from view really - inside wardrobes or filing drawers.

I've got lots of empty plastic crates now so I might start a system of gradual collection of future categories.

Today's mission is to try and sort the wifi out. So frustrating.
And still full of cold yuck.

Iqueen · 14/05/2015 09:16

So many interesting posts here (page 24), so I'm responding now, which will go over to page 25. May find more to say after turning the page!

anycherrypie I'm reluctant to bring anything new into the house while I'm in declutter mode.

If you ditch the old night tops, and buy some pretty tees to go with your PJ bottoms, you will not be 'bringing in' stuff - you will be replacing, which is allowed!

BertieBotts Thanks for that interesting US insight.

The reason anyone has excess stuff is because it's available, and people have enough money to buy so much. Also, with low interest rates, there is no incentive to save disposable income.

At poverty level, people make do with whatever they have or really need, as they always have done.

Consumerism suits politicians and some economists, because it increases 'growth', but, logically, there must be a limit to that. Maybe we are reaching that point? Hence, the growing difficulty in disposing of discarded furniture.

I can't understand why tertiary education is being charged for, anywhere. Governments know it is an investment in the country's future, rather than trotting out the old spiel that it's a 'personal' investment!

defk0ndo I've got the same problem with clothes - the 'maybe' pile is still cluttering my bedroom!

I have set the clothes category aside for now, because it was holding me up. I may even leave it to the end. My mindset has made amazing changes over the past few months, so I feel safe to do this, rather than let clothes nag me, and distract me from the wider project. Having been through them three times, they should be easier to think about at/near the end, when my vision has become reality. By then, I might have a clearer view of who I am, now.

Iqueen · 14/05/2015 09:34

I think the posts here (page 25) endorse what I have just said: this de-clutter project is altering us and our view of life more than we realise.

Since clothes, for many/most, outwardly display who/what we believe ourselves to be, at a given point, it is not surprising that in the middle of this project, some of us are finding clothes a problem.

Kondoing clothes properly at the start, should have been fairly easy, because we had an idea of who we were then. Perhaps, people who are changing more radically, may need to review who we are at the end?

defk0ndo · 14/05/2015 13:13

Iqueen, I think you are right. We are all changing. Perhaps to some extent clothes can be sentimental...

I did pretty well yesterday, so haven't progressed the clothes too much yet. I am not sleeping well (compounded by staying up too late, but that's another story) and feel pretty demotivated during the day. Somehow I am fine with thinking and planning but find it hard to follow through!

anycherrypie · 14/05/2015 15:43

Haven't done very much more since the other day (full time job and 2 babies fills up the time pretty quickly). I need to do shoes, jewellery and dresses in order to finish clothes.

I'm only just starting the process and I'm changing already. I was talking to DH last night and was saying how little we actually need. I thought I was not the type of person to keep things "just incase I might need it" but I really was doing that with clothes. I had kept so many pairs of jeans "just incase I'd fit back into them" but now that I do the style is so oldfashioned compared to the ones I wear now. The stuff she writes about living in the now and having what you need for now really resonated with me.

JKSLtd · 15/05/2015 13:09

I'm struggling to find motivation. But did at least drop another bag at the charity box round the corner. Sat down with tea and a kitkat so not likely to get much done now

JKSLtd · 15/05/2015 17:49

Went to bed. Not a lot of kondoing. Don't think it's flu as I've managed to get up again after a sleep but definitely not right.

Have 3 extra boys coming round tomorrow for a sleepover party. yey. Have to find some oomph before then.

NotCitrus · 16/05/2015 09:16

Managed to drop a bag at charity shop yesterday. Also chucked half the paperwork from the Car folder. Car is booked to be collected for scrap. The flat is finished - finally - so now MrNC can put away lots of tools and finish all the jobs in our house instead.

Time to list bags of stuff on Freecycle.

prettymess · 16/05/2015 15:47

Another bag to the charity shop!

morethanpotatoprints · 16/05/2015 18:23

Hello, I know you are all experienced now and there have been several threads, but not sure where to start and need to start decluttering about 14 years of junk.
could somebody point me in the right direction for tips on how to sort it.
Then once i'm up and running will join you lovely people in conversation.

prettymess · 16/05/2015 18:28

Start with clothes. Get every item of clothing from all rooms and go through each item. Once you have discarded and know what you want to keep (and sparks joy) you look at how to store it properly. I've only got a small chest of drawers and all my clothes fit really well especially if sorted vertically!

morethanpotatoprints · 16/05/2015 18:31

how do you sort clothes? Is there a rule of what to keep or throw, or a link if somebody doesn't want to go through it all.

BertieBotts · 16/05/2015 18:36

Buy the book :) It's definitely worth it. If you're wavering, look at the amazon preview. Kondo is a set method, in order, so it's not really something you can't ask questions about from start to finish. To start off she asks what you want to achieve from the process - how do you visualise your life when you are done? What appeals to you about a process of tidying once and for all? How would you like your home to look, what kinds of things would you like to do in it, etc?

Heads up - there is now a UK facebook group. I saw a few MNers on the thread about it so perhaps you are already aware, but I also know some found the large group too busy. I'm going to stick with the big one because the overwhelmingness is helping me at the moment (and I really will shut up about FB groups once this post is done). They were asking for admins too if anybody feels like volunteering. It's small at the minute because it's only just been started, but I think it will grow. Just hopefully not to 10,000 members!

www.facebook.com/groups/828668297224068/

JKSLtd · 16/05/2015 19:42

Houseful of boys.
Mostly money as presents so that cuts down on stuff though ds1 is already plotting more Disney infinity characters.

morethanpotatoprints · 16/05/2015 20:20

Thank you.
I have ordered the book, but unfortunately just filled 3 large carrier bags for charity, my wardrobe is so spacious now.
Will it matter that I have done this first? I just felt like it and had been putting it off for ages.

BertieBotts · 16/05/2015 20:27

No don't worry - I don't think it matters if you do bits first, as long as you follow the process through once you get it. Some people on the group were talking about a "Pre KM" if you want to get started now - take "before" photos of everywhere, try to catch up on all of your laundry, start collecting any cardboard boxes (shoebox size and smaller), and feel free to throw out anything that you come across that you definitely don't want.

morethanpotatoprints · 16/05/2015 20:47

Ah, thanks Bertie.

I know some things will be easy and we have a lot of rubbish but some things are going to be time consuming to get rid of, so I know I'll have problems here.
I have many old books, cameras and equipment, furniture, stuff I don't want to keep, or promised my parents I would dispose of to go at as well as our own stuff
I'm also giving us a time limit as we would like to downsize next year, due to having 2 grown up ds now.

BertieBotts · 16/05/2015 21:30

Time limit is a good idea, I'm not using one though. For me it's a "takes as long as it takes" kind of process :)

BertieBotts · 16/05/2015 21:31

Sounds like your end goal is pretty clear, though - that's always good!

Starface · 16/05/2015 23:19

Welcome more than. it sounds like you've a lot to go through! One advantage you may find ìs that the categories stop it getting too overwhelming. Focus on one thing at a time and get it done thoroughly before moving on.

Also, if there is a lot of stuff you will need to stay on top of getting stuff out of the house. Otherwise it feels like you are just moving stuff around. Avenues I have found helpful for this, in no particular order: recycling depo, charity (including for rag), British heart foundation furniture shops, gumtree (also has a freebies section, I don't get on with free cycle, prefer this interface), ebay, re-gifting, boot fair, Cloth Ban UK (for cloth nappies). There is also a makeup/toiletries place but i didn't have anything worth donating there and can't remember the name. Getting rid of stuff, actually out of the house to a good home, I have found harder than sorting.

There is a balance to be struck between giving yourself a realistic target and not grinding to a halt but keeping the momentum going. I have found this board very helpful for motivation.

There is a line from the Japanese dramatisation of the MK story (linked to on one of these threads) that rings in my head and very much still applies to me: "fundamentally, you just don't put things away, do you?". This is true of DH and myself. I am slowly trying to improve but this is my downfall. We need to improve and not teach DD the same habits.

morethanpotatoprints · 16/05/2015 23:25

O, yes moving things around is what I do so well.
I tidy up and the house is in a worse mess than when I started.
My poor dh and the dc are laughing at me because when I started to try to declutter I took loads of stuff I wanted to sort out of cupboards and started putting them in ds1's old room, it's full now and we can't get through the door.
If ever anybody was in need of help.
I wouldn't mind, none of this is new to me, we have been together for 27 years, and although dh does as much of the domestics as I do, he also has 14 years of rubbish to sort out.
please tell me there's hope.