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KONDO Thread 9

999 replies

Iqueen · 12/07/2015 09:43

Kondo your Home and your Life. Live the JOY!

OP posts:
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missmakesstuff · 13/09/2015 16:51

I haven't, we use kindles so I'd have to lend him mine. I think he'd find it a bit weird, but he seems to be getting it by osmosis!
We did dds clothes today too, she was great, throwing things into the charity bag when's decided she didn't really love them, and even giving favourite grown out of things a goodbye cuddle!
A friend who used to work as a personal shopper is going to come over in a weeksctime and look through my wardrobe, she also sells Younique stuff but I'm not getting drawn into that! However she has said she canvgive me some tips and ideas about how I can wear what I have left!

Books next...not looking forward to that, it won't be easy. I've got the bug now though!

BlahBlahUsername · 13/09/2015 20:42

Paper... For years I was a paper hoarder - lists, pages torn out of magazines, notes. I don't do that anymore (I just bookmark pages on my computer instead!) but the paper is still mostly here, and there's so much of it I get overwhelmed.

Is there a particularly good system for sorting it all through? I don't know where to start, and it makes me disorganized because a dentist appointment slip will end up in the middle of a pile of recipes and birthday cards and manuals and holiday resort reviews and book lists and photos of celebrities in dresses I really like, etc, etc. I feel like I need to tackle it, but I could really use a detailed breakdown of how to do it. Is there anything like that? Like FlyLady but for stacks of paper?

Kiwirose · 13/09/2015 22:14

well I know that I am new to this but I feel like I have been throwing stuff out for ages (2 afternoons this weekend) and even though I have 4 bin
bags full I haven't finished the clothing section:(

I have done most of the clothes in the wardrobe but there is still stuff in the coat cupboard and scattered around the house. I haven't even started on shoes and bags. In my head I would have finished the entire clothing section this weekend, but after initially making good progress I got to a bunch of stuff that I felt a bit "maybe" about and then it got hard (so I gave up and went downstairs to referee the squabbling between siblings). I have also started on the airing cupboard, which is probably wrong, but Ii know that there was loads of stuff I could just chuck in there - and again I got to a load of "maybe" stuff.

Does anyone do it in one go or do the rest of you find you have to do it in bite sixe chunks too? I hope that now that there is less stuff int eh wardrobe then I will find it easier to put stuff away and then have a second go on my next day off.

Blah - I did laugh at your description, but mainly because my paperwork is in the same state.

Anyway - thanks for listening and thanks for posting your thoughts. I find them very encouraging.

Kiwi x

JKSLtd · 14/09/2015 09:52

Not been on for ages and had to reset password to get back in.

No mobile app it seems which will stop me using MN as much as I'm used to, probably a good thing!

Not really much Kondoing here since kids went back to school as dh also went back to hospital. Hoping he'll be home this week.

Have gone through kids wardrobes and passed lots of clothes and shoes on.

But also been given loads more too.

Will try and read through to catch up now.

Iqueen · 14/09/2015 10:08

Kiwirose People usually go through all their clothes, first, and break them into sub-categories. A lot of OPs have shoe racks in the hall, coat cupboards/hooks, etc.

Each category can be broken down into however many bites we need - just stick with that category! From my experience, starting another category, before finishing the first, is quite derailing! Some OPs manage to deal with 2 at a time, and we all randomly discard Stuff, from any category, that we are sick of seeing!

We may have to/want to revisit areas later - many OPs find themselves continuing to weed out tee-shirts, undies, or coats, and shoes. Sometimes, a category will repeatedly nag us, until we are satisfied - we are ourselves changing, continually, through the process. This is particularly true of clothes, because they are the exterior expresssion of who we are/ were/ want to be.

BlahBlahUsername I'm swamped by paperwork, from the year Dot - it's all through the house, in boxes, and bags, and piled on floors.

There is too much to deal with, all at once. So, when I began kondoing, in January, I sorted out a simple set of files, bills, mortgage, insurance, pension, etc and filed all the the recent bits, AND I have kept the files up to date since, by filing everything immediately.

The rest of the paperwork has been dumped in boxes, unsorted. This has cleared space, and the stacked boxes are a bit more joyful than cascading piles of paperwork.

Setting up a simple filing system, has immediately helped me to see what paperwork is important enough to keep, and also identifies quite a lot, that can be trashed.

The stacked boxes are being dealt with one at a time. I empty a box, and sift the sheets into keep, trash, burn. Trash goes to recycling, (along with the box!). Confidential trash is stored in a black bag in the shed until I have another bonfire. The really small pile of stuff for keeping, is quickly filed.

HTH

OP posts:
Kiwirose · 14/09/2015 15:07

Thanks iqueen. for some reason I hadn't got the part about breaking it all down into subcategories (even though it does say this in the book). That sounds more manageable as I can do a subsection at a time rather than just looking at it all in despair.

Onwards - I need more bin bags, so that can't be bad.

Kx

missmakesstuff · 15/09/2015 10:35

Definitely break it down, I did my clothes, then bags, jewellery etc the next day. If I weren't on mat leave with a fairly chilled out baby though I wouldn't have got half as much done.
All our clothes are done now, I'd forgotten a pile of shoes by the front door but they're all done now.

I'm still not feeling on top of washing etc, but I think with less clothes in the house it's got to help!

Books next, I'm going to make a start on mine at least and set dd and dh the challenge of doing theirs this weekend.

Which category would you all put toys in? I did a toyboy in our living room yesterday as it was overflowing, would really like to do the one in the kitchen too, but it's not the kondo way...the thought of getting every toy in the house out in one place makes my blood run cold! Dd would start playing with everything!

missmakesstuff · 15/09/2015 11:44

Toybox!!!! Not toyboy..god, I know you've all seen inside my cupboards but that would be too much information!! Blush

Greymalkin · 15/09/2015 14:19

I just spat coffee over my iPad at Missmakes doing a toyboy in the living room! What an exciting life!!

I haven't kondo'd for a few weeks, but want to get back to it. Some of my clothes I kept after the first purge have not been worn, so I guess they need to go as there are others I wear all the time.

DSs clothes remain beautifully folded and organised and have done for weeks.

Iqueen · 15/09/2015 18:46

Greymalkin I'll help her out with the one in the kitchen, if the kitchen table is big enough! Grin

OP posts:
MrsSadness · 15/09/2015 21:16

I'm still here by the way. I am just ploughing through my mahoosively cluttered house.
I am very much like you iQueen with my paperwork BUT I managed to sit down yesterday and sort a huge bin liner full of it into 5 files.
Once I've recovered from that I will Kondo those Grin
DH has fully embraced the Kondo-ing although he hates me calling it that and says he's been telling me to get decluttering for years and I didn't listen, yet some crazy Japanese woman has me thanking bin bags of clothes and boxes of books for their good work.
I know I wasn't supposed to do a whole area BUT my bedroom is a palace . Just don't look in the room next to it where I am doing the bulk of my sorting and a whole side is taken up with 'Sentimental' stuff.
My beloved old dog had to be PTS a few months back and he was my very best friend. I am still quietly grieving as I spent all day every day with him.
Yesterday when sorting the paperwork, I came across a load of photos from when he was a pup. I cried my little heart out. It was so lovely to find them though.
I found a site last night which has artists who recreate with oil on canvas from photos and I'm going to treat myself to a painting of him. Once my house is sorted, for me, this will be the icing on the cake.

Kiwirose · 15/09/2015 21:34

when I look around me I think that I would quite like a toyboy in the living room too:) I did have a good giggle!

missmakesstuff · 15/09/2015 22:04

Oh I'm so glad I've been a source of amusement to you all...Grin

I'm perfectly capable of doing my own toy boys boxes thank you, did another today...

I'm procrastinating so I don't have to go into our basement room where all our books and other shite is kept. It's meant to be my studio/laundry room/cinema room but in actual fact it just becomes a dumping ground for all the stuff that we don't want cluttering up every other room.

Dd was awarded a sparkly heart badge for donating her bag of clothes today, I've told her if she can look through her toys and donate a bag she can have another...no bribery here oh no..

This week I will do the books, I will...

CaminanteNoHayCamino · 15/09/2015 23:40

Grin at toyboy. Now if that was the reward for finishing....

I did some of my papers last week. I did get a bit derailed by sentimental items but managed to put them aside after a while. The thing is, I have no idea really how I am going to organise papework once I have discarded everything. I think I might need to reread that bit of the book, but I'm pretty sure it won't come down to just three. How many years of bank statements are people keeping? I went with the six-year thing, but then wasn't sure if it was pay slips you were supposed to keep for that long, so have done both. I have borrowed a friend's shredder so will have a go with that on my days off. It really is going to be a very slow process for me, but I think I can live with it. I Konverted a colleague the other week, and she was so delighted with the book she sent me an email to say thanks. Spreading the kult, spreading the kult.

Iqueen · 16/09/2015 09:30

Well done to all everyone tackling paperwork - and other shite!

Today, I am (still) working towards an upstairs paradise. I have (a little) clear space, and will be moving Stuff to the rooms it is meant to be in, to make categories easier. Also, need to do something about a pile of 'maybe' clothes in my bedroom and a BN BBQ (boxed, unopened!) in there! (Keep remembering last year's 49 hour electricity outage and no hot food, when I should have cracked it open in the yard? Hmm I obviously survived OK, on sandwiches and Ribena!) Grin

MrsSadness Congratulations, on your peaceful retreat, the bedroom. What joy! Flowers

My home went downhill, starting with the 'dumping room'! Eventually, it spills out everywhere! Kondoing that room, with 26 years of stored dumped Stuff, is going to be my 'reward' for finishing the rest of the house. It is an Aladdin's Cave and is full of discoveries, most of which will be going!

I still think it's amazing, that MK has turned 'de-cluttering' on its head, removing judgmental thoughts and guilt, and substituting self-generating excitement and motivation! Yay!

OP posts:
educatingarti · 16/09/2015 09:49

So - I need some help! Struggling just with every day tidying plus work! Really want to be more on top of every day stuff and find some time to Kondo too but just not doing either!

homeaway · 16/09/2015 17:01

Educatingarti, I think the best thing to do with kondo is to break it down into smaller categories, so instead of doing all your clothes in one go, do your socks, then you could do underwear, etc... It is more manageable when you look at smaller categories rather . The idea of kondo is that everything has a home, so when you tidy up it does not take too much time. In the interim the best tip i was ever given was if I have something in my hand instead of putting it down on the side I put it where it belongs even if it means walking up a flight of stairs. IHTH.

Zippidydoodah · 16/09/2015 18:13

Home- similarly, I never go up or down the stairs without taking something with me!

missmakesstuff · 17/09/2015 11:17

We have boxes on the stairs, anything to go up goes in them and gets taken up, usually by me...I've witnessed dd and dh climb over things on the stairs to go up. Unbelievable.

My dd is however keeping on top of her room, since we kondo'd her clothes, she does a quick tidy before bed. I've done my books now and have piled up dhs for him to do at the weekend, a full ikea bag plus some from mine alone!
Dd has 3 shelves of books to sort this evening, I'm hoping some shelf space will mean I can reduce the clutter and mess in her room in order to fit ds cot in there, it's going to be a squeeze and I'm not entirely sure we will get any more sleep but at least if I know I'm not going to have to pick my way across a lego assault course in the middle of the night it might be worth a try!

So it's papers next after books, I'm thinking this won't take so long, I've got one file box for bills and important documents so just needs a tidy.

I found a couple of lists online (on pinterest) with broken down categories for kondoing, I'll try to make a linky...

ExAstris · 17/09/2015 12:45

Can I join? I haven't read the book but I have read several of the threads and think I get it.

I decided last year to do a big declutter as we were planning on moving house. That got put on hold for a few years but the declutter went ahead. This was pre-Kondo so not in categories, but I kept a tally chart of the number of things I'd got rid of and set myself a goal of 500 by the end of last year (which I exceeded) to keep me going. I then heard of Kondo and started doing categories - I did clothes, books, DVDs, paperwork before morning sickness from being pregnant with DS2 stopped me.

DS2 is now 7 weeks and I'm struggling a bit. I want to sort the house out, it'll make the small amount of time I have available to tidy/clean when he lets me put him down more efficient, but I'm so tired! Being tired is making me feel a bit depressed, but I find when the house is messy I am more prone to depression (have depression and anxiety, though currently mostly on top of it), which then makes getting out of that trap harder as when down I don't want to do anything.

I need to re-Kondo clothes at some point as my hips seem to be wider (literally the bones, so probably permanent) though can't yet as still hoping to deal with my wobbly muscles-shot-to-hell tummy.

MsUrsa · 17/09/2015 13:09

Welcome to the madness ExAstris!

I did a big declutter last year too! (Though we actually did move) I kept a tally of bags/boxes of stuff to the bin/charity/recycling centre/whatever instead of items though, because I am lazy it seemed easier. I still have the book with the tallied-up totals in it. It brings me joy. Smile

If you're postpartum it might be a good idea to (re)start with something other than clothes? When your shape has changed and is still changing it just seems like extra hassle. You can always move on to one of the komono categories and come back to clothes later.

Then again, starting with socks seems to be pretty neutral. Though you may wind up staring at your sock drawer. Don't worry, this is relatively normal behaviour around here!

I've been reading the old threads as well, so here, copied from the earlier thread, is a suggested subcategory order:

"ORDER TO DECLUTTER/LOCATE THE JOY

Clothes
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."

And here's a link to a PDF list of subcategories for...just about everything:
jershaanddup.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/07/Konmari-checklist-black-white.pdf

HTH!

missmakesstuff · 17/09/2015 13:48

Welcome exastra

I find I get very down about the state of our house too. Being on mat leave doesn't help as I feel that I should be using my time to get things done so life is easier when I'm back at work but it's so difficult to get anything done! I'm just trying to do a little every week, I feel like things are almost looking worse currently as I have bags.sitting around to be moved to different places, but I can see the difference in places like our bedroom which was.dusty, cluttered and with no storage room. It's still.a bit dusty but it's easier to clean.
Clothing related, I bought a few cheap.things that fit just to keep me going until I got back to a shape I was.happy with (not necessarily the same.one as before!) and I've now given those away. I've kept everything that sparks joy, even if I can't fit into it or can't wear it currently as I can't breastfeed in it, but I think at least I can open my.wardrobe and see things I love, also I can gradually start to replace some if those things with other things I love.

Good luck!!

I'm still at a loss to know when to do toys...I think I might do papers then just go for it.

wherehaveigonewrong · 18/09/2015 05:57

Ive been really trying with this but I have a Big problem. I love too much of my stuff. So many things spark joy, and I had a huge clearout a couple of years ago when I moved house. So although I would love to get rid of 80% of whats here, it would just be too much. Sometimes, like with the microfibre cloths, just having a lot of them sparks joy. I wont run out! There will always be a clean one! Joy!

Do I have to start saying goodbye to things which spark joy now?

prettymess · 18/09/2015 08:12

You don't get rid of what sparks joy. I do find that your definition and sense of joy changes throughout the process.

ExAstris · 18/09/2015 17:11

MsUrsa my socks and knickers are all still neat and tidy from last year. My Mom thinks I'm bonkers, taking time to fold knickers (when time is so short!) rather than just shoving them in the drawer, but it brings me joy to see all the pretty patterns and rich colours snuggled up next to each other neatly. Not sure that's the best defence to being accused of being bonkers though!

missmakesstuff I have trouble with toys too. DS1 is old enough to notice toys missing but not old enough to understand getting rid of stuff. That said, he did agree to pass on a barely-worn pair of Peppa Pig PJs to his foster cousin today. :)

Re-Kondoed towels and got rid of another four. The rest are still rolled neatly in the airing cupboard, though DH's efforts at rolling are... well, he needs training. Have already been through books a few times but found another two today for the charity shop.

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