KONDO Thread 9

[Iqueen]

Kondo your Home and your Life. Live the JOY!

I have also managed to do the children's toys and books. I have donated the excess to the school to take what they want as I would prefer it to go there than to a charity shop. People keep telling me that I should do a car boot , but really I just want the stuff gone!. Anyway - I think that the children play with more of their toys now that they have less. they can see what they have and can reach it. Hooray. (but what happens with Christmas looming??? - any ideas???)

I have not gone in the order of the book. Paperwork will be the most difficult category for us so I am leaving that until I have more strength. Also as I have stuff everywhere in the house it is quite difficult to get everything of one type together as random stuff turns up in the oddest places. but I am making progress, slowly but surely. I need to do adult books next. I have a large collection of recipe books and I only use one or two recipes form each one.

It'sMeI'mHere I don't buy beauty magazines, but travel sizes may work. Will investigate. :)

Kiwirose for Christmas we have an Amazon wishlist and are careful what we put on there for DS, mostly stuff to add to existing toys (eg more wooden train track), lots of books (take up v little space), and aim people towards non-toy gifts like classes, memberships, etc. I drop lots of hints that we have no space for stuff, and that I prefer to keep DS's toys streamlined. ILs have on the whole got the message on one side, though FIL and step-MIL not so much. My parents always ask.

I sorted the 2 random gifts! The duplicate kitchen item was returned to the giver- she saw it unopened in the kitchen and said if I didn't need it she would swap it for £10!

The bright accessory is being worn by DS and he looks super cute in it.

I'm going to do a 2nd round of kondoing and I'd like DH to read the book as I think it would change his outlook on life, not just possessions.

I think my get-up-and-go has got-up-and-gone. (collapses into a heap)

I kondoed another bag of clothes to the charity donation...bin thing, and the house is pretty much done in terms of the kondoing, but I have loads of stuff I need to do work-wise before I go on maternity leave, and not having it done yet is making me antsy. (I'm totally doing it now, I'm waiting for the computer. Honest.)

Congrats on your sorting stiffsink! I hope you can get your husband to read the book! Perhaps MK's woo-woo weirdness could be a selling point?
'Yeah, she's got good ideas, and they've really helped me, but also she's a total tidy-space cadet, and you have to read it to believe it.'

And major props to everyone who has been doing kids' toys. They sound...a bit hellish, to be honest. Everyone I know with kids already is like 'Oh yeah, they have All This Stuff, we don't know where it comes from, they have more than we do and it's Completely Inexplicable.'

I have a theory that there are Magical Crappy Toy Elves who go around multiplying plastic tat when parents' backs are turned. That being said, people have been giving me baby clothes already, to the point that 0-3 months is...yeah, pretty much covered. So I can only imagine what's going to turn up when the kid arrives.

I'm back after my failed first attempt a year ago (due to lack of time)! I have got a few days off work, kids and DH out of the house all day. DH has banned me from MN, but I need a break from paperwork! I did my clothes earlier in the year but I think I will need to have another sort through...

I have an hour before everyone gets home so I'm going to have a final push on the paperwork.

Fox are your clothes still in rows :) ? Great that you have started paperwork it is not an easy category to do. What do you have left to do ?

Clothes aren't too bad, but I have never managed to train DH how to fold my tops. My jumpers and tops are a bit messy and there are things that since my last sort out I have decided can go. I've also done toys and books.

And still to do are finishing paperwork, general bits and pieces (pens, stationary, old memorabilia, photos...) and kitchen. And children's clothes again.
Kitchen isn't too bad, it will probably only take an afternoon. It's the paperwork and general crap that are time consuming!

I have just bought the book (kindle) so am a pre-beginner.
have got to the bit where MK talks about that mad tidying session before revising for an exam and how you do it to soothe your mind.
Made me realise that clutter actually serves a purpose (for me) overI don't have to face other issues.... That was a bit of a shock.

Anyway, 5yo DS has been counting down to putting up the tree; which i have promised this weekend, so I am going to bite the bullet and start kondoing today. Houses full of piles of shit clutter are not festive.

Have been a bit overwhelmed by doing it all in one hit, but this thread has been reassuring!

Welcome Harvey! You're in the right place. Good luck with your first kondoing session!

That bit about revising kind of jolted me too. And it's true, I'm really bad at concentrating hard on something when surrounded by mess.

(looks around at all the washing to be put away)

Umm...got to go! Good luck with your paperwork Fox!

How did it go today Harvey?

Paperwork has been tough today. I have done 5 hours today and now run out of energy. After three days I think I am about halfway through paperwork.

I wondering about doing a different category tomorrow for a bit of a break. Is that against the rules?

Nothing yesterday DS has a half day on Wednesdays. However lots of planning in my head

Spoke to one of DS's friends mum's and i am going to pass on lots of DS's out grown clothes - she is happy to have them. His BF is almost 5 and normal size DS wears age 6-7, so hopefully I will have a home for DS's old clothes for some years to come.
Also SIL is having a baby in January so will have a home for DS's baby stuff. Which I have been loathe to let go of as there was always this glimmer of hope there would be a no.2, but at 45 I know that's not going to happen...

We have a normal sized house - 3 bedrooms, but because we live in France, we have lots of storage space, I am talking barns and outbuildings, which is a very dangerous thing, as you can imagine....

I think I am going to start by Kondoing my clothes and moving as much clutter at least out of the house in the next couple of days. (So I can breathe clean). I will try and Kondo what is moved out before the Xmas holidays.

I think the major Kondoing will take place next year when DS is back at school.

It's technically against the rules Fox, but meh, would you worry? Maybe just do a little bit of paperwork today, like...10 minutes, so you keep up the momentum but it's not overwhelming. And then do a small kitchen cupboard or your spice rack or something, I found those incredibly satisfying.
Getting the crap discarded items out of your house afterwards is the real trick Harvey. Do you have a lot of charity shops in France?

Harvey I thought you might have been in France when you said your DS has a half day on Wednesdays. Charity shops aren't quite at the same level in France as in the UK. You can put clothes in the Relais bins that seem to be close to a lot of car parks. I'm also filling up a suitcase to take to the UK to give to a charity shop near my parents with really good stuff that I think will be easily sold. I'll then bring the suitcase back from the UK with food!

I have manged to block the paper shredder today so I just spent ages unblocking it, which was actually quite therapeutic.

Even though it has taken me a long time to really get started with Kondoing, I have found that since I read the book last year I have at least been better at not bringing stuff into the house and chucking things away.

So far today I have I've dropped off some clothes in the Relais charity bin, taken papers and glass to the recycling, done the ironing, been to the supermarket, shredded some paper, blocked and unblocked the paper shredder. I've got a couple of fat files from the filing cabinet to sort through now while watching TV and possibly eating some chocolate.

Foxtrot yes the charity shops are not great here; however there is a red cross which is open on random afternoons. I am quite happy to give the stuff away to people I know. They also have these persepx boxes dotted around town where you can offload books and magazines.

I didn't exactly Kondo, but I had a huge sort out of my kitchen this afternoon and i binned stuff with no compunction. The Kondo method seems to alleviate me of guilt!

I know it sounds wierd but this tidying lark is really lifting my mood and giving me back my self respect. Probably a bit too much sharing for a housekeeping thread But DP and I have not been getting on this year, lots of outside pressures as well as relationship stuff. I happened to have an apoointment with my psychologist this morning and I started talking to her about this book and it was funny how "discarding" could almost be a metaphor for my life....

I am just bringing it up as I have heard that Kondoing can have other life changing effects, and I was wondering whether anyone else experienced big shifts whilst decluttering / kondoing?

Tip for the shredder from a couple of threads back Fox: spray a single A4 page with cooking oil or WD-40 and then put it through the shredder to oil the blades so they don't get stuck so much. (I have not tried this myself, but it makes sense, so I pass it on in the hope that it helps.)

The book has loads of people talking about how Kondoing changed their lives, Harvey, so I wouldn't be surprised! Some people are much more sensitive to cluttered spaces/dust/the physicality of places than others, so it's not surprising at all that you feel better when you clear out. I always do.

And the kitchen is a huge komono area, you're doing great! You're just...dealing with some miscellaneous subcategories right now.

Just re- connecting with the thread. Not sure I'm ever going to fully deal with paperwork, but slowly working through random kimono categories like candles!

Candles multiply, arti, I swear they breed behind your back.

Especially tealights. (eyes candle on desk suspiciously )

I now have all my candles in one place and I'm enjoying working my way through burning them rather than "saving" them!

Just checking back in on the thread

DH said something alarming last week: without a single word from me he said he thought we could get rid of a lot of our DVDs. I practically launched myself of the sofa dragging him with me and we got shot of 89 DVDs. I am currently sat in the house today waiting for music magpie to collect them.

I've got a bag of stuff for the charity shop and a huge heap of stuff listing (and selling) on eBay.

I might actually revisit the KM book as its been a few months since I finished it and could do with some reminders.

Bought a kindle. Kondoed all but 2 of my books.

Some great progress from others over the weekend! I'm very impressed with the books and DVDs going. Even though I haven't done serious Kondoing this year, I have been doing things like burning candles and using posh toiletries and enjoying them instead of saving them.

I was away this weekend so I wasn't able to do anything. I haven't unpacked my suitcases yet but concentrating on doing some more paperwork today to maintain momentum. Thanks for the shredder tip MsUrsa. I caused the blockage by accidentally hitting reverse and it pulled up a lot of shredded paper back to the top. Anyway, it is now working OK. I have nearly filled a 100 litre black bin bag with shredded paper now and the filing cabinet is looking a lot emptier.

I'm struggling with where to put things like the manuals that came with the boilers, fitted kitchen appliances etc... Plus there is a lot of papers to do with the house that just need to be kept somewhere so I have got them in one known place. I think we will only need it all when we sell the house (which is not currently planned).

DH has just got rid of a lot of maps that we have had from various holidays, agreeing that if we go back to these places again we will buy new up-to-date maps.

I have come to a grinding halt and lost my Kondo mojo. :(

How did the rest of you get it back again?

Dear MN. Hear my confession. I started, did my clothes, folded my pants, rolled my t shirts, cleared out a box of paperwork.

But then I stopped. And that was 11 months ago.

Is there any hope for me ?

Kiwirose: I listened to the audio book while tidying. Not technically THE METHOD but it kept me entertained.

didi: Of course there's hope! You did one category already, and you're started with paperwork! Come and join us...we're nice, really. And we understand the joy of a giant bin bag of shredded paper/nicely folded pants. (Good work on the giant bin bag of shredded paper btw Foxtrot.)

I'm new to the thread

I have a question for all you kondo experts.... what should I do with the mountain of kids toys that will inevitably be received at Christmas????

My toy storage is mainly one of those ikea 4x4 cube things in the living room plus some toys in the bedroom. I have 2 dc (5 and 2 yo). The toys are all perfectly organised into specific boxes (one for duplo, one for train tracks, one for dinosaurs, one dressing up clothes, one playdough, etc).

I have very generous friend and family who LOVE buying my kids presents. Big presents. Huge space eating presents. They LOVE giving them and nothing will deter them from buying huge things (toy kitchen, rocking horse, giant ride on car, toy market stall, 3 storey garage - all received last year)

Every year I ask them to just get a few tubs of playdough, or a small car, or something easily sortable when they ask what the dc want. And every year they ignore my suggestions of things the dc actually want and will play with in favour of ginormous stuff that just ends up slightly neglected in a corner.

Every Christmas I have my house filled up with more toys, when we have plenty already, and then in February it just gets added to when dd has her birthday.

What would Marie Kondo do?