KONDO Thread 9

[Iqueen]

Kondo your Home and your Life. Live the JOY!

Hi,hope I can join in! The book is great, slightly bonkers but I started to kondo my tops and I ended up with two bags of clothes that don't bring me joy. Did keep a few items, to see how they look in a few months time. Just need to find boxes to put my tops in, have no drawers unfortunately.

Feeling very motivated to get clearing and sorting the house up.

Small bits of progress: Two more books to charity shop. Spare bed back to granny's as borrowed it from her.

Another newbie here.

I've almost finished reading the book and have started sorting my clothes today.

I've pulled everything out, as recommended and am staggered by the amount of clothes that I own. There isn't room on the floor of my bedroom so I'm using both the floor and the bed and the room looks a tip.

I've done tops, bottoms and clothes that hang and have already filled three and a half bin bags. I like her "does it bring you joy?" method. Even though I've got rid of loads I'm not pining for anything that I've bagged up. The one big blitz suits my style of sudden enthusiasms that burn out. Hope I manage to keep going with this one.

I guess you're all busy kondoing!

Stopping for the day now having kondoed most of my actual clothes. I still have hats, scarves, jewellery, hair clips, gloves, handbags and shoes to go.

Final total for the day is 5 bin bags of clothes for the charity shop and 5 carrier bags of clothes for the recycling bin (socks etc).

I've put away as per instructions, folding and rolling and lining things up little soldiers. I seem to have lots of space suddenly. My teeshirts drawer is reasonably full but the others only half to three quarters full and I have a whole empty drawer.

All the clothes that like to hang up are hanging in my wardrobe but aren't squashed and about half the shelves in my wardrobe are empty. I'm beginning to wonder if I might be able to put some shoes on the bottom shelves, rather than under the bed, which would make me feel very organised.

The Kondo backlash is interesting.
I Think that I have done clothes.
My youngest is just leaving so it's a good time. We are going through sentimental stuff together, saying thank you and goodbye to old pantomime programmes, etc.
We are keeping all photos.

Great progress, funambulist

I just spent over an hour folding clean clothes. I've let them build up while I was ill. They were washed and dried, but not put in the drawers. Back on track now.

I should hopefully be back to work on Friday. I hate being off ill but I would have been useless there. Endoscopy yesterday was clear. The search for what is wrong continues!

I've gone through my size 16-18 clothes (currently size 20) and discarded a few. I kept all the work uniform items.

Hello.

I've read the first two threads and was delighted to find it still going. I've read the little book of madness too, and while she is bonkers, I can see that it will mostly work, allowing for extra child-related stuff. I am SOOOO fed up of living in a shit pile but I am constitutionally unable to keep things tidy and organised. It's like I lack the gene for being able to look at a cupboard or a pile of things and see how they should go. So I am hoping that the little boxes and folding method will help on that front, and the getting rid of an Olympic-sized swimming pool full of stuff will allow the little boxes in shelves/drawers to exist in the first place! One thing though - I have had a small go at doing some of the Kondo-stylee folding, mostly of the kids underwear as a practice, and I thought I'd done it properly, but I watched that video actually of her doing it below and I hadn't done the socks correctly. I have them on the side edge rather than balancing them on the thinner edge at the top or bottom of the fold (if that makes sense). Do I redo?

Also, once you have joyed up your clothes, and have folded them into the box or whatever, does it become a problem to keep them balanced once you have removed a few? I can see me keeping very few of my tops as almost none give me joy, so I think it will only take a few days to have not many clean ones left. How do you manage with that if you're not the sort of person who does washing every day or two? I do that sometimes depending on what's happening with kids, but not as a regular thing. Do you fold shirts too?

I'm glad to see some of the original Kondoers on here - i think I may have got a tiny bit over-invested in some of your decluttering journeys on the first two threads.... . I'm desperate to get going but between work, kids including pre-school and everything else including looming summer holidays I don't see when i will get the chance. However something has to happen by next week as we have guests coming for five days. Eeek!

Still on holiday so can't kondo any more - I think the lack of clutter when on holiday (ok there's still mess, but the type that fits into a couple of suitcases!) is part of why it's so relaxing. So if I can achieve the same in my own home...

It's always interesting how we manage with so much less stuff on holiday I think.

Dh back in hospital. Ongoing same illness issues. Hoping they actually fix him this time.

A couple more days of my nieces here so we're going out for days out so not much happening at home atm.

I do need to tackle dhs study as its turned back into a dumping ground for stuff that's going I just haven't got round to moving it out of the house.

Welcome to newbies, lurkers and 're-joiners'!

My kondoing has been somewhat stagnant recently, but a serious health problem has centred my focus more precisely. My tolerance of clutter and unnecessary Stuff in life has decreased even futher! I am now concentrating more precisely on what, importantly, brings me real joy, in the Grand Scheme.

The great thing about MK is that the category method is so superior to random 'de-cluttering' which is daunting, to just think about.

Random decluttering is overwhelming, because there is no order to it, especially when it seems to make sense to do a room at a time. That method is OK for simple tidying, but Categories insist on organising and focus, which should solve the clutter problem, once and for all. When everything has a home, tidying is quick and easy.

Any category can be a bit of a trial (especially paperwork!), but we can see that it is do-able, and the end is in view. Also, the next category, requires new, and different, thinking, which renews motivation and brings new excitement. Each category is another milestone on the way to complete control.

So, I have a couple of days to devote only to my kondo project (which is still HUGE), but my maintenance has been sustained. Regular cleaning and tidying routines (eek!) have crept into my slap-dash housekeeping - much to my amazement! I actually enjoy keeping what I have already achieved, running on oiled wheels.

I'm still continuing to review my clothes, which will probably be ongoing throughout, as I'm still getting to know 'the new me'. Woo! I have found some old, hardly/never worn clothes that now bring me joy, allowing me to release other garments that I don't like, but wasn't able to replace. MK magic, or what?

I know very well that I'm lucky to no longer have a houseful of other responsibilities and I would always say, spend joyful time with the children during the school holidays, but maybe an 'appointment' can be made from time to time for kondoing?

Thanks for the welcome Iqueen and the encouraging post from someone further along the Kondo process.

Today was day 2 of my kondoing but due to other commitments I didn't actually get going until 3pm.

I felt like I'd got a lot done yesterday having done all the "clothes" clothes, if you know what I mean and just being left with the accessories type ( bags, hats, scarves, shoes etc .) So I thought that if I powered on I might even finish clothes today.

Ha! My shoes and boots were under my bed and mostly covered in thick layers of dust, so I had to clean them before I could tell whether they would "spark joy" or not. Both me and the room ended up covered in dust as well, so I had to have a general clean up before going any further forward.

My bags were full of bits of paper, receipts, various plastic cards, so had to be emptied, the obvious rubbish thrown away and the other stuff shoved in a shoebox for further down the line.

I decided to wash all my scarves so dealing with them was very quick, but then got side tracked into bringing in the dry clothes from the line and folding them in the Kondo approved fashion.

So in the end I have only truly dealt with belts (1!) and gloves (2 pairs to the charity shop and 2 pairs kept). Shoes and hats are half done, scarves and 2 bags are in the wash.

It's taking longer than I first thought because I have way more stuff than I thought, but it does make me appreciate the wisdom of pulling it all out to deal with. When the sheer quantity of stuff is there in front of me it's clear even to me that I really can't possibly need all of it, which is a powerful motivator.

Hello, yet another newbie! I have read the book and most of the threads but have only just got started. Work and small DCs keep interrupting...

I am three quarters of the way through clothes and have all my stuff and DD2's clothes standing to attention. I really didn't think I would be into the folding but I love it! I open my drawers just to admire. It's useful thinking of all your clothes at once - I always forgot the ones in the loft..

I have found this website helpful for creating a minimalist but stylish wardrobe - www.into-mind.com.

I'm struggling a bit though with clothes as I have a lot of my sister's clothes which I am not sure what to do with - she was killed in a car accident 14 years ago so it's all very emotional for me. Should I deal with her things with sentimental items rather than clothing?

Just have to say: I have five bags full of clothes and a few bags in the hall waiting to be sent on their way with thanks. Yay!! I have also Kondo'd DD's drawer after she and a friend helpfully emptied all the tops out of it the other day. It's now all in neat rows of folded/rolled loveliness. I can't believe this exists in my house. I've hung my remaining hanging things and have started kondoing the other stuff on the wardrobe shelves but I have to stop as its after midnight and its DD's last day in nursery tomorrow so I need some strength to face that.

X-posts there. Halo, that's really sad about your sister, very sorry. If you can't cope with them just as clothes I would definitely leave it till last. Naturally there will be lots of emotion to work through and you don't want to get put off the other stuff you will be able to power through in comparison. to you.

I'm not sure about whether to do my children's clothes in the clothes category. My children are 16,14 and 12 so it would need to do it themselves I think. Marie says not to do other people's stuff but adds that kondoing can be contagious so when your family see the results they sometimes want to do it too. DS1 has recently had a clear out of clothes (because he's grown again) so probably doesn't need to do clothes, though the rest of his stuff could do with a clear out. DS2 has far too much as he gets DS1's handmedowns. DD might quite like kondoing I think, but I might be in a better position to sell it to her when I've done more myself.

At the moment I feel like a bit of a secret kondoer. My clothes were largely, though messily, in my drawers and wardrobes, so with the doors and drawers shut there is no discernible difference. It is lovely to open the drawers though and see the clothes all lined up neatly.

Although I'm not going to do the children's clothes, yet. I am going to sort through uniform. I still have a lot from the children's primary school that youngest left a year ago. And I still have baby clothes in the loft, though if that proves tricky I can always re categorise them as sentimental.

Books will be a biggie for me as I have lots and I'm not that keen on pruning them.

It's wardrobe day for me tomorrow. Can't believe how excited I actually am about this. I Kondo'd the kids sock drawer the other day. Such a tiny job but so much JOY! Every time I open it up and see the two rows of beautifully folded little socks it makes me . So I can only imagine what it'll feel like when my whole wardrobe looks the same.

Halo, I'm so sorry to hear about your sister. I would say her clothes would definitely be in the sentimental category and you should probably leave them until last. Might you consider wearing some of them yourself? Not sure if this is a viable option as a way to remember/feel close to her or if it would be way too emotional. But if it could work, it will be easier to see which ones would fit in well with your own style when you've Kondo'd your wardrobe.

Thanks for that link you posted. Wouldn't it be great to end up with an actual minimal capsule wardrobe? I'm going to have a good look through the 10 steps after my wardrobe Kondo day tomorrow.

Day 3 of Kondoing and I'm still on clothes. It seems to be getting harder as I go on.

My scarves had been through the wash so I folded them and lined them up in a shoebox, very Konmari. I couldn't get into my lovely organised wardrobe which was frustrating me so moved the pile of miscellaneous stuff in front of it discovering four more bags in the process. Now I know that according to Marie I should have just thrown them away, but two of them were stuffed full of various bits of paper so I had to clear them out and got sidetracked into the Paper category for a while. I got rid of obvious rubbish and bagged up the rest for later.

I think I've kept too many bags as they look crowded and unhappy on my shelves. I should probably redo bags but can't bear to backwards at this stage.

I vacuumed my dusty shoes and hats and got rid of about half of them.

So. Sort of done with clothes in my bedroom.

Should I do jewellery now or does that come later?

I've headed into the loft to sort out:

Uniform

Baby clothes.

Uniform is proving fairly straightforward. Much of it is already bagged up and labelled so I'm really just moving bags from the storage part of the loft to nearer the door. Unfortunately I can't get rid of most of it until schools reopen in September and as there's the same amount of stuff still in the loft it just looks more cluttered.

However, a path is now clear to baby clothes which can just go to charity.

Keep going, Funam.
I've only been going a few weeks but the effect of being on top of clothes has been great. Keep getting rid; I picture a river out the front door.
It's finite. :)

Just went into the bedroom to find DP getting all his clothes out onto the bed. Yes!!! Hope he remembers the washing basket stuffed full of his crappy T-shirts.

Halo - I would definitely say sentimental category for your sisters things. Takes the pressure off deciding for now too.

Fish - I have arrows on the doormat in my head. For years the IN arrow has been huge and the OUT pretty nonexistent apart from actual rubbish.

The OUT is bigger - well it was for a while but I've been on pause for a while now. My nieces go home tomorrow. Ds1 comes back from pil today. Next week might be slightly calmer maybe and I can try and get my focus back.
Have to fit in trips to the hospital to see dh though and that's trickier in the holidays as no kids on his ward.

JKSL
(Unsure how to do happy smiley because I can't find square brackets on I-pad)
I now also operate a checkpoint Charlie at the front door; all entrants are subject to random se arches for smuggled kimono which will be seized and recycled.

We have a slightly bonhomie Carter arrangement in that dh lives next door.
This is leading to good natured but enthusiastic kimono wars.

Kondoing the clothes has made a huge difference to me. I have got rid of a load but now I wear a far greater variety of clothes which I have consciously chosen to keep.

I don't know if anyone saw the thread about using up make up hoards?
At the moment I feel as though I need never by clothes again, apart from underwear.

(Smile)

New Kondo -er here. Did a basic sort out a little while ago of clothes children's rooms. Really need to go back to clothes again, but getting the 'what if I need it' thoughts, and the waste of everything going, but I know I don't need all those things! Has anyone else felt like this?

Cleared out DS's bookshelf and put the too old and too young books on piles to store for later and to go to baby niece. DS saw the baby board books and had a whinge so I askked "which do you really want to keep?" and he chose just one! Score!

Also put some tinned soup by the door for the foodbank.Cl

So the book arrived today, just sat down for the last 3 hours and read half of it...what springs to mind is I wonder if at any time in her life did Marie think she might be OCD with the obsession for tidiness?I know a lot of what I have read makes sense, I have at least 4 boxes of documents upstairs, re house purchases, pensions, employment, which I have categorised and I am now thinking why? Will I ever need this, it's just a nagging doubt...
Also just had a go a folding but when I opened my drawers they are not the type to open or even come out totally, so the back third is unseen, I can rifle through flat things now but I wouldn't see the folded stuff if I went this way, has anyone come across this problem?

Ok so total fail on Kondoing my wardrobe today. Wasn't able to actually do it because DH woke up feeling poorly and wasn't sure if he'd be able to have the kids all day and I didn't want to risk starting and then have to stop. BUT... despite this I have spent the day usefully.

Realised that the spare room where I am planning to do my sorting was massively cluttered. Hardly any floor space in there. As most of it was just temporary - big things waiting to put away e.g. spare bed duvet/linen, I've dealt with all of that and now have a big empty floor space ready to fill with all my clothes. JOY!

Meanwhile, I am feeling so inspired by the Instagram posts of people all over the world on their Kondo journeys. Anyone else following Our Leader on Instagram? I'm a little bit addicted to pics of their post Kondo drawers, as one person puts it 'my origami of cloth'. Just wonderful.

Tomorrow the Kondoing begins. And I mean it this time.