KONDO Thread 9

[Iqueen]

Kondo your Home and your Life. Live the JOY!

How about a stationery caddy that has a place to live and be put away, but can be moved around the house as you need it when in use?

Or two, a children's one and your own, as your stationery preferences are probably different.

Based on this idea

Pens, oh man we had millions! I sent a huge envelope of stationery to some charity thing in Africa and still have enough to take into work to use! I work in a firm with over 200 people, there is no shortage of pens but I just couldn't visualise when I would run out of pens if I only use them at home.

3yr old DS is keen on drawing and writing his name (ahem, on the paperwork pile to be kondoed, not that I need anyone's birth cert, oh no).

My solution has been to keep any remaining pens in the stationery drawer in the kitchen (cut down cardboard box contains sellotape, gluestick, post-its etc). The pens are in one of those boxes with a dimply sort of button that has to be pressed in to open it and DS hasn't realised how to do it (yet)!

I also have a pen in the top pocket of the wrapping paper bag which hangs on an S hook in my wardrobe next to the little drawers I keep greetings cards in, so I can wrap and write without going downstairs!

DS's crayons/felt tips/playdoh all live in the awkward corner bit of the kitchen cupboards, hidden by my huge tub of Tupperware. This avoids any walked-in playdoh and wall-scribbling incidents because only a grown up knows the secret location of the crayon/playdoh box! Muhaha!

I have a pen pot in my room, where MY scissors live also. Then a stash of pens/pencils for writing in the takeaway leaflet and discount card drawer. All coloured pencils, crayons, and any other mark-making item are shoved in the drawer in the coffee table until the kids tip them out again.

Ds has a couple in his room but if he can't keep his pens tidy there, then they get chucked in the main supply, so he tends just to take one to draw/write with when he wants. MrNC has some as well but that's not a problem - the problem is his habit of scribbling phone nos. and arcane codes on any piece of paper that's to hand, resulting in thousands of flyers/envelopes/post-its/other papers that should be filed getting added to his desk mountain. Do they make notebooks that can be chained around the neck?

I have stationery everywhere, it keeps turning up! Am aiming to have one place for colouring pens and another for all other stationery.

It's funny, I've been doing Kondo for such a short time and I find myself constantly asking "does this spark joy?" All the time! It really does change your mindset

Delurking to rediscover the Kondo vibe!

I was on the first thread (long ago!) and did quite well- clothes, paperwork, make-up, toiletries, accessories, kitchen stuff however I lost my way a bit so have decided to start again. I haven't bought more stuff but it's interesting that some of the things I kept (that I wasn't sure of) last time still haven't been worn so obviously don't spark joy.

Anyone have any suggestions how I can keep the momentum up? short of hiring a skip and dumping it all which is what I really want to do!

Enjoyed listening to MK on woman's hour today.

Re pens etc. We have so many I couldn't believe how many we had when I corralled them

When the DC were smaller I tried everything to store these tricky items. Even a caddy type thing as above - nothing stopped them from disappearing. - only to reappear after I had replaced them!

What has worked (and has done for about 3 months now) is a cutlery tray. I had kept it after we moved over to IKEA drawers.

It's wooden and was too nice to toss. It's perfect as we can see exactly what we have, it can't be knocked over and you can store it in most size drawers.
I love it!

Oh I missed that!

DH has looked into and absorbed the MK idea - just the guardian article so far but is sounding very keen to do it 'properly' - I've insisted book is read cover to cover first!

Thank you for the ideas :)

Have just started Kondo-ing my wardrobe and have found a load of Christmas presents that I lost in 2014!
A lot of other odd things in there too - eg a whole pack of bbq skewers. Wtf? I'm vegetarian!
Going to stick the Xmas presents on Facebook in the hope that some will go.

Listened to MK on the woman's hour podcast this morning. I liked what she said in answer to people asking how can I convince my partner/family to kondo.... finish your own tidying first, completely! She's right, most of us moaning that partners are not 100% on board haven't fully completed our own Kondo journey yet.

So today, I've been on it! All my clothes re-kondoed, as well as every shoe in the house! Go me!

Erm, by the way, just to clarify: I don't mean that I've disposed of every shoe in the house!!

I have a pair of cashmere bed socks. I folded them beautifully and slotted then in the divider. I sort of took a moment to enjoy and be grateful I've got them.
And then remembered that whilst reading the book I thought she was bonkers thanking her handbag for the hard work.
Ergo: I've become just as bonkers

I kissed goodbye to some of my old clothes this afternoon!! It's not just you!

I'm going to take everything out of the kitchen cupboards today. I'll have a few cups of coffee first.

99, too funny

I enjoyed changing the towels yesterday from my one week old MK'd airing cupboard, just put clean rolled towels away with an air of deep satisfaction

I guess when she did her list and method it was meant to be done in 1-2 days like she does with her clients but I am doing a bit at a time so today it was the tea towels in the kitchen while the kettle boiled, oh man rolled takes up much less space than folded, I knew that from packaging a suitcase but didn't make the leap to drawers and cupboards - duh!

Ooh I forgot the airing cupboard! That could definitely do with a sort out.
So far today I've made £22 selling my Kondo-ed items. Another £3.50 due at some point today and another £25 worth due to be collected tomorrow. Am going to keep pushing the items I have left this week to see if I can sell more.
Haven't started on toys/kitchen/papers yet. My wardrobe looks incredible now though, much better than it did.
I love Konmari!

I can't properly locate my neutral baby stuff because its all mixed in with the boy clothing which is all mixed up in different suitcases/bags/boxes in the loft. This was apparently a good storage method 3 years ago. I could shake younger me for her pre-Kondo ways! Bits of the car seat are allegedly in there too. Grrr!

I am having to bite the bullet and get it all out. I will Kondo DS's stuff now to fjnd the essentials and reduce the volume down. If we have a boy the kondoing is done, if we have a girl its less of a nightmare to pass on.

DH just mentioned he drives past a charity depot on his commute so the discarded stuff can all get dropped off tomorrow. Bonus!

Airing cupboard done. This was such a mess before. I am rubbish at folding/rolling but it looks so much tidier. Still looks a bit messy but compared to what it was before it is a huge improvement.

I also found a pack of toilet rolls in there that I didn't know we had!

So this afternoon, I've been really glad I didn't kondo as thoroughly as I might. I have been really pleased that I kept a small candle jar ( in a random box I hadn't gotvto yet, had kondoed many others) some red dinner style candles that were part burnt, a second metal tea strainer and a very cheap plastic ffod storage container.

Why?

Well I've been given a lovely White Company candle for Christmas that I've been enjoying burning. It has a fantastic scent, but it was only burning down inside the candle leaving a lot of unmelted wax at the edge and then melting too much wax so that the wick was drowning.
I used a hot knife to cut of all the spare outer wax and rather than throwing it away, melted it down to make new candles. I used the red dinner candles whole but cut down to the right heights as "wicks" for my new ones. Used the food storer as the inner dish of the bain marie to melt the wax and the strainer to strain out bits of soot. The glass candle jar and an old spice jar I rescued from the recycling made containers for the new candles.

I don't think they will smell as strong as the main candle because the wax has already been heated once now but they do smell lovely still and i feel joyful at having been able to do it.

So where does that leave me with kondoing? I still like it and am doing it but I am learning how I'm going to need to adapt it for me, keeping some amount of "may come in useful" items but in a much more structured and organised way!

Help me discard please!
I've started Kondo'ing, but not sure what the easiest way to discard is. I hate waste so don't like to just bin things, but equally I don't have anything worth ebaying. I've taken some things to a clothes bin, but do they want unwearable things as well? (It says clothes can be used for fibre reclaimation). Do they want holey socks?!?!
I have some furniture that is good condition but isn't selling on local Facebook selling pages - what should I do with these?

OK, lots of charity shops take clothes "for rag" and I'm guessing your bin does too if it mentions fibre reclamation - so yes holey socks and all. If things aren't selling on Facebook groups, offer them for free if the recipient collects! You could also offer them on any local freegle or free cycle sites. Some charities also take furniture and will collect from you. Look and see if you have any charity shops locally selling furniture and ask them about donating or try googling "charity shops that take furniture my area".

A friend of mine just sorted loads of stuff suitable for charity into her garage, then phoned her local hospice shop and asked them to collect I and to "bring a van"!

Thanks. I have trouble knowing whether anyone will want my old clothes, so I guess if I put them all in together then someone who knows about these things will sort them. Just don't want the charity shops to think I'm giving them rags, thinking someone will want to wear them!