Kondo thread 10

[SnozzberryMincePie]

Just noticed the old thread was full, so hope no one minds me starting the new one

Alison I donated old specs at Boots Opticians.

Some opticians shops have donation points where you can drop off old glasses.

I can't remember whether the one at my last opticians sent the old glasses to developing countries or whether they recycled them and sent the money raised from that to eye charities overseas.

I've started and I believe this is going to make such a difference to our chaotic family life. I now have hardly any clothes, but I love and feel nice in the ones I have kept (apart from two plain black well worn tee's that if I'm honest don't spark joy but go with lots and I can't replace just yet. Is that cheating?!) DH has kondo'd his wardrobe too. Yey!
I can really focus now on what clothes I could do with to make my outfits more functional and I know I won't just buy something that "will do."
Love the fact I will have less washing and ironing too! Baby/toddler clothes was harder, but I feel better knowing some other children will get to look cute in them too and they aren't unhappy in a drawer (clothes not kids)

Thanks for the glasses hints.

I read on one of these threads that it's ok to replace something that doesn't feel right for something that does.

Wading through my golf shirts I considered 4 ones I've had a while, perfectly nice colours but I never wear them. Because they are 100% cotton and get worn on day 1, washed on day 2, dried on day 3, ironed on day 4 etc...
Technology has moved on and modern shirts are drip dry synthetic, but not at all sweaty.
So all 4 are going out and being replaced with 1 nice new one that can be washed on day 1, drip dry overnight and wear the next day with no ironing!

April fooled

Well, I started today...got a bit distracted but things are leaving the house.

I finished all the laundry ! Last loads washing and in dryer. Separated clothes by person. Aim to start my clothes tomorrow.

I got distracted by hundred of clothes hangers in the house...so I took out all the ones that bug me. Two big boxes for charity. Remaining hangers on landing rack sorted by type/size ready for use.

I also moved a fair bit around....starting collections of crafts and shoes to sort out in coming weeks.

I am little worried about tackling the misc section but that can wait until I have done clothes or books. !

Even stranger, my DH has picked up some of the konmari air or something. As he decided now was the perfect time to move all his crap his piles of precious things from the upstairs landing to the attic and started to mend the upstairs wardrobe !

Without being asked AND whilst a glass of wine awaits him downstairs.

Is tidying contagious ?

May I join in? I began today. 7 white sacks of clothes are going to Bertie bank tomorrow and my clothes cupboard is a joy for the first time since 1994

DH is away for a few days and I think, we need to do books together, but I might make some inroads into documents this week. I am currently clearing DM's house and so I have my stuff, her stuff to sort through and work stuff (I work from home), our bedroom overwhelms me, but I am really proud and pleased to have made a start.

Funnily enough I have been reading this thread, meaning to ask about coat hangers when I reached the end - but you have already answered babies - I'm taking that as a sign.

butteredparsnips Wow, sounds like you are on a roll, well done :)

Thanks babies to be fair I have a very long way to go , but DH and youngest DC are away until Wednesday, so I should be able to make a decent start. I am also avoiding a uni assignment...

Babies do charity shops take hangers?! I've got hundreds of the bloody things after Kondoing the wardrobes and was going to take them to the local tip/recycling centre.

Well our garden and front area look much better now huge amounts of building materials have been taken away, to be used on a community allotment's shed.

Back to the paperwork and DIY bits... I'm filling a couple boxes with DP's and my 'sentimental stuff' to be worried about if I ever finish Kondoing, but getting it out of the way certainly makes me feel better!

Another joiner if that's ok? I'm probably going to be slower going than I'd like because I'm doing the garden on any dry days we get because it's a state. My mum and I have been to the recycling centre about 20 with things out of the shed and chopped down bushes and branches over the past few weeks and I feel so much better.

I know it'll feel amazing once I get on top of all the clothes and paperwork. I absolutely HATE when you try to open a drawer and it gets stuck because it's too full- this has been my motivation to Kondo!

cavemum, this set of rubbish hangers went in the recycling bin in the end. Just had to get them out of the house. I will have to check with charity shop before trying to get any there.

cavemum I've taken bags of hangers to the charity shop before- to a fairly junky one, and not crummy wire hangers, but reasonably solid plastic (as in- from h&m, as well as from fancy places) and wood. They need some to hang clothes for sale on, as well as selling actual nice ones!

I've made loads of progress on paperwork, it only took 5 days for me to start! Its taken about 5 hours on and off to reduce the volume by about 70%.

I have asked DH if he can Kondo his "DIY clothes" to free up a sturdy drawer for my folders. After all, who needs a fortnight's worth of DIY clothes?!

I took lots of hangers to a chain charity shop and they weren't interested but an independent one took them.

"Diy clothes" is code for "clothes that are too worn out to wear in public but I can't bear to get rid of them"
I helped my mum sort out her clothes when she moved into a Care Home, does a 90 year old really need three drawers of gardening clothes?

Alison I know! He mainly does this weird DIY allocation with tshirts from events like 5k runs or stag dos. I have commandeered the drawer so he is going to have to kondo the space of 2.5 drawers to 1.5 drawers. I think its definitely possible.

In other news, I am taking a break from paperwork to look at DS's clothes and see if any will do for DD. To my shame, the age 0-12 months clothes (excluding baby grows and vests) fills 3 x 80L boxes so I am breaking it down into categories then smaller age groups.

To my deeper shame, DS had 30+ pairs of jeans (excluding more trousers/cords/combat style). Why does a baby need 30+ pairs of jeans?! The person I was before MK was so wasteful!

Thirty pairs of baby jeans?
Is that you, Kim Kardashian?

Alison my bum is as big as hers, so maybe!

Matilda Lots of people do it that way, I call it pre-Kondo! Sometimes you need to make room for the giant piles of stuff.

I've started on paperwork! Woop woop! Can't tell you how good it feels, as paperwork is the bane of our lives and also the main cause of our chaos and disorganisation!

Doing a Pre Kondo sounds fine. I think "proper" Kondo would be difficult in your circumstances.
You mentioned sorting storage. I was advised up thread to think about storage later once you know what you need to store!

I got a load of various shoe boxes from my local Clarks which I'm using as temporary drawer dividers. I like them so much they may become permanent!

Do any of you experienced MK fans know what you can do with old clothes that are too cr**py for even a charity shop? I was wondering if those Traid drop boxes took textiles for recycling or just for re-sale and the website isn't very clear.

OMG I'm so ashamed of the state of so many of my clothes - especially pants!

Betty- I'd bin the pants!

I must admit I put the stuff that was perfectly wearable, but not quite good enough for the charity shop, in a clothing bank at the supermarket. No smalls, though!