Kondo thread 10

[SnozzberryMincePie]

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

I'm continuing off-piste because I can't find my original Kondo book (lost in the clutter somewhere...) I ordered the new one. It looks pretty, so will spark more joy than the original, which I will charity shop when I unearth it.

The shopping was delivered today, and I had a place for everything in my newly konmaried cupboards, just because I had already made space by usig up things I could actually see!

I've moved on to CDs. I used to collect them like crazy but for the last five years I've only downloaded music, so they are all going. I'm just collecting them up from around the house which is a much better system than just sending off the ones in the actual CD storage then finding a dozen stragglers months later.

I also threw away an empty (and beautiful) perfume bottle this morning without flinching. And I have my beady eye on a box of greeting cards on top of the kitchen cabinets which I've never looked at since filling the box ten years ago...

Kondotastic that's impressive work! I'm also thrilled with my bedroom but now need to resist the urge to bring in more clutter. It felt very calm walking up in such a clear space this morning.

Lions that's a good tip about drawing a battle line on the bookshelves. In fact it was always the intention to have his n' her's shelves but there is definite book creep going on. What do people do if there partner isn't keen on kondoing? DH is more organised than me but does does hold on to stuff for too long. He doesn't tend to check what he has before he goes shopping so we end up with lots of spare things. I also want to wean him off the bogof offers for this reason.

their

I take all dps crap out of the drawers, pile it on the kitchen table, and tell him it is a pile for the charity shop and if there is anything he wants to keep he should put it away because I'm taking stuff to the charity shop in the morning. I am mean but MK had clearly never met my dp when she recommended the softly softly approach!

Today I did the cleaning products and dds craft stuff while the baby napped. I need to do food next, and a few annoying bits that I can't reach (eg recipe books, which I forgot to do with the other books and are in a top kitchen cupboard)

It's hard to find the right home for stuff. I emptied a kitchen cupboard yesterday and chucked nearly everything in it but now it's filling up again. There is less stuff crammed into each space though and it is easier to see where things are.

Ugly clothes airers in the spare room are such a bore. They don't fit under the bed, which is where we keep the ironing board, so they end up propped against the wall when not in use. I'd like to find somewhere to hide them but where they are easily accessible.

Have put an (empty) magnum of champagne which I kept as a souvenir of our wedding in the recycling. Took a photo of it first. Poured the last drops of a cheap whisky bottle, a full bottle of mulled wine and a nearly full bottle of grappa down the sink. That felt good! I don't drink anymore and DH doesn't drink spirits. The booze gives joy to guests though so I suppose we need to keep the gin and vodka. Does port go off? I have 3 unopened bottles.

I am debating about getting rid of everything that needs ironing, shortly followed by the board and the iron

QuerkyJo I did just that, I have not picked up an iron in over 5 years.

It would bring a great deal of joy to kondo the iron. Will think about it while I konmari the airing cupboard. DH is at the tip for the third time this week. Very satisfying!

Good question about booze LadyMacnet as another non-drinker, I wasn't sure what to do with our remaining alcohol collection.

Any suggestions on what to do with several years old (quite possibly more than 10 years) open bottles of gin, bacardi, port and brandy?

We are pretty anti-social and almost never have visitors, and they don't drink anything stronger than tea.

Pour it down the sink?

DH is still not sure about my suggestion of kondoing our spare iron. The main iron is used to iron three work shirts for him each week, and once in a blue moon by me. We have several 24 hour supermarkets within a short drive, which will all sell irons. I can't see why we would need a back-up iron.

We also have a back-up kettle, which is going to be an even harder sell with DH (although he did concede that we have saucepans for boiling water in a kettle crisis).

I am tempted by the allocation of shelves/storage areas to prevent "creep". It also helps me, as I am beginning to feel a reduction in my sense of responsibility for DH's areas.

I've done clothes and books, but then kind of gone off piste and chucked some obvious junk out for some "quick wins" to create cupboard space. Also had an eBay frenzy of my own category of "unused craft items"! Interesting point about the alcohol... I have bottles of spirits that have been there years. Maybe I'll see which friends have these spirits as their favourites as I don't have parties really (which is the vague reason I've kept them!)

I'm still itching to throw out more, but think I may need to pause and reflect for a few days. I do love waking up in a tidy bedroom though! My son (9) even commented earlier that it now glowed, and he wants his room to look the same! Result!

Oh and I've done CDs and DVDs too with my son. Most gone! He's enjoying it too! And I'm pleased that the CDs I now have left are in the car and easy to find. (And all future music is digital anyway, so no chance of that particular category getting cluttered again!)

IsIt The spirits will still be OK. I'd pour them down the sink if you don't anticipate guests drinking them, or give them away? I'm going to offer the port to my ndn and keep one bottle of gin and one bottle of vodka to offer guests.There's some brandy I'm keeping for cooking and for the xmas pudding. The rest will be given to a friend who throws lots of parties.

I don't have an ironing board but I do have an iron in with our craft stuff as it mostly gets used for craft projects eg dd had some iron-on beads for Xmas

Lions how brutal were you with your clothing cull? Roughly how many t shirts / tops have you got left? I'm wondering if I need to go back and kondo more clothes tomorrow. Everything of mine fits in one wardrobe and a 3 drawer chest but I probably could find some more joyless items. I'd love to go through teenage DS's clothes too but it is probably easier to do that by stealth each time something finds its way to the washing basket.

One of the tips I read on here with regard to the second cull was this. As you wash clothes and return them to their place find a way to mark that they have been worn.

Either reverse the hanger, put them at a different end of the wardrobe or in a different drawer.

Throughout the month try to wear clothes that have not been worn recently. Sometimes just looking at what is remaining unworn helps you to focus on the ones that have sparked joy.

For me the unworn ones were mostly stuff that was uncomfortable to wear, drearily dull or needed ironing. (I am aiming to get rid of my iron and board later n the year)

I have a section of the cupboard which always seems to grow and over flow- it's basically for 're-gifting'. It's things like baby clothes/ toys/ photo albums etc that have been given but were duplicates /not needed. I kept them to re-gift (don't have much spare money) but some of the stuff has sat there 2 years...It needs to go doesn't it? Or maybe one thing for each occasion e.g. One new baby gift, one male/female birthday gift?

I'm pleased to hear that others have also felt like they'll need a second cull. I've almost finished clothes - just tops to go - and I know there are still kept things that should probably be discarded. I am consoled by the 'things in the grey area' chapter of Spark Joy and am keeping and treasuring for now a few bits I'm not sure about.

Also - what have people done about their garage? Did you dig things out of there as you went through the categories or do it as a location (against KM rules)? I guess most of its contents are komono, but we have all kinds of crap in ours (not even been here 2 years!).

The problem with clothes is that you need to actually have something to wear. I have kept a few tops that don't spark joy because they suit me. My plan is to make sure all new clothes purchases spark joy and then I will winnow out the clothes I don't wear later on (by putting all washed clothes on one side of my wardrobe so I can see what hasn't been worn for x months).