Article - Decluttering from a Japanese perspective

[pinkytoe]

http://www.nytimes.com/2014/10/23/garden/home-organization-advice-from-marie-kondo.html?_r=0
I got a kick out of reading this article about looking at decluttering from the Japanese perspective.
The thought that my socks might not like being rolled up in little knots made me laugh.
The comments are interesting too.

[catherine]

Neat article.

Makes me want to stop working right now and get up and clean my little office.

As for the sushi rolls--I actually already put my clothes away just like that. I had heard that the best way to pack a suitcase is to roll your clothes--cuts down on wrinkles and it's easier to find them. So I liked that idea so much I replicated it in my bedroom. I really like it because I wear a LOT of black (I'd make a nun proud), and I'm always shuffling through all the black shirts to find the one I want. By rolling the black shirts, I can see the labels at a glance and quickly ID the one I want.

[kib]

It was an interesting article, fun, who knew the secret suffering of my poor socks. The only thing I didn't like was the typical misleading before and after picture. Really, just because your desk and computer don't "spark joy" doesn't mean you can simply transport them to never never land. I think this bugs me because it implies that "true zen living" can consist of so little that it looks like a catalog picture. No ... it really can't, and for me, getting obsessed about wanting that streamlined uber minimalism becomes compulsive and perfectionistic and counterproductive. I wind up yearning for it like people yearn - and believe it's possible - to look like airbrushed magazine models.

[Sagewoman]

I like the idea of "sparking joy" a lot. An additional mental tool for decluttering. Another one was to get rid of things I really didn't want but that belonged to my grandmother or great grandfather. My solution was to find the one or two things that I did want to keep from each and offer the others to family members or charity if family didn't want them. I had a couple of broken knick knacks my brother wanted. He fixed them and they sit in the perfect place in his house, sparking joy, I think. I found this idea on this site long ago. Another image I had was thinking about whether my grandmothers (who had much bigger houses than I) would want me to have a cluttered house through keeping their things. Adding to that, I think they'd rather see me joyful than bogged down.

[Sagewoman]

Ha, Ha, this reminded my how my mother taught me to fold plastic grocery bags into triangles, so you can carry them in your purse or car easily. I just looked on youtube and there are a bunch of videos to do that, also to make them so they pop up out of a container like baby wipes. I try to use a canvas bag when shopping, but do use some for trash instead of the ones you buy new as trash bags. The trash pickup folks want us to use plastic bags.

[Zoe Girl]

intere$ting, I realize that having the hidden part of my home clean i$ important to my overall feeling about the home. I noticed my $on (only at home novv) organized under the kitchen $ink. VVe both keep it that vvay novv and it really i$ nice. I told $omeone that many year ago, anyone can have a cleaned off table but check the clo$et$. I get more $tre$$ed about that

[Aqua Blue]

haha, sagewoman I learned to fold those little triangles too. Now I see where I am a little obsessive. I have to fold the new ones the minute I get home, fortunately I usually use my cloth bags.

Back to topic, I enjoyed the article, thanks for posting.

[Gardenarian]

I like this very much!

[ToomuchStuff]

intere$ting, I realize that having the hidden part of my home clean i$ important to my overall feeling about the home. I noticed my $on (only at home novv) organized under the kitchen $ink. VVe both keep it that vvay novv and it really i$ nice. I told $omeone that many year ago, anyone can have a cleaned off table but check the clo$et$. I get more $tre$$ed about that

Broken keyboard?

[Zoe Girl]

Broken keyboard?

yes, using alternate computer I have for awhile. someone suggested the $ for s and vv for w. See how frugal I am!!

[razz]

Loved reading this so thanks for posting it.

[Sagewoman]

Still thinking about things sparking joy. I'm finding that motivating.

[mschrisgo2]

Ditto what Sagewoman said.

[Tradd]

I saw mention of the book that sparked (pun intended!) this article on a FB group this week and got the Kindle version. I love it!

http://www.amazon.com/Life-Changing-Magic-Tidying-effective-clutter-ebook/dp/B00KK0PICK/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1425264479&sr=1-1&keywords=the+life-changing+magic+of+tidying+up+the+japanese+art+of+d ecluttering+and+organizing

[Ali]

There are some great ideas in this book that I have found really useful - rather than cleaning a room, go through all of something. So, all of your clothes, make up etc. And the sparking joy idea is lovely, as is thanking things as you let them go to somebody who will gain joy from them. I have only kept clothes that I love, so I was able to thank the lovely, expensive shoes that rub my feet so much I can't even wear them in ... And I'm sure whoever buys them from the charity shop will love them.

[ApatheticNoMore]

I guess a term like joy means more or less to any given person perhaps and to some maybe it means something very small.

I still thinking looking for joy in things is looking for joy in all the wrong places. If it motivates one to declutter fine. But I think it's bound to have an odd psychological effect, in how it motivates one to see posessions as "sparkling joy". Not just joy but "sparkling joy!' no less.

Well only 10,000 commercials before the age of 10 :laff: from Madison avenue have told me the same! With a different goal of course (buying rather than decluttering), but they have told me joy = things. Only how many psychologists are writing now, that it just isn't so. Maybe it's best not to pursue joy anyway, but trying to find it in things seems a setup for disappointment.

[Ali]

I think it's "sparking joy" as in igniting or making you feel joy rather than "sparkling joy" ... And I see it as not looking for the joy in having things but rather not feeling obliged to keep things that don't give you joy (clumsy explanation, sorry). I've kept things that I don't want because I inherited them or they were gifts ... but I can let them go now, thanking them and passing them on.

[JaneV2.0]

I can absolutely understand possessions sparking joy--some I have an irrational attachment to, like an oversized red sweater with multicolor slubs of yarn that makes me smile every time I see it. "Stuff" can be as uplifting as anything else; it's all in how you regard it. Besides, as I said before, I'm going to enjoy the material world while I'm here. I can always be a spiritual vapor in my next existence. :D

[sweetana3]

What is funny is that this book and author is being discussed around the world. I first found mention of her last week in a UK blog I read. Then it pops up here. She is at least sparking conversation and reflection.

[kib]

Sparking joy ... to me, if an object evokes a deeper (positive) emotion in me, then it has value and a reason to be kept. The thing I've learned over time is that marketing may cause me to think I will feel a spark of joy, but I know soon enough whether an object brings me genuine pleasure or utility, or simply a rather flat sense of duty performed. I don't think it's shallow to feel ecstasy - or just a happy tail wiggle - over a painting or a sweater, if that sensation originates within you. To the extent that this positive emotion is manufactured by group think, well ... hmm. I'd like to think that as we grow and learn, we discover our own minds.

[Tradd]

What is funny is that this book and author is being discussed around the world. I first found mention of her last week in a UK blog I read. Then it pops up here. She is at least sparking conversation and reflection.

I saw her first in a UK blog, too - Frugal Queen.

[pony mom]

I've been following her methods in relation to folding clothes. Now the jeans I wear only occasionally are folded in a drawer, leaving room for hanging clothes. My hairdryer is now in the bathroom closet; its former home, a drawer, now holds my pajamas and around-the-house clothes (I always change in the bathroom so this made sense); my former pajama drawer now holds socks. After purging some socks, the large drawer they were stored in now holds my seasonal things (gloves/hats/bathing suits). Everything is neatly folded, always.

I've become a bit fanatic about my bathroom now. The counter has to be free of anything that doesn't belong there. Waking up and coming home to a clutter-free bathroom is nice. Started this in my room as well; my laptop gets put into its bag every night. It used to live on a chair---now my chair is free.

Haven't done the big declutter, looking for joy everywhere yet, but it's coming soon. It's amazing to me how just keeping one area neat has spiralled into something bigger.

[ApatheticNoMore]

Now the jeans I wear only occasionally are folded in a drawer, leaving room for hanging clothes.

I keep my clothes in drawers right now. Why? I got too lazy to hang clothes except those used infrequently. Well like I said lazy :) (except that I seem to find myself cooking elaborate meals). So I work with it.

[TVRodriguez]

I keep my clothes in drawers right now. Why? I got too lazy to hang clothes except those used infrequently.

And here I say that I hang up so much because I'm too lazy to fold clothes! :) Especially the kids' clothes. And especially because my kids made messes of their neatly folded clothes in drawers before I switched and started hanging up all their shirts and dresses. Only shorts, pants, underwear, and socks go in drawers now for them. Oh, and pajamas. Everything else gets hung up.

Honestly, the thought of folding all those clothes is exhausting all on its own...

[pony mom]

The really scary thing is that I actually enjoy folding them now.

[Tradd]

I'm doing my clothes right now. I was already decently paired down, so I'm not getting rid of a ton. But it's still amazing how many ratty pairs of underwear and socks can hang around.

[sssun]

I always roll my clothes when I pack, but I've never thought to do it at home. I have a small space at my new place so I will try it out. Thanks for sharing!

[Teacher Terry]

So I ordered the book after seeing it mentioned here. It came on WEd nite & I read it. Then Thursday am I spent 10 hours decluttering. I filled my car with stuff for Goodwill & both the huge trash can & recycling can with stuff. I have been decluttering for years & recently when the Humane Society wanted stuff for there garage sale I didn't think I had anything to give. Today I spent another 4 hours. Wow was I wrong!

[JaneV2.0]

I keep a running discard pile. Eventually, I will be finished. Literally. There will probably still be a pile...

[pony mom]

I've been taking notes and really like a few things:

Presents are not a "thing" but a means of conveying someone's feelings. The true purpose of a present is to be received.

Truly precious memories will never vanish even if you discard the objects associated with them.

You will never use spare buttons :)

[Gardenarian]

So I ordered the book after seeing it mentioned here. It came on WEd nite & I read it. Then Thursday am I spent 10 hours decluttering. I filled my car with stuff for Goodwill & both the huge trash can & recycling can with stuff. I have been decluttering for years & recently when the Humane Society wanted stuff for there garage sale I didn't think I had anything to give. Today I spent another 4 hours. Wow was I wrong!

Wow, Teacher Terry - that is quite a review! If that book could get me decluttering overnight, it would be priceless!

[razz]

Me, too, Gardenarian.

[19Sandy]

Another Marie Kondo thread!

So, it is now getting colder again (back and forth again).

That led to putting my shorts and lightweight tops in the back bedroom closet but of course it is a mess again!

I obviously don't have enough storage space, but I probably need to purge some more stuff but don't have time right now.

Now, if I can just figure out where I put my sweaters!

As for folding socks- if you are going to do it then you need the same style. I tried it and mine got stirred up like soup.

I bought some new socks and plan to purge the threadbare ones to make folding easier.

Threadbare socks aren't warm and toasty anyway in the wintertime.

[Teacher Terry]

I wear my socks until they get a hole or it does not have a mate. I have never rolled mine because it ruins the elastic. I lay them flat. Sandy, you might have too many summer clothes. I would look and see what you really wear.