The Life Changing Magic of Tidying Up

Aww. Too late : (

What I'm left with are lots of polos, turtlenecks and some sweaters. Kinda preppy and boring, but mixing and matching the sweaters and turtlenecks was fun this winter.

Must. Keep. Out. Of. Thrift. Stores.

I also found it easier to get rid of more clothes using her method.

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Originally Posted by pony mom

The audio is back on Youtube! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3WRZVDEHzlo

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Thanks for this--I will check it out.

Books---Done!

And it was much easier than I thought it would be. I had about 100 books (I have two "sets", one of 10 very small books and another of 6---counted each set as one book as I wouldn't split them up). Ended up discarding 37 and keeping 63. Hoping that my library runs a book sale to raise money; otherwise, they'll go to the neighboring county's library sale.

Some books I use often were stored in a box in my closet; the rest, in my cousin's basement in three boxes. Now down to the one in the closet, plus two for his basement. When packing them away, I noticed two definite categories: Horse/Dog/Animal related, and England related (Anglophile here). So now, if I want a book about, say, "Are You Being Served?", I just go in the England box.

Deciding which to get rid of wasn't difficult, but there were a few I'm not sure about. So, I'll read them again and see if I still want them. In fact, since I have 63 books I do enjoy, I'll bring home a few at a time and read them through, and not go to the library for something new. Unless, of course, Marie Kondo writes a follow up!

Next---papers!

I did go through my clothes (well, most of them) this weekend after watching an interview with Marie Kondo. I didn't follow the method perfectly in that I didn't dump all my stuff on the bed or floor--I left it in the closet as I sorted, but I kept my mind on what I wanted to keep instead of thinking "what can I give away?" I focused on what I actually wear vs. what I wish I wore.

I also really liked that she didn't focus really on "decluttering." She said in the interview that she doesn't try to tell people they have too much of anything--that if they love it they should keep it, if they can make room for it. What's too much for one person is not enough for another. That made me feel better about some things I kept.
This will be really helpful as DH and I are reorganizing our bedroom to fit a King size bed (we let the kids in too often to keep the queen size).

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I didn't follow the method perfectly in that I didn't dump all my stuff on the bed or floor

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everything on the bed and floor, 5 weeks later it's still on the floor. "What was I thinking doing that? This place is a mess!" That's what would probably happen here. By then it all needs a laundry before being put away again >8)

pony mom, I'm impressed that you got through books! That will be tough, no doubt about it. I'm going to postpone that by dealing with the kids clothes next. In fact, my 6 year old told me this morning that she wants to get rid of some of her clothes because she has too many. I think she was inspired by my cleanout! I told her we could do it on Saturday.

ApatheticNoMore, I think that is what would have happened to me! I found it easier to have them still up on hangars so I could properly assess them rather than reaching down over and over, which just sounds tiring.

One of the best parts was giving away some good stuff to some good friends who can make use of it.

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Originally Posted by kib

I'm listening to it now, thank you for the link! So far I have two reactions: pleasure with her concept and some of her descriptions which strike a chord with me, and the sense that this Marie Kondo is a very young and privileged young lady with OCD. I like her concept of seeking an inspiring reason for wanting to "tidy", a visual and practical vision of what might be possible if the clutter were gone.

The categories - which we must follow in order - are clothes, books (or books and papers), kimonos, miscellany and mementos, which makes me think of the possessions of a Japanese 10 year old. I think 95% of what I own and need to organize and sort falls under "miscellany". There seems to be no room in her philosophy for cleaning products, cooking utensils, tools, electronics, appliances, or the big things that are REALLY hard to make decisions over like real estate, autos etc. The concept that new things must be purchased, with money that can be hard to come by, appears totally foreign to her. She is married, but the idea that one's things to be sorted are in "her own room", the childhood concept, seems prevalent, the issue of keeping shared spaces organized hasn't come up.

I'm now descending into the madness of how to properly fold clothes and to organize closets so the hemlines "point upward" to the right. I can already promise that I will never be a person squatting down to be sure I have my hemlines in proper order.

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Just a clarification - she talks about komono - basically, miscellaneous. I'm working through paper right now. I have a bunch of old statements stored under the stairs and it's a pain to get them out, but they're on my mind and I will try to get through them by the end of the month. Her "does this spark joy" rule is helping me in other areas of my life: food (I tend to graze for the wrong reasons), retail therapy has finally lost its hold on me, too.

I did not throw everything on bed & floor-just did it in closet or drawers. Also who cares if your underwear/socks spark job. They just have a basic job to perform. I threw away the disgusting/worn ones. I loved the book & it helped me.

A few weeks ago I went through some papers, which were horse-related articles that were categorized in an accordian file. I got rid of most of them since practically anything I need to know I can find online.

Teacher Terry, funny about the underwear. When I tidyed mine months ago, I only kept ones that I wouldn't die of shame if wearing after being in an accident. But I'm sure paramedics have more important things to worry about.