The Life Changing Magic of Tidying Up

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Originally Posted by pony mom

The main problem now will be my pants/shorts will be too loose. I lost 10 lbs. and finding size 2s and 0s is difficult. My weight will most likely increase at some point so I'll be keeping the loose bottoms. Now I wish I kept the too-small things I got rid of a few years ago!

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DD is short and small, she is a teen, wants to shop in Juniors but way too long and overall big. Thinks the Petite dept is for moms', not teens. Then she needed 7 days of business clothes for Business Camp (the first thing they should teach there is if you spent 3k for the camp, plus airfare and the wardrobe, you are a fool and shouldn't even be in Business Camp! However, the ex covered it when I pointed out that this is a huge budget blower and I am not doing it. Plenty of camps near home.) Since there are no business clothes in Junior, I got suggestions from small friends who don't spend a lot on wardrobe. Uniglo online has tons on relatively inexpensive options and small sizing. And H&M was where we found the most, $9 capri pants that fit her as normal length pants were a lifesaver. Tons of inexpensive tops ranging from size 0 on up. Maybe you can find things at these places?

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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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down again, citing copyright infringement.

I've had the book from the library for a few weeks. My BFF is the most organized, clutter-free person I know, you wouldn't even know she has two small children at first glance of her home. She said this book totally changed the way she and DH think, their home is so much better for it. I have to admit, I am not very much like my BFF and I put off reading this book because I'm pretty certain I'm in for a ton of work. I want my life changed, too but not sure if I'm ready to take the plunge! I'm glad this thread is here, thank you

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Originally Posted by freshstart

DD is short and small, she is a teen, wants to shop in Juniors but way too long and overall big. Thinks the Petite dept is for moms', not teens. Then she needed 7 days of business clothes for Business Camp (the first thing they should teach there is if you spent 3k for the camp, plus airfare and the wardrobe, you are a fool and shouldn't even be in Business Camp! However, the ex covered it when I pointed out that this is a huge budget blower and I am not doing it. Plenty of camps near home.) Since there are no business clothes in Junior, I got suggestions from small friends who don't spend a lot on wardrobe. Uniglo online has tons on relatively inexpensive options and small sizing. And H&M was where we found the most, $9 capri pants that fit her as normal length pants were a lifesaver. Tons of inexpensive tops ranging from size 0 on up. Maybe you can find things at these places?

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I've shopped in H&M and looked at Uniglo's site and their pants are mostly low-rise, which I HATE!!! Some petites that I've found in thrift stores work but only if they are capris. Recently found a girl's/jr. pair of Lands End shorts in the thrift store, new for $4. The cool thing is that they have an adjustable elastic inside the waist that you can tighten if needed (I needed).

Perhaps the first lesson learned from Business Camp is to decide whether it's worth the money.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by freshstart

down again, citing copyright infringement.

I've had the book from the library for a few weeks. My BFF is the most organized, clutter-free person I know, you wouldn't even know she has two small children at first glance of her home. She said this book totally changed the way she and DH think, their home is so much better for it. I have to admit, I am not very much like my BFF and I put off reading this book because I'm pretty certain I'm in for a ton of work. I want my life changed, too but not sure if I'm ready to take the plunge! I'm glad this thread is here, thank you

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I found it very motivating and couldn't wait to get started. Of course, the difficult sentimental stuff hasn't been sorted through yet, but a third of my books are boxed up and ready to be donated to a library for their sale. Start with your clothes, since it's something you need every day. Having a closet filled with only things you love to wear is wonderful.

I'm watching a friend on facebook go through the "Magic of Tidying Up" process. Apparently she has never gotten rid of anything. It's pretty amazing to see what she is purging from her 2 bed/2 bath condo. She's doing the books/magazines this weekend. Thousands of magazines never opened. She seems to be a very impulse driven purchaser. It must be pretty amazing to come to that Ah-Ha moment and then tackle it all at once. I've always been a purger and a cautious shopper. I'm the person you see with a handful of items who stand in line for the register then gets out of line to put everything back. I never saved a single toy or outfit from the boys younger years. I think that's why I like our 100 item a month challenge. It makes me dig deep to get rid of more.

It seems to have been a natural response to my retirement to get rid of all the excess baggage prior to selling and downsizing into a condo. Can't say I was influenced by any book but I'm curious about this one. Have to check it out. It took me four years to complete the move and only when I emptied out the house completely did I realize how much stuff I had that I did not need.

this week, I'm just going to read the book cover to cover and see if this is for me. It's hard to contemplate doing it because I am not well, but if I can embrace the concept, hopefully it allows you to go as slow as you need to. I got rid of so much 2 yrs ago when we moved, so it's not terrible. I think photos would be the actual hardest, I stopped putting them in albums after the birth of my second child in 1999, so not good and it's a job I hate. Plus, I somehow found myself the keeper of all the ancient photos of both sides of my family. Pics are cool, the 1920s, etc., but they all need to be scanned. If she's strict on photos, I'm doomed, lol

The joy criterion is wonderful to me. Simplified weeding out a lot and made the experience enjoyable. This book feels so sane.

Today my mom and I dragged a medium Rubbermaid container full of photos upstairs and went through all of them. Many many many of them went in the garbage. I've kept some of myself as a baby, nice ones of my parents and grandparents when they were younger, and some creepy old black and white ones of my grandparents and great grandparents. We don't think we'll regret getting rid of them, especially since we don't look through them, well, hardly ever. Now this container that needed two people to carry it can easily be picked up by one.

Wish we did this before we moved. A lot of the envelopes were full of negatives!

You all are making me curious enough to read this book!