Originally Posted by pinkytoe
I just purged about 20 little thngs. Small indvidually wrapped pieces of high quality chocolate, but they were oddly flavored. 6 little giftee baggy thingies with little vials of sanitizer, all thanksgivng related. I wont gve these away, who am I foolin? I got them as gifts, they hung around my kitchen for 5 months, now they are gone.
Sometimes the little giftee things drive me batty.
i did keep one bar of fancy soap in a little bag, in case i need to regift it. But i likely will not, really hate regifting.
Last edited by iris lilies; 4-4-16 at 3:06pm.
REcently I purged my linen closet and realized I only needed 2 sets of sheets per bed and not a million comforters. Now when I open it up there is extra space and it feels good instead of everything falling out.
Unfortunately, we need a zillion comforters because our bulldog has decided to mark his territory fairly often now on the furniture. So, we keep comforters on them.
I bought new upholstered chairs recently. They were expensive. I hate them! Maybe I wont have to live with them as long as I thought I would.
I have enough bedding to be the princess of pea fame. I have managed to give some of it to friends, and donate other items. I think I'm set for life.
April 04
I had a great day of decluttering and organizing two closet in my bedroom.
---gave Dd 2 more pillows
---put 1 large rug in the Charity box. (It is dusty pink/blue/biege and has not gone with anything in my house for 15 years)
And, it is too big to just use as a throw rug because it is the type that would need washed and my washing machine would not take it.
It is in great condition so someone will enjoy it.
--1 small bag of bits and pieces of ribbon and lace that I am not sure why I was saving.
--8 small items of crafts stuff to the charity box
---1 scarf holder to charity box
---1 lovely painter picture on wood that I really liked at one time of day (again dusty rose) to the charity box.
Total to date 26 items
IL: we have had dogs that marked and it was a pain. I used to use comforters to cover the couch because our big guy sheds so much but I bought a couch cover from Kohl's when they go on sale for half price and they look better and feel better to sit on. However, I use a thick comforter to put on the big guy's bed. I actually kept 6 comforters ( 2 for each bed ) and 2 for the dogs but we had about double that. WE do have a ton of doggie blankets to cover them and the doggie beds.
Well, today I got rid of the plastic birthday princess tiara (topped a cake with it and delivered it as a birthday gift)
but i bought some cookie cutters on clearance at the grocery store and two cookie molds, a hanger I've been wanting for the beautiful glass ornament Ds got me for Christmas, and a sheet at the thrift store. So I'm backsliding.
As of April 06
---1 very old couch cushion that quishy every time someone lends against it...garbage
---1 hanger for scarfs...charity box
--24 Weight loss magazines donated to weight loss club
Total to date 52 items....I am on a roll...love it
Also, covered to cushions I had with new fabric I had they look nice and fresh and match decor
and, made 8 small napkins from a old tablecloth that belonged to my Dsis. They make me smile and think if her in a happy way.
Hi All,
I check in occasionally, but now I've been reading the book by Marie Kondo and am committed to completing everything! So, I thought I'd post as I see the Kondo method has been discussed on this site. I've just finished clothes, the first part of the process. I really like her method. When I first read it, I had some misconceptions, but studied it carefully as I prepared to go through all my belongings, and it clicked. I am still learning.
One thing to know is that in Japan the Shinto religion sees everything as animate, i.e., nothing is dead. So the thing about talking to your clothes is not far out at all if you are a member of that culture and that religion. (She writes in the book that she tended a Shinto shrine for a few years as a Shinto Maiden).
I've just gotten rid of hundreds of items of clothes, large and small. Our local charity shop even takes clothes that are rags and shoes that have the soles coming off. I found out when I took some things there. They sell it to recyclers. Nice to have nothing go into the landfill. Plus they do good works with the money.
So here's one thing about talking to your socks as you either keep them or let them go: It gives you a lesson on what you liked or didn't like about them. In my case it makes me less likely to buy inappropriate things I see in the thrift shop, especially when I have a 50% off coupon. Now it has to spark joy and I have a better idea of what that means to me.
It also seems to filter into other areas, like buying food and eating. Asking myself does this "spark joy" seems to work for me. And I'm finding that desserts rarely spark joy even though I've always craved sweets. Also, "sparking joy" can be how well something works in the kitchen, like a slotted spoon. Not how it looks. I haven't gotten to the cooking stuff yet, but I'm seeing beyond a surface meaning for this. My kitchen cabinets spark joy because they are familiar, like seeing an old friend sparks joy. Many people would think the cabinets are outdated, probably 30 years old, but shiny new cabinets would not spark joy if I had to spend a lot of money for them and they'd be more waste. Though the book seems superficial at first with the idea of sparking joy, it's really not.
The other thing is that I am not focused on getting rid of things. For me, focusing on getting rid of things is kind of abstract. Also, feelings like guilt and worry goes with getting rid of things. Worry that I'll need it, guilt that I rarely wore it, etc. It doesn't tell me what I do want, only what I don't want. I'm keeping clothes in two sizes, but only ones I like/want to keep. It would not spark joy to have to go and buy a whole new set of clothes when I lose weight (I'm trying to go down a size). I'm also keeping clothes appropriate for work, although these don't spark joy in the way some other clothes might. They are utilitarian clothes in that they fit me and they fit my work environment. That's good enough for a kind of joy. Fashionable clothes or cute clothes have never sparked joy in me. But certain colors, fabrics, textures, etc. do. Figuring out that I didn't like clothes in certain fabrics, textures has been part of the process.
I'll update when I do the other categories. So glad that these threads keep going.
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