Author Topic: The Life-Changing Art of Tidying-Up  (Read 95168 times)

3Mer

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Re: The Life-Changing Art of Tidying-Up
« Reply #100 on: June 13, 2015, 09:29:29 AM »
I am 64 of 149 holds for this book at the library system.   Seems a bit in demand.   Is it worth the $7 to buy the kindle edition, do you think?

I bought it on my Kindle. I think that I probably will re-read it soon to take in more of the concepts (first read through included a lot of eye rolling from me), so I'm happy enough to have bought it. But I think that you can Google it and read up enough about the general idea to get you going while you wait for the library version.
Thanks Norrie!  Lately, I have been having the mindset that my decluttering and cleaning is happening slowly and steadily.  Instead of trying to declutter the entire house, I am trying to just keep on making forward progress.  It does feel so good that my clutter load is getting gradually lighter.  (Not that we have tons, but there seems to always be plenty of extra junk needing to be purged!)   Reading books does help stay motivated too.

pancakes

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Re: The Life-Changing Art of Tidying-Up
« Reply #101 on: June 14, 2015, 02:40:18 AM »
I started reading this book recently and am almost through it. Between reading I've been taking plenty of breaks to discard and tidy.

The methods for storing clothing have been revolutionary to me. My old way of folding clothing and stacking things on top of each other had always bothered me but it didn't even occur to me that there would be a better way. Not only is my wardrobe much tidier, but now that I can see everything, finding something to wear in the morning is a lot easier. I'm only sad that I had been doing it so wrong for so many years. Even just for those tips this book has been completely worth it.

I'm a bit stuck on her advice about book collections however because I have large built-in bookshelves in my living area that look great with my book collection on them. Of course only a small selection of my books 'spark joy' when I touch them, but I don't want to throw them away and I certainly don't want to go out spending lots of money on a large collection of books that do 'spark joy'. Maybe I'm not up to that part yet.

In general I've have held onto a lot of things that don't 'spark joy'. I found that that very few things I own spark any joy but I can't throw away all my underwear and keep just one set, or discard all my winter clothing, or leave myself with not a single pair of shoes. At least now I suppose I'll hold my standards higher for any future acquisitions.
« Last Edit: June 14, 2015, 02:45:40 AM by pancakes »

firelight

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Re: The Life-Changing Art of Tidying-Up
« Reply #102 on: June 14, 2015, 12:21:24 PM »
Read the book a few weeks back, started decluttering my apartment and I'm happy to say the journey has been great! I still have my kitchen and my jewelry to declutter but for the most part, it was easy to donate/sell/throw based on konmari method. Oh! We found a few things we had thought was lost in the process. I'm donating/selling more than a thousand pieces. I can feel my house getting lighter as more and more junk leaves it.

Cassie

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Re: The Life-Changing Art of Tidying-Up
« Reply #103 on: June 14, 2015, 07:54:27 PM »
I used it for everything but undies & socks. These have a basic purpose & don't need to spark joY:)) I did use it on bookshelves though & cut down my # of nik-naks by using some of the shelves that used to have books for those other things that I truly loved.

lise

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Re: The Life-Changing Art of Tidying-Up
« Reply #104 on: June 15, 2015, 06:35:59 AM »
I used it for everything but undies & socks.

Ha- this was a big area for me !
socks - got rid of anything with holes, or socklets that slipped down
undies - got rid of threadbare ones

And I obviously had too much in this area as I haven't had to buy any replacements since I kondo'd at the end of last year!


Norrie

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Re: The Life-Changing Art of Tidying-Up
« Reply #105 on: June 15, 2015, 10:34:40 AM »
I'm re-reading it right now and forcing myself to stop with the eye-rolling any time she mentions that she's been a tidying expert since she was five, and just embrace the important content.

I REALLY struggled to get through my clothes, because clothes don't spark joy for me. The only article of clothing that sparks joy is a pair of sweatpants that I bought at Target years ago. They are so comfortable, and feel like my best friend some days. Other than that, I resent the fact that I even have to own clothes.
But I finally finished going through my clothes this weekend, and our bedroom is super tight and clean. Books are up next, and that's going to be a pain in the ass only because they're still all boxed up from our move (um, a year ago). It's so liberating to get rid of tons and tons of stuff.

oldtoyota

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Re: The Life-Changing Art of Tidying-Up
« Reply #106 on: June 16, 2015, 02:20:53 PM »
I am 64 of 149 holds for this book at the library system.   Seems a bit in demand.   Is it worth the $7 to buy the kindle edition, do you think?

If you Google around, you can find blog posts on the topic that could help you get started.

oldtoyota

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Re: The Life-Changing Art of Tidying-Up
« Reply #107 on: June 16, 2015, 02:22:55 PM »
Read the book a few weeks back, started decluttering my apartment and I'm happy to say the journey has been great! I still have my kitchen and my jewelry to declutter but for the most part, it was easy to donate/sell/throw based on konmari method. Oh! We found a few things we had thought was lost in the process. I'm donating/selling more than a thousand pieces. I can feel my house getting lighter as more and more junk leaves it.

Congrats! I find it gets easier. I started with clothing and donated maybe 10 bags or so. Then, I moved on to books and gave away 200+ books. I am now working on paper...but I sometimes go back and find more books or clothing. I have not moved in the strict order the book instructs us to do, yet it's working just fine. =-)

swick

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Re: The Life-Changing Art of Tidying-Up
« Reply #108 on: June 16, 2015, 02:59:04 PM »
WHOOT!!!

I left the book by hubby's night stand and suggested he read it. Didn't have much hope, he is an engineer's engineer and I thought the language and vague, touchy feely, wooo-wooo vibe would totally turn him off.

Woke up to him saying "Man, you know, we have a lot of clutter"

I mentioned via email  I was going to work on my cloths today and asked if he was interested?  Got this back: "There’s no time like the present, I’d like to get on it. The idea of paring back what we own is actually quite exciting to me…"

So yeah, excitement! Now I suppose the real work begins :)

riverffashion

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Re: The Life-Changing Art of Tidying-Up
« Reply #109 on: June 16, 2015, 03:38:53 PM »
WHOOT!!!

I left the book by hubby's night stand and suggested he read it. Didn't have much hope, he is an engineer's engineer and I thought the language and vague, touchy feely, wooo-wooo vibe would totally turn him off.

Woke up to him saying "Man, you know, we have a lot of clutter"

I mentioned via email  I was going to work on my cloths today and asked if he was interested?  Got this back: "There’s no time like the present, I’d like to get on it. The idea of paring back what we own is actually quite exciting to me…"

So yeah, excitement! Now I suppose the real work begins :)

Awesome!!!

Alf.traveler

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Re: The Life-Changing Art of Tidying-Up
« Reply #110 on: June 16, 2015, 04:28:11 PM »
I am a little late to the thread.  Just wanted to add that this book has actually truly been life-changing for me, as it led me to MMM.

Back in October, I was feeling trapped and burned out at my job.  It paid well, but I've never been much of a "stuff" person.  We love traveling, and it seemed that was the only time our lives expanded - when we were in nature, seeing new things.  We had money (which we mostly spent, aside from some retirement savings), but no time.  Kept wondering if this is all there is to life - work, earn money to travel in small gasps, return to your work, retire when old, die? 

Read the NY Times article on Marie Kondo's book, and became a person possessed.  Went through a flurry of decluttering, getting rid of hundreds of dollars worth of stuff; cut 2/3 of my closet, even managed to trim my personal book collection by 30% (a hitherto-unimaginable feat).  Realized could happily get rid of much more if my spouse didn't object. :-)  Haven't missed anything we got rid of except some origami paper.  Am much much happier for having less stuff in the house - less to stumble over, less to clean, more possessions that truly bring joy. 

Hunted for more ideas on decluttering blogs, which led to finding simple living blogs, then the minimalist blogs, then the compact... All the time saying "right on!  right on!" and being astonished that yes, there are a lot of people who think like I do, that there is just too much stuff, too much emphasis on stuff, not enough emphasis on time, on living your life.  Stumbled upon the Frugalwoods blog and they mentioned MMM, so I clicked over, started reading... the sun came out of the clouds, and the angels sang, and life seemed worth living again :-)  Binge-read the posts, upped my 401K as far as it could go, looking into setting up taxable Vanguard accounts for the rest, cutting spending.   

So yeah, life-changing...
« Last Edit: June 16, 2015, 04:30:51 PM by Alf.traveler »

swick

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Re: The Life-Changing Art of Tidying-Up
« Reply #111 on: June 16, 2015, 04:32:58 PM »
I am a little late to the thread.  Just wanted to add that this book has actually truly been life-changing for me, as it led me to MMM.

Back in October, I was feeling trapped and burned out at my job.  It paid well, but I've never been much of a "stuff" person.  We love traveling, and it seemed that was the only time our lives expanded - when we were in nature, seeing new things.  We had money (which we mostly spent, aside from some retirement savings), but no time.  Kept wondering if this is all there is to life - work, earn money to travel in small gasps, return to your work, retire when old, die? 

Read the NY Times article on Marie Kondo's book, and became a person possessed.  Went through a flurry of decluttering, getting rid of hundreds of dollars worth of stuff; cut 2/3 of my closet, even managed to trim my personal book collection by 30% (a hitherto-unimaginable feat).  Realized could happily get rid of much more if my spouse didn't object. :-)  Haven't missed anything we got rid of except some origami paper.  Am much much happier for having less stuff in the house - less to stumble over, less to clean, more possessions that truly bring joy. 

Hunted for more ideas on decluttering blogs, which led to finding simple living blogs, then the minimalist blogs, then the compact... All the time saying "right on!  right on!" and being astonished that yes, there are a lot of people who think like I do, that there is just too much stuff, too much emphasis on stuff, not enough emphasis on time, on living your life.  Stumbled upon the Frugalwoods blog and they mentioned MMM, so I clicked over, started reading... the sun came out of the clouds, and the angels sang, and life seemed worth living again :-)  Binge-read the posts, upped my 401K as far as it could go, looking into setting up taxable Vanguard accounts for the rest, cutting spending.   

So yeah, life-changing...

Fantastic Journey, thanks for sharing and WELCOME to the forums!

deborah

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Re: The Life-Changing Art of Tidying-Up
« Reply #112 on: June 17, 2015, 01:35:28 AM »
I finally got the book from the library (126th in the queue), and I have read most of it.

She appears to be very much against any sort of stockpiling, yet stockpiling (when they are cheap) consumables that won't expire within the stockpiling period is very much part of mustashianism. I'm sure there are other cases where her philosophy is at loggerheads with MMM. How do you rationalize the book and MMM?

Anatidae V

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Re: The Life-Changing Art of Tidying-Up
« Reply #113 on: June 17, 2015, 01:58:36 AM »
I finally got the book from the library (126th in the queue), and I have read most of it.

She appears to be very much against any sort of stockpiling, yet stockpiling (when they are cheap) consumables that won't expire within the stockpiling period is very much part of mustashianism. I'm sure there are other cases where her philosophy is at loggerheads with MMM. How do you rationalize the book and MMM?

The same way I do everything else - take what suits me and ignore the rest.

swick

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Re: The Life-Changing Art of Tidying-Up
« Reply #114 on: June 17, 2015, 03:36:18 AM »
I finally got the book from the library (126th in the queue), and I have read most of it.

She appears to be very much against any sort of stockpiling, yet stockpiling (when they are cheap) consumables that won't expire within the stockpiling period is very much part of mustashianism. I'm sure there are other cases where her philosophy is at loggerheads with MMM. How do you rationalize the book and MMM?

The same way I do everything else - take what suits me and ignore the rest.
+1 you do have to keep in mind that she is coming at it from a different cultural perspective. The simple fact for a lot of Japanese households is there simply isn't room t stockpile consumables.

pancakes

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Re: The Life-Changing Art of Tidying-Up
« Reply #115 on: June 17, 2015, 04:01:33 AM »
I've always held a similar perspective to Kondo in terms of stockpiling.

I buy things in economical quantities (largest pack available to bring down the unit price) but I don't stockpile when things are on sale. The way the supermarkets are at the moment the sale cycle is pretty regular and provided I'm not brand loyal, chances are most weeks there will be a good deal somewhere on the product I want. I'm happy to pay a little bit extra to use the supermarket as storage rather than my reasonably small apartment. If I had the space or went through items faster (e.g. had kids) I might have a different perspective.

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Re: The Life-Changing Art of Tidying-Up
« Reply #116 on: June 17, 2015, 06:52:29 AM »
I've always held a similar perspective to Kondo in terms of stockpiling.

I buy things in economical quantities (largest pack available to bring down the unit price) but I don't stockpile when things are on sale. The way the supermarkets are at the moment the sale cycle is pretty regular and provided I'm not brand loyal, chances are most weeks there will be a good deal somewhere on the product I want. I'm happy to pay a little bit extra to use the supermarket as storage rather than my reasonably small apartment. If I had the space or went through items faster (e.g. had kids) I might have a different perspective.

Me too.  I feel you have too much house if you can stockpile a lot.  If I had a house (vs current apartment) the only thing I might stockpile is dry food like rice, since I love to cook.
The only thing I do tend to stockpile is toilet paper - I don't know why but I hate running out of the stuff.  And I'm not going paperless like others on this forum so don't even mention it!

MLKnits

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Re: The Life-Changing Art of Tidying-Up
« Reply #117 on: June 17, 2015, 07:12:49 AM »
I've always held a similar perspective to Kondo in terms of stockpiling.

I buy things in economical quantities (largest pack available to bring down the unit price) but I don't stockpile when things are on sale. The way the supermarkets are at the moment the sale cycle is pretty regular and provided I'm not brand loyal, chances are most weeks there will be a good deal somewhere on the product I want. I'm happy to pay a little bit extra to use the supermarket as storage rather than my reasonably small apartment. If I had the space or went through items faster (e.g. had kids) I might have a different perspective.

Agreed. Plus, she specifically points out examples that are ridiculous: so much toothpaste you wouldn't use it in a lifetime, a hundred years' worth of cotton swabs. I don't think she means "don't get the three-pack" so much as "don't devote your space to becoming a mini-CostCo." I'm with her on that. It's one thing to have a couple of months' stock of toilet paper, but something else entirely to have a garage full of it.

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Re: The Life-Changing Art of Tidying-Up
« Reply #118 on: June 17, 2015, 07:27:12 AM »
Oh man! I've been discussing this book over at the decluttering thread (which I'm cluttering up). It's a fun read. Taking each item in my hand has been much more helpful in getting rid of things than I thought. It mostly forces me to actually look at the item instead of glazing over it on a shelf or in a drawer.

I like her honest writing style. Feels like talking with a zany friend. I like that she comes across as nonjudgmental (more- I've been there/done that), but she doesn't pull the punches. When she wrote that most people who can't keep their houses tidy are lazy, I busted out laughing. Having someone confirm that I can get rid of an item without guilt has been freeing. Not sure why I feel the need for the confirmation.

One thing that really irked me was when she said women should buy elegant pajamas. She mentioned that what we wear in our home affects our self-image. I could not disagree more. I do not care about clothes beyond functionality and my self-image does not revolve around my physical appearance. This sort of advice can lead to feelings of self-consciousness and outward-in living. (Of course if you enjoy wearing elegant pajamas, then that's excellent. Keep on keeping on.) 

lezaline

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Re: The Life-Changing Art of Tidying-Up
« Reply #119 on: June 17, 2015, 08:37:22 AM »
I just purchased the book because our library waitlist was too long, but have been reading articles about it for awhile. This weekend I was so fed up with my 5 year olds room overflowing with books, we enlisted the "put it all on the table" concept. My husband unloaded every book from his bookshelf onto the kitchen table. In 45 minutes we went through hundreds of books and got rid of a large box of duplicates, outgrown, don't read, and don't likes. His shelves actually look like they can breathe now! And his room is staying neater because it is easier to put books away. I had often flipped through the books while on the shelves and purged a few, but never would I have culled as many as we did by having to actually look at each and every book and touch every last one of them.

One book I would very much recommend is "Miss Minimalist". It is only available as an ebook and is only 99 cents. She originally wrote a blog and later converted it into this book. I like that it challenged me to think about societal conventions. For instance she and her husband don't own a couch because they personally never used one, but they did really like recliners. This book also "convinced" me that all of my dishes don't have to match just because "that's what everyone else does". Because of this I've been much more willing to take freebie dishes to replace broken ones from two kids.

Link to Miss Minimalist: http://www.amazon.com/Miss-Minimalist-Inspiration-Downsize-Declutter-ebook/dp/B0052UYJDC/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1434551827&sr=8-1&keywords=miss+minimalist&pebp=1434551829349&perid=0R6JSWPY50FBJZ9X6C6A

3Mer

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Re: The Life-Changing Art of Tidying-Up
« Reply #120 on: June 17, 2015, 11:36:23 AM »
My library copy is in transit!  Yay!  Glad I held off and didn't buy it on my Kindle.  I'm bad about doing that.   Can't wait to read it!

3Mer

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Re: The Life-Changing Art of Tidying-Up
« Reply #121 on: June 17, 2015, 11:38:38 AM »
My library copy is in transit!  Yay!  Glad I held off and didn't buy it on my Kindle.  I'm bad about doing that.   Can't wait to read it!
Oops........I read too quick.  That was another book, The Joy of Less.   Life-Changing Art is still 57.........   :-(

I believe someone here mentioned The Joy of Less though, so I look forward to it.

swick

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Re: The Life-Changing Art of Tidying-Up
« Reply #122 on: June 18, 2015, 02:14:36 PM »
...So yeah, excitement! Now I suppose the real work begins :)

Last night Hubby and I went through our clothing. Admittedly, neither of us really care one whit about what we put on our bodies...so there wasn't tooo much to go through and it was a pretty easy process....except for those damn socks!  I did find that talk to and thanking the things as it went made it much more enjoyable and easier. I did get rid of one of my favorite sweaters. It had some burn marks on the sleeves, was getting pretty thread bear, had a couple of moth holes - and has been faithfully serving me for over 15 years. I figured it was time to retire. The standing up method of cloth folding seems to be working very well too!

Hubs opened his sock drawer and exclaimed: "Now there is a thing of beauty!" I think he is more excited then I am :)

We decided on to completely tackle one category of items a night until we are finished. With work, we don't have time to do a massive marathon and if we don't do it together - it won't stick. Figured this was a good compromise...but it's hard to hold hubby back. We might get a big chunk done this weekend.

My sister called and asked what we were up to this weekend and he shouted: "Minimizing!" ...might have created a monster. He's the one who is a self-proclaimed "collector" :)


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Re: The Life-Changing Art of Tidying-Up
« Reply #123 on: June 18, 2015, 03:24:07 PM »
Swick, that's fantastic! His exclamation at the socks is hilarious.  It's been really easy for us to keep our socks  Kondoed since it's functional and makes life easier. Your plan of one category a night is a good one.

riverffashion

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Re: The Life-Changing Art of Tidying-Up
« Reply #124 on: June 18, 2015, 05:39:42 PM »
...So yeah, excitement! Now I suppose the real work begins :)

Last night Hubby and I went through our clothing. Admittedly, neither of us really care one whit about what we put on our bodies...so there wasn't tooo much to go through and it was a pretty easy process....except for those damn socks!  I did find that talk to and thanking the things as it went made it much more enjoyable and easier. I did get rid of one of my favorite sweaters. It had some burn marks on the sleeves, was getting pretty thread bear, had a couple of moth holes - and has been faithfully serving me for over 15 years. I figured it was time to retire. The standing up method of cloth folding seems to be working very well too!

Hubs opened his sock drawer and exclaimed: "Now there is a thing of beauty!" I think he is more excited then I am :)

We decided on to completely tackle one category of items a night until we are finished. With work, we don't have time to do a massive marathon and if we don't do it together - it won't stick. Figured this was a good compromise...but it's hard to hold hubby back. We might get a big chunk done this weekend.

My sister called and asked what we were up to this weekend and he shouted: "Minimizing!" ...might have created a monster. He's the one who is a self-proclaimed "collector" :)

Excellent ! You and hub are on board together, how fabulous. Getting it done quick is a great plan .

pancakes

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Re: The Life-Changing Art of Tidying-Up
« Reply #125 on: June 21, 2015, 08:11:50 AM »
So I've done the clothing which was remarkably easy and even managed to keep my drawers looking tidy!

I'm not 100% convinced that I'll stick to it though as it has occurred to me that everything in the book except for the 'does it spark joy' mantra and storing things vertically, is exactly how I've always approached tidying. Every few years I gather everything up in the one place and sort through it all, discarding what is not needed and assigning new homes for everything else. Surely enough, as each month passes a little bit more chaos creeps in, until I'm back where I started and do it all over again. Will those two little extra bits make all the difference?

I want to take on my bathroom next but now that I've convinced myself I'm destined to fail, the motivation isn't there.

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Re: The Life-Changing Art of Tidying-Up
« Reply #126 on: June 21, 2015, 09:16:57 AM »
I hear ya, Pancakes. I cleared out my bathroom some months ago, before I'd heard of the Kondo book, but essentially used her method.  I got rid of so much stuff that there isn't enough left for there to be clutter. I think that's the key to her method. When you have enough, there is room for it all (and then some extra space to boot). Now I just have to catch the stuff creep as it happens, which is easy since it's usually one item at a time. Instead of putting something somewhere to deal with/think about at some fuzzy later time, I take the five seconds to consider if I need it/where to put it and move on. It helps that since we're mustachians we don't buy stuff, hence not a lot comes in. I think I'm a lot more mindful now and life is easier for it. I'm not sure if that helps you, but that's been my experience. Best of luck!

Tami1982

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Re: The Life-Changing Art of Tidying-Up
« Reply #127 on: June 21, 2015, 09:43:01 AM »
18 holds on 5 copies at my library -- should only be a couple of weeks!

I wish!  Hold number 157, lol.  Thankfully, there are 92 copies in circulation so it should be too long of a way.  A month to six weeks I think?  Is good.  Need to practice patience anyway. :P

deborah

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Re: The Life-Changing Art of Tidying-Up
« Reply #128 on: June 21, 2015, 03:01:28 PM »
I also think that she is dealing with much smaller problems. In both the USA and Australia we tend to have much bigger houses than those in Japan (even our small houses), so we actually have a problem where whole rooms are not really used, and really collect stuff. As a result, her list of five types of things is very narrow.

MLKnits

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Re: The Life-Changing Art of Tidying-Up
« Reply #129 on: June 22, 2015, 06:38:48 AM »
I hear ya, Pancakes. I cleared out my bathroom some months ago, before I'd heard of the Kondo book, but essentially used her method.  I got rid of so much stuff that there isn't enough left for there to be clutter. I think that's the key to her method. When you have enough, there is room for it all (and then some extra space to boot). Now I just have to catch the stuff creep as it happens, which is easy since it's usually one item at a time. Instead of putting something somewhere to deal with/think about at some fuzzy later time, I take the five seconds to consider if I need it/where to put it and move on. It helps that since we're mustachians we don't buy stuff, hence not a lot comes in. I think I'm a lot more mindful now and life is easier for it. I'm not sure if that helps you, but that's been my experience. Best of luck!

Agreed. In the past, when I've done frequent "tosses" and reorganizations, it usually resulted in my buying new storage options (set of drawers, hanging shoe organizer) and filling those. The Kondo-style toss, though, had me getting RID of storage furniture, and all the endless crap I was "storing" in/on it. It will be much harder to get back to that level now, because if I started to go "hmm maybe I need a small dresser" I'm pretty sure I'd now think "wait, that's ridiculous, get rid of some crap."

I don't think it will be as self-sustaining as she claims (though, to be fair, probably because I kept too much, even while getting rid of tons and tons), but definitely easier to catch myself slipping back the other way.

4alpacas

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Re: The Life-Changing Art of Tidying-Up
« Reply #130 on: June 22, 2015, 02:33:41 PM »
I also think that she is dealing with much smaller problems. In both the USA and Australia we tend to have much bigger houses than those in Japan (even our small houses), so we actually have a problem where whole rooms are not really used, and really collect stuff. As a result, her list of five types of things is very narrow.
I'm just considering all of the other clutter rooms as komono. 

I'm only half-way through out paper, but I've made a huge amount of progress.  Komono will be the worst.  Sentimental keepsakes should be easy because I only have a few things, and I'm not sentimental.

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Re: The Life-Changing Art of Tidying-Up
« Reply #131 on: June 24, 2015, 05:51:55 PM »
I just learned about this book yesterday from a friend on Facebook who posted about her neat and tidy bedroom closet.  I looked it up and holy cow! 1032 holds at the public library!!! That is insane!  I am thinking I am going to have to buy it on Kindle instead if I want to read it anytime soon.  I get paid Friday so I am putting it in my budget.  I do an OK job of keeping house fairly tidy but I can definitely do much much better.

mydogismyheart

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Re: The Life-Changing Art of Tidying-Up
« Reply #132 on: June 24, 2015, 06:22:00 PM »
I just purchased the book because our library waitlist was too long, but have been reading articles about it for awhile. This weekend I was so fed up with my 5 year olds room overflowing with books, we enlisted the "put it all on the table" concept. My husband unloaded every book from his bookshelf onto the kitchen table. In 45 minutes we went through hundreds of books and got rid of a large box of duplicates, outgrown, don't read, and don't likes. His shelves actually look like they can breathe now! And his room is staying neater because it is easier to put books away. I had often flipped through the books while on the shelves and purged a few, but never would I have culled as many as we did by having to actually look at each and every book and touch every last one of them.

One book I would very much recommend is "Miss Minimalist". It is only available as an ebook and is only 99 cents. She originally wrote a blog and later converted it into this book. I like that it challenged me to think about societal conventions. For instance she and her husband don't own a couch because they personally never used one, but they did really like recliners. This book also "convinced" me that all of my dishes don't have to match just because "that's what everyone else does". Because of this I've been much more willing to take freebie dishes to replace broken ones from two kids.

Link to Miss Minimalist: http://www.amazon.com/Miss-Minimalist-Inspiration-Downsize-Declutter-ebook/dp/B0052UYJDC/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1434551827&sr=8-1&keywords=miss+minimalist&pebp=1434551829349&perid=0R6JSWPY50FBJZ9X6C6A

Ooh, thanks for this recommendation.  There are over 1,000 holds at my library right now so I was going to buy from Amazon but have to wait until budget allows. Maybe friday... this one happens to be free for me as a prime member. So I will start here.  Thanks!!! :)

soillife

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Re: The Life-Changing Art of Tidying-Up
« Reply #133 on: June 25, 2015, 07:05:17 PM »
I've had a lot of people ask what I thought of it so I bought it for the Kindle last month and read it. It would be helpful to someone who wants to declutter things and is just starting or has problems getting rid of things. I've been a minimalist for over a decade now, just didn't find the name for it until a few years ago, leaning towards the Spartan side. I think it's strange that she thanks her things but if it works for her great. If anyone is interested in borrowing the Kindle book they can. The Amazon page on lending says it can only be loaned one time or I'd lend it out to everyone.

mydogismyheart

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Re: The Life-Changing Art of Tidying-Up
« Reply #134 on: June 27, 2015, 05:00:02 PM »
Ok, so I read it yesterday and I can see how it can totally be life changing for some people. It was for me! Holy cow! So I moved about 9 months ago and when I moved I thought I got rid of the majority of my excess belongings. I'm not a minimalist, but I do try to not own a ton of stuff to create a lot of clutter.  If you look at my house on the surface you might think I'm "very neat and organized". But open up closets, cupboards, drawers, etc... and you will still find lots of things. Nothing is "over flowing" or "filled to the brim". There's still extra space for things, but I have quite a bit of things.

How this book helped me:

It gave me the permission I needed to get rid of sooooo many items!  It is so freeing to me!  I can't believe how much stuff I own because I feel like I should, it's in perfectly good shape so I should use it, what if I might want it someday, or it was given to me and I feel obligated to have it.

She gets you past ALL of those things.  Like my tennis shoes for example. I feel like I don't own a ton of shoes, but I do have about 6 pairs or so of tennis shoes.  I wear maybe 2 pairs and they stay downstairs by the front door. On occasion, I go upstairs to my bedroom closet and pull out a different pair, only because I feel like I should because I own them and therefore, should wear them.  I regularly clean out my shoes and toss them out, still keeping pairs because they are perfectly good pairs.  This book motivated me to get rid of them. Pick out the pairs I definitely use, and donate or toss the rest.

My kitchen. stupid things like I own 3 crock pots.  I knew I didn't need 3 crock pots but was talked in to keeping them by a friend because "what if you have a bunch of people over and want 3 crock pots".  That makes sense... til now!!! OMG! If I need 3 crock pots I can borrow 2 from friends, How many people do I know that own a crock pot that I can borrow one from!?!?!?!

"maybe someday I will need it".  Yes, or no.  Get rid of it. If you need it someday, borrow it or buy it.  I had items sitting in closets for years because they seemed like things I would someday use.  Well, if I ever need it, I can obtain it then!!!

I dunno, sometimes I own things because I "have a decorative shelf and therefore something should sit on it"  now it's bare.  LOL.

I went in to 1 bedroom and came out with 1 large black garbage bag full, 1 smaller kitchen bag full, 1 medium sized box and 3 shopping bags.  All full.

I thought I was a pretty neat person with minimal excess belongings and that's what I did in 1 room and I'm not even done with it yet. I seriously thought I'd find about 10 items total in my house, maybe a box of stuff and a bag of clothing!  I still have about 1400 sq ft of living space I haven't gotten to yet!!!

I feel so free.  Things that gave me anxiety and bothered me but for one reason or another I still owned.  Candle sticks my mom gave me that I kept.  I had no where to put them so they sat in a closet.  "maybe someday I will find some shelf space for them and use them".  Now they're gone.

It has been life changing for me and I highly recommend it.  So much of my stuff is going out the door and I'm LOVING it!!!

I recommend this book to anyone who owns some excess stuff.  Whether it be a few items or a ton of items.  It helped me get past any emotions I had about items and get rid of them.  She gives advice on what to do if it's a memento or family heirloom that you don't really want.  Prom and Homecoming dresses.  Anything that you keep because it was special at one time and created a memory, but really just taking up space.  She tells you how to deal with all of that stuff.  (I have photos from all my high school dances, I don't need all of those dresses!!!).  Etc...

I loved it, I am so excited about cleaning out my house now!  I can't believe all the excess stuff I own that I didn't even realize was excess!!!  I feel so much freer already and I've barely begun.

This book is life changing for me.  It may not be for everyone, but it has been for me.

Erica/NWEdible

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Re: The Life-Changing Art of Tidying-Up
« Reply #135 on: June 27, 2015, 05:16:52 PM »
Ok, so I read it yesterday and I can see how it can totally be life changing for some people. It was for me! Holy cow!

Yup, that was totally my experience too! Congrats on the journey and have fun!

deborah

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Re: The Life-Changing Art of Tidying-Up
« Reply #136 on: June 27, 2015, 06:01:39 PM »
I think I have too much stuff for this book - I think it is a book for advanced declutterers, rather than desperate declutterers!

However, I did get some stuff out of it (laughter for one - but that was not the only thing).

swick

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Re: The Life-Changing Art of Tidying-Up
« Reply #137 on: June 27, 2015, 09:28:09 PM »
As we go through the process, I can see how you might think so, deborah. Our solution is to really break it down into sub-sub-sub categories so we don't get overwhelmed and doing one little group at a time.  Clothing was an easy first win for us because we didn't have a ton and neither of us really care, as was bathroom stuff...but moving into media and books and hobby/kitchen supplies...yeah the overwhelm is there for sure. the sub categories really help.

pancakes

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Re: The Life-Changing Art of Tidying-Up
« Reply #138 on: June 27, 2015, 09:50:31 PM »
I think that the book is suitable for desperate declutters but it is written from a Japanese perspective where homes tend to be a lot smaller. The bigger the home, obviously the longer picking up every item is going to take, and the more daunting the task will seem.

To even to start the process I had to convince myself to suspend making excuses and just try it. That said, I still haven't progressed past the clothing stage :/

Squirrel away

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Re: The Life-Changing Art of Tidying-Up
« Reply #139 on: June 28, 2015, 02:43:33 AM »

I thought I was a pretty neat person with minimal excess belongings

 

I thought the same about myself before reading the book.:P It's strange how some clutter becomes almost invisible if it's put away into cupboards or wardrobes.

ZiziPB

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Re: The Life-Changing Art of Tidying-Up
« Reply #140 on: July 01, 2015, 09:03:42 AM »
For anyone who is interested, there is a two part mini-drama.  It's definitely very japanese in style (we used to live in Japan so I found it entertaining on that level as well).  It does have subtitles. 

Is the mini-drama available online? What is the link, please?

The one I'm aware of is actually a full-length movie in two parts.

Part 1: http://tinyurl.com/phnnmtr
Part 2: http://tinyurl.com/kh2f3gt
Thanks Malaprop & Secretly Saving!

The movie is no longer available at these links.  Does anyone know if it is available anywhere else?  I searched last night but could not find anything and I don't remember the title of the movie (I watched it when the links were active and wanted to watch it again with my daughter).

pancakes

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Re: The Life-Changing Art of Tidying-Up
« Reply #141 on: July 05, 2015, 12:34:57 AM »
I've progressed a little more and tackled my bathroom. Pleased with my effort and genuinely surprised by how much nail polish I had.

Now I'm wondering, has anyone applied the method to their social media? I've been paying a lot more attention to my interactions with things and people since reading the book and I've discovered that I 'hate read' my social media pages regularly. This isn't the kind of person I really want to be. Do I clean out my social media connections just as I've done my home?

benjenn

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Re: The Life-Changing Art of Tidying-Up
« Reply #142 on: July 05, 2015, 06:50:20 AM »
I've progressed a little more and tackled my bathroom. Pleased with my effort and genuinely surprised by how much nail polish I had.

Now I'm wondering, has anyone applied the method to their social media? I've been paying a lot more attention to my interactions with things and people since reading the book and I've discovered that I 'hate read' my social media pages regularly. This isn't the kind of person I really want to be. Do I clean out my social media connections just as I've done my home?

DH and I are preparing to FIRE at the end of this month - both leaving our jobs and even moving out of state the next day.  Because of my job, I have over 1,300 Facebook friends.  I honestly first started on Facebook about 10 years ago (back when reallly only college and high school kids were on it) because of my job.  It was several years later before I started adding adult friends and work colleagues.

I have taken over 1,100 high school seniors to Washington, D.C. in the last 16 years - and I first got on Facebook to interact with them.  I've been unfollowing all of them plus everyone affiliated with work (except those I consider true friends).  Not unfriending them... just unfollowing them so they don't show up in my newsfeed.  It's been pretty incredible to see the changes in my newsfeed.

I still care about many of the people I'm unfollowing... I just don't need to know what's going on in the lives on a daily basis.  I don't even think I'll check Facebook all that much once retired but this is a step forward for me.

kite

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Re: The Life-Changing Art of Tidying-Up
« Reply #143 on: July 05, 2015, 08:40:08 AM »
I've progressed a little more and tackled my bathroom. Pleased with my effort and genuinely surprised by how much nail polish I had.

Now I'm wondering, has anyone applied the method to their social media? I've been paying a lot more attention to my interactions with things and people since reading the book and I've discovered that I 'hate read' my social media pages regularly. This isn't the kind of person I really want to be. Do I clean out my social media connections just as I've done my home?

Clean it all in one move:  take the app off your phone.
The first few days, pretend it's just a short term detox.  After a while, you won't miss it. 
 I did it a little over a year ago.  At first it was a piecemeal thing in response to bullying.  After about 10 minutes of purging the bully and mutual "friends" I realized that it would be an ongoing and never ending task.  Opting out entirely was quicker.  No need to unfriend or unfollow.....There's no requirement to actually look at the news feed, ever.  I have no idea what any of my loved ones thought of Ferguson, Ice Bucket Challenge or Supreme Court decisions.  I don't know which ones were the first to like or retweet something George Takei  posted.  And in the meantime, I racked up more hours on things that had lasting value to me.  Social media is a time suck and frequently unethical.    It's a free access cable channel in terms of content, and you would call yourself a complete loser if you sat home all day watching it.  Just because you can carry the screen around in your pocket doesn't make the watching of every latest update any less pathetic. 
I still have friends, still celebrate their milestones and see pictures & videos of their kids.  But I get to miss their daily conversations on Trump, flags & what they are having to eat.  It's even a depressing waste of time in a perfect echo chamber of like minded folks.

TL/dr
Don't rip pages out of your phonebook, but don't spend your life reading into the minds of everyone you know.  Stop logging in for a while. 

firelight

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Re: The Life-Changing Art of Tidying-Up
« Reply #144 on: July 05, 2015, 09:21:53 AM »
Kite, how do you see pictures and videos of friends and their kids without logging in? Do you use another app that only pulls Facebook feeds of people you are interested in?

riverffashion

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Re: The Life-Changing Art of Tidying-Up
« Reply #145 on: July 05, 2015, 11:37:43 AM »
I've progressed a little more and tackled my bathroom. Pleased with my effort and genuinely surprised by how much nail polish I had.

Now I'm wondering, has anyone applied the method to their social media? I've been paying a lot more attention to my interactions with things and people since reading the book and I've discovered that I 'hate read' my social media pages regularly. This isn't the kind of person I really want to be. Do I clean out my social media connections just as I've done my home?

First I unfriended about 200 ppl that I do not like . then I deactivated all social media because I really cannot stand it . I will call email or text anybody I want to communicate with.

kite

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Re: The Life-Changing Art of Tidying-Up
« Reply #146 on: July 06, 2015, 05:29:23 AM »
Kite, how do you see pictures and videos of friends and their kids without logging in? Do you use another app that only pulls Facebook feeds of people you are interested in?
Life.  The actual physical, human, in person interaction is the app I'm talking about.   FOMO has eyeballs glued to little screens to keep up with an endless stream of trivia.  Cut the cord.  Switch to the old flip phone in the back of your junk drawer for a few days.  The world won't end and you won't have missed the good stuff, only the mindless drivel. 

riverffashion

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Re: The Life-Changing Art of Tidying-Up
« Reply #147 on: July 06, 2015, 09:32:28 AM »
Kite, how do you see pictures and videos of friends and their kids without logging in? Do you use another app that only pulls Facebook feeds of people you are interested in?
Life.  The actual physical, human, in person interaction is the app I'm talking about.   FOMO has eyeballs glued to little screens to keep up with an endless stream of trivia.  Cut the cord.  Switch to the old flip phone in the back of your junk drawer for a few days.  The world won't end and you won't have missed the good stuff, only the mindless drivel.

I also receive photos through email and text. From actual friends and of course family. Majority I just browse and do not keep, a couple I save to drive/photo gallery.

kite

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Re: The Life-Changing Art of Tidying-Up
« Reply #148 on: July 06, 2015, 10:21:47 AM »
Kite, how do you see pictures and videos of friends and their kids without logging in? Do you use another app that only pulls Facebook feeds of people you are interested in?
Life.  The actual physical, human, in person interaction is the app I'm talking about.   FOMO has eyeballs glued to little screens to keep up with an endless stream of trivia.  Cut the cord.  Switch to the old flip phone in the back of your junk drawer for a few days.  The world won't end and you won't have missed the good stuff, only the mindless drivel.

I also receive photos through email and text. From actual friends and of course family. Majority I just browse and do not keep, a couple I save to drive/photo gallery.
Yah.  That too.

swick

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Re: The Life-Changing Art of Tidying-Up
« Reply #149 on: July 06, 2015, 10:47:26 AM »
Hubs is having a bit of a mental shift/crisis that is slowing us down quite a bit. As he is seeing everything we want to get rid of piling up he is horrified and wants to recycle/reuse as much as we can.

We have made multiple trips to the thrift store for anything people could use again, and recycling anything that can be - but a lot of his hobbies or ex-hobbies produce a lot of waste that can't easily be dealt with, and he is having a super hard time with it.

Things like used CD's and DVD's.  Plastic DVD cases can be recycled, CD cases can't. The disks themselves can "In theory" be recycled, but only if you take them to a Future Shop or Best buy, and then they just ship them overseas.

So then he looks into what they do with them - which is poor workers use super, super toxic poisons to separate the tiny little bit of metal from the data layer and then either discard or burn the plastic.

After much discussion and thought, he decided it was better to box them up and take them to our land fill where the will at least stay inert, then to try and "recycle" them make them someone's toxic problem oversees.

He's also got boxes and boxes of old computer cables and phone cables and old technology, which is hard to dispose of in a responsible way. So he is stopping to research the best way to deal with everything - it is definitely slowing us down but I think it is worthwhile and the mental shift and awareness that it is causing in each of us is pretty profound.

 Luckily most of this is stuff that has been bought over the span of years and years, and we don't really buy much anymore. It does highlight that we are on the right path and need to be more conscious of what we buy.

 

Wow, a phone plan for fifteen bucks!