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Post by joyinvirginia on Aug 2, 2015 15:58:00 GMT -5
Updating to add info about Marie's new book coming out January 2016, see below. I recently read the Marie Kondo book "the life changing magic of tidying up" and have been seeing quite a few articles about the method and it's application to areas other than a house. Here are some links, feel free to add any you find and like. "People are so obsessed with this household decluttering method, they are using it to transform their offices too" www.businessinsider.com/pictures-of-kondoed-offices-inspired-by-marie-kondo-2015-7"The economics of tidying up". "Months after publication, interest in Japanese home organization guru Marie Kondos book about decluttering has reached peak interest. Behavioral science may explain the appeal." www.theatlantic.com/business/archive/2015/05/an-economist-reads-marie-kondo/392921/ I really like this article, it talks about economics in a way an ordinary person can understand! From the article: "Harford, the Financial Times columnist, found that the KonMari Method addressed other economic concepts, such as the status-quo bias and diminishing returns. He writes: “Status quo bias means that most of your stuff stays because you can’t think of a good reason to get rid of it. Kondo turns things around. For her, the status quo is that every item you own will be thrown away unless you can think of a compelling reason why it should stay.” " Edited to add: Here is link to article by Juju Sprinkles, thanks for finding this Angela! www.thechangeblog.com/konmari-method/Edited to add "the life changing magic of tidying up your finances" by Liz Weston. Here is url: www.dailyworth.com/posts/3546-how-to-apply-the-konmari-method-to-money/1Short article about applying the steps to getting your finances in order. Edited to add: here is article about the method from the Irish Independent: m.independent.ie/life/home-garden/interiors/the-art-of-being-tidy-31551880.htmlEdited to add: article about the new Marie Kondo book: www.slate.com/blogs/the_eye/2015/12/31/marie_kondo_the_author_of_the_life_changing_magic_of_tidying_up_has_a_new.html |
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Post by 7sweetbabiesgranny on Aug 2, 2015 18:27:59 GMT -5
Am decluttering this week.
Will certainly keep this in mind!
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Blackswan
Banned
Joined: October 2008
Posts: 6,388
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Post by Blackswan on Aug 2, 2015 20:40:33 GMT -5
I have her book on audio book. It makes sense. I'm terrified to do it though because one step involves gathering all items of any category in a pile. Imagine if any of got every single piece of our clothing in a pile on the floor? Oh gosh how long would it stay there? How many cats would pee on it!?!? Oh the nightmare! I am living by spoon theory right now and I don't have enough spoons for that!  But for those with unlimited spoons... I'm sure it would work just fine! |
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Post by emeraldine on Aug 2, 2015 22:18:05 GMT -5
Joy, thanks for posting these links. The Atlantic piece is an excellent summary of the KonMari method in practice.
But blimey, the mental image of all my clothes in vast, unconquerable mountains all over the house makes my eyes water. As for my costume jewellery ... Well, suffice to say I know which itemsI want to sell on eBay, if I ever get around to learning how to do it.
Marie Kondo is lovely, and I dig her zeal. But it seems to me her advice is aimed at single people who have disposable income to spend on things that fast become clutter. I honestly don't think her method is appropriate for those of us heading households with children, and who don't have uninterrupted time to sort through huge amounts of stuff. Baby steps are all we can do.
O, STUFF! As a 1970s child I remember when so many things, including clothes and shoes, were so expensive that one had to save up to buy an item chosen after months of due consideration and comparison shopping, and that item was cherished until it reached the end of its useful life. In 1976 I carefully saved the money I'd won in newspaper competitions and invested in a set of Derwent pencils, for $3.75. Nearly 40 years later, pencils come much cheaper than that, and as a result my DD has hundreds of them and takes them for granted. It makes me miss those days of careful investment and minimal clutter.
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mynee
New Member
Joined: September 2013
Posts: 43 
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Post by mynee on Aug 2, 2015 22:52:37 GMT -5
I see others had the same reaction I did - there isn't a room in the house big enough to gather all my clothes in one place. Not that I'm a clothes horse, but I have wardrobes covering about 5 different sizes of me. I think my books would be the next big "is the room big enough" question. Actually, I find that to be one of the big challenges of decluttering - having enough room to unpack a closet or a set of boxes to sort out what is in them.
Otherwise, I like her question of "does it bring you joy?" There is a lot that could go out of here on the results of that question.
Emeraldine, I know what you are talking about - when I was a kid, you had to take good care of your stuff, because there wasn't going to be a replacement if you lost your crayons or left your jacket on the school bus. You were going to be crayonless and cold! There were lots of things that I only owned one of, and they had to last the whole year - one pair of shoes, one coat, one set of mittens, one hat, etc. I sure had a lot less stuff then!
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Post by joyinvirginia on Aug 2, 2015 23:25:03 GMT -5
My younger daughter and I did apply the Konmari method to her clothes. She gathered up everything and it took us a couple of days. She ended up with a big box of shoes and about six garbage bags full of clothing to donate. Her dad and I were inspired but we only went thru some things. My husband filed a bag with, no joke, about fifty tee shirts. The man still has way too many tee shirts, he did part with a lot.
I did my bathroom linen closet the Konmari way. Ratty towels and old sheets do not spark joy and out they went!
I am going to use this method room by room, or closet by closet, or cabinet by cabinet. I don't have a big block of time to do all of whatever category in the house at once. I don't want to be running up and down stairs doing it either.
In Japan, I think the living spaces tend to be smaller, to do a complete Konmari would take less time.
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Post by Arid on Aug 3, 2015 2:21:24 GMT -5
There are some *EXCELLENT* comments following "The Atlantic" article. Some of you might want to take the time to read them.
Arid
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Post by angela on Aug 5, 2015 0:33:23 GMT -5
Thanks for that reminder Arid. Those were some awesome comments. This one kind of caught my attention: "MJ Maumau • 3 months ago The whole donation thing is B.S. in a lot of cases. Wanting to donate or free cycle your stuff, unless it is in like-new condition or actually a collectible item, is another sign that you suffer from inappropriate, emotional attachment to your things." The comments that followed were arguments FOR donating however I really gave a moment's thought to how I am working so hard to find the perfect recipient. Is is an inappropriate, emotional attachment to my things? It may very well be, along with other values mixed up and around in a swirl of control and resistance.  At the very end, there was another link to an article with adorable illustrations: www.jujusprinkles.com/2015-05-18-10-illustrations-that-perfectly-sum-up-the-konmari-method/On another note, I haven't read the book, but I am sort of doing the decluttering order that is recommended. I feel very fortunate that so far, in the clothes category and the book category, I truly have been able to get all the items together at once and go through the items in a linear manner. |
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Post by Arid on Aug 5, 2015 2:41:07 GMT -5
HUH!!
I followed that link that you posted, angela.
I was **astounded** to read/see in Part 2 that the recommendation is to store like things together, rather than storing them where they are used most frequently! This is the exact OPPOSITE of much of the advice that we receive . . .
Now, it happens, that I do as she advises in some instances. For example, I **do** store all of my cookbooks together in what I have dubbed "my cookbook room." (Actually, there is a LOT of "overflow" in other areas of the house, too, but I digress . . . ) I DO NOT store them in the kitchen--where one would expect them to be used. I write my favorite recipes on recipe cards which I file in multiple recipe boxes. I pull out recipe cards as needed. Only on seldom occasions do I cook directly from a cookbook . . .
Arid
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Post by angela on Aug 5, 2015 16:07:51 GMT -5
Arid, it is interesting that point stood out to you. I have worked very hard towards storing like things together AND in the general area of the most use. So having activity stations. About all I have that is in multiples in different locations is cleaning supplies.
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Post by peaceandfreedom on Sept 1, 2015 9:12:14 GMT -5
Thank you for this thread! I am reading the book now, and it certainly intrigues me, so I was looking to see if there was a thread on KonMari here.
I am thinking of my semi-annual practice of getting out my winter clothes (usually in Oct.) and washing everything before putting away my summer clothes until next spring. It occurs to me that is an ideal time for me to try her method on the summer clothing.
She writes against our more usual method of doing a little at a time. But some of her ideas do make perfect sense when I think about them. Has anyone here tried it in more depth yet?
Already I'm eyeing things in a different light, looking around to see where I see joy!
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Post by ponygirl on Sept 1, 2015 15:21:08 GMT -5
peaceandfreedom I'm working KM now...but, I can't do it all at once. I'm still on the clothing category. It's working for me. Makes perfect sense. Definitely changes one's 'eye' with the joy spark! It's life-changing.
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Post by peaceandfreedom on Sept 1, 2015 22:04:51 GMT -5
Good for you, pony girl! Please keep us updated as to how it is going. I would be doing my clothing in a few weeks when it's time to get out winter clothes. Meanwhile, I'll keep reading the book and learning. The more I read, the more I think I want to try it!
(By the way, I love your quote about not knowing whether you found a rope or lost your horse! It gives me a chuckle every time I see it.)
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Post by joyinvirginia on Sept 1, 2015 22:10:20 GMT -5
I'm still plugging along on mini Konmari projects. Last weekend completely emptied one drawer with panties and bras, only put back what sparked joy and threw out the rest! Functional, well fitting underwear sparks joy for me, including winter underwear. And it all fits in one drawer!
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Post by gifted on Sept 3, 2015 2:16:03 GMT -5
I read the book. Throwing my clothes in a big pile after I have worked to get them off the floor? Nope, that won't work for me.
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