Nov 12 Weekly Challenge: Fall Declutterfest!
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Thanks everyone! I did watch a trailer for the show. Looks like she might be working with a new client each week. We shall see!!4
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@MadisonMolly2017 This sounds great! I'm IN! I just ordered one of her books for my Kindle this morning. I was so excited to see it offered as a special for $2.99!!! I'll have to look for this on Netflix and tell my husband I have a date on New Year's Day with someone named Marie Kondo...
I'm finally starting to feel better after the concussion and I've decided to pull my husband into decluttering the basement with me this winter. It may only happen once if he balks and throwing anything out though!
@themedalist Just think....if I get the basement decluttered like I want to, I'll have gained a whole room and a whole additional level of the house! Whoop Whoop! I'll have to send you a bottle of champagne to thank you for getting me started on the whole decluttering idea! :flowerforyou:3 -
PackerFanInGB wrote: »@MadisonMolly2017 This sounds great! I'm IN! I just ordered one of her books for my Kindle this morning. I was so excited to see it offered as a special for $2.99!!! I'll have to look for this on Netflix and tell my husband I have a date on New Year's Day with someone named Marie Kondo...
I'm finally starting to feel better after the concussion and I've decided to pull my husband into decluttering the basement with me this winter. It may only happen once if he balks and throwing anything out though!
@themedalist Just think....if I get the basement decluttered like I want to, I'll have gained a whole room and a whole additional level of the house! Whoop Whoop! I'll have to send you a bottle of champagne to thank you for getting me started on the whole decluttering idea! :flowerforyou:
@PackerFanInGB I’m so glad you are feeling better!! Yay Marie Kondo. She sure has changed me & my life!!!
I got my husband to do it by saying just 15 mins each Sat & Sun. Worked well
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I watched 4-5 of the Tidying Up Marie Kindo show. It’s very touching. She’s a delight!3
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I just started watching Mari Kondo yesterday. Now I want to do my clothes. I love the idea of being grateful for the protection our home gives. Often we tend to concentrate on the negatives: leaky faucets, messy rooms, peeling paint. I actually love my home, but I do forget to be thankful that it protects me from the elements. So I’ve already profited greatly from watching the show.2
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I just started watching Mari Kondo yesterday. Now I want to do my clothes. I love the idea of being grateful for the protection our home gives. Often we tend to concentrate on the negatives: leaky faucets, messy rooms, peeling paint. I actually love my home, but I do forget to be thankful that it protects me from the elements. So I’ve already profited greatly from watching the show.
@77tes
I agree! I’m much more grateful for our home, too! I love that she does a personal blessing (and you can see the homeowners realizing how special their homes are as she does so!)
I have already learned several things that weren’t in her books (or I missed them) such as beginning with something easy in a category, hopefully something that you instantly love & want to carry forward into your future. That makes it easier to know whether the next item sparks joy or not!
I look forward to sharing more thoughts and insights with you!3 -
I've also been enjoying the Tidying Up series on Netflix. I actually get emotional when Marie is thanking the house at the beginning. I get excited thinking about folding all of my shirts and setting them up vertically! However, at the moment, I'm just trying to put out today's fires and "I will think about that tomorrow" as per Scarlet O'Hara.3
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I have some physical clutter but have been working on reducing that for a number of years. I don't think I'd have a mountain of clothes on my bed if I got it all out at one time. My books would probably fill a small bookcase with a little overflow. My komono objects (basement, sewing room, garage, misc.) is another story that I don't want to think about but can live with.
BUT my virtual clutter is something that bothers me. My goal was to keep emails under 500, but generally it's closer to 600. In recent weeks when I didn't deal with emails every day the number reached nearly 850, so today I'm working on reducing that number again to at least 600. I need to unsubscribe to some. Then there are the email folders...James Clear, Christina, bird topics, family, etc, where I move emails out of my inbox that I want to keep. They end up in the folders and sit there and are forgotten. So those need to be sorted, printed, deleted, whatever? before I consider it completely done. One thing I don't usually do is make a deadline. I start a project with good intentions of finishing it but something else takes priority and it gets put aside until the next time. So I am going to set a deadline and make printing and deleting emails a priority for January. Then there's PInterest pins that I love! but UGH! Too many and I don't do much of anything with them. Might be my next focus...just not this week!
My grandkids have been spending a lot of time here so we have been sorting and organizing things. One day we organized two shelves of craft supplies and toys. Monday we played games and decided if they "sparked joy" or not. My 10 year old was reminding me to say "thank you" to the item whenever we put something in the donate bag. It was such a fun experience and I hope they learned something from it about valuing what they have and releasing what they no longer need. I know I did.
Have fun doing whatever it is you need and/or want to do today I'm off to focus on emails for an hour.
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One hour of emails turned into two or maybe three but I made huge strides! I am back down to below 600 emails, and many of those I will print out at some time (soon?). I also went through my folders and reduced the number of emails in them by a good 20%. I will keep most of the James Clear, Leah Day, and Christina messages because so many of then "sparked Joy" when I read them which is probably why I kept them in the first place. I didn't have time to go through all of them but I enjoyed what I did read.3
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MadisonMolly2017 wrote: »
I have already learned several things that weren’t in her books (or I missed them) such as beginning with something easy in a category, hopefully something that you instantly love & want to carry forward into your future. That makes it easier to know whether the next item sparks joy or not!
@MadisonMolly2017, even though I also read all of her books before I also particularly noticed the suggestion to begin with something easy, such as something that the person already knew they loved to help them be able to feel the distinction between that reaction and a lesser/ neutral feeling towards other things in the category to help them decide.
And it also seemed like new information to me that the decision could also be based on whether or not the person wanted to carry the particular object in the category forward into their future for either their new phase in life or their new vision for their home. I thought that was exceptionally eye opening because not everything we actually do need or want to keep for a purpose in a category is "loved" as such, or it actually was "loved" before but now circumstances are different in some way so it no longer makes sense to keep going forward.
Whether I want something to remain in my life "going forward" will be a stronger decision maker for me, even more than if I love something / it sparks joy for me when I'm trying to make those sometime difficult choices.
Not realizing it I have done that very thing during the last declutter event, even if I wasn't thinking about it in so many words. Things have changed for me over time, and that made it easier to pass certain things on rather than keep even though the items were special (sparked joy) to me. They are now also special to the person I offered them to.
@PackerFanInGB, I was happy to read that you are feeling better after your concussion
. And that you found a special on a Marie Kondo book for your Kindle.
:flowerforyou:
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texasgardnr wrote: »MadisonMolly2017 wrote: »
I have already learned several things that weren’t in her books (or I missed them) such as beginning with something easy in a category, hopefully something that you instantly love & want to carry forward into your future. That makes it easier to know whether the next item sparks joy or not!
@MadisonMolly2017, even though I also read all of her books before I also particularly noticed the suggestion to begin with something easy, such as something that the person already knew they loved to help them be able to feel the distinction between that reaction and a lesser/ neutral feeling towards other things in the category to help them decide.
Truly a great strategy, which I have already put into use!!
And it also seemed like new information to me that the decision could also be based on whether or not the person wanted to carry the particular object in the category forward into their future for either their new phase in life or their new vision for their home.
YES! That was new to me, too!
I thought that was exceptionally eye opening because not everything we actually do need or want to keep for a purpose in a category is "loved" as such, or it actually was "loved" before but now circumstances are different in some way so it no longer makes sense to keep going forward.
Whether I want something to remain in my life "going forward" will be a stronger decision maker for me, even more than if I love something / it sparks joy for me when I'm trying to make those sometime difficult choices.
Not realizing it I have done that very thing during the last declutter event, even if I wasn't thinking about it in so many words. Things have changed for me over time, and that made it easier to pass certain things on rather than keep even though the items were special (sparked joy) to me. They are now also special to the person I offered them to.
I agree. How very wonderful!
The method I’ve that was probably most like this was, “If I was moving to a much smaller home, what would I definitely take with me. It helps me focus in on what I truly love.”
I’m very glad we share this journey, @texasgardnr Thank you!
PS I hadn’t thought of placing shoes toes out, so I’ve done that now. Much nicer (and easier to identify the one I want to wear.)
PPS MK’s little segment on pet supplies made me realize we have them spread around. I am looking for a good place for them!
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I love reading your decluttering updates!4
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I’ve finished watching the Netflix series, and really enjoyed it. I don’t have time to put all my clothes in a pile, but I went through a drawer at a time, and I’ve solved the problem of my deep drawers.
Pants/jeans ✔️
T-shirts ✔️
Socks&stockings ✔️
Undies&bras ✔️
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I’ve finished watching the Netflix series, and really enjoyed it. I don’t have time to put all my clothes in a pile, but I went through a drawer at a time, and I’ve solved the problem of my deep drawers.
Pants/jeans ✔️
T-shirts ✔️
Socks&stockings ✔️
Undies&bras ✔️
😇
Great minds think alike! I have been going through a drawer now and then and am very pleased with the looks of my ...
Good T-shirts✔️
undies and bras✔️
socks✔️
scarves✔️
pj's✔️
I have pants and everyday clothes drawers left. Then there are a few sentimental ones that need a major organization overhaul. It's been fun!
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@MadisonMolly2017 I only have a few sentimental clothing pieces, the ones that I wore to my kids' weddings that I could part with. Already have pictures of those. I do have lots of objects that were passed down from my parents after their deaths and will keep them all. However, right now they're scattered from one end of the house to the other (well, not quite that extreme, but you know). Definitely not in one organized space. I'm thinking of taking a picture of my T-shirt drawer because I'm so happy with it and it truly gives me joy when I open it to see everything in order. I know what I have now and I will be able to see which ones I rarely use for removal later.
I'm still working on reading and decluttering my physical books and finished I think it's book #3 this week. Whew! That one took about 6 weeks to read what with Thanksgiving and Christmas in there. It was also one that wasn't a quick read but it took some reflection on nearly every page even though I've read it before. Eckhart Tolle is not always easy for me to understand, but I can relate to his message. I feel it connects to the meditation practices I've been doing. I have started reading the rebuttal to Tolle's book and it gives the Christian perspective. Interesting and going much faster. I will remove both of them when I am finished. I only read 5-10 pages a day of my physical books because I always have an ebook or two started, along with an audiobook to listen to when I drive or sew, and my book club book going at the same time. I could read 24/7 if it was possible!3 -
Well, decluttering pretty much escaped me until recently. I have been talking about it to my husband but didn't expect to get anywhere. Never did in the past, so why would he listen now? right? Well...it seems that he WAS listening this time. He started two weeks ago going through boxes in our basement that have been sitting there stacked up and untouched since we moved into this house 4 years ago. I didn't realize he was doing it because he worked on it during the day while I was at work. Then last weekend, he took the paper shredder downstairs with him, and lo and behold, he was going through box after box after box of paperwork he has had since probably the 1980's. I almost fainted!
Fast forward to yesterday and all those boxes of paperwork are gone. He and I went through boxes of kitchenware and household items yesterday and now have a nice big 'donate' box started. We have 3 shelves against part of the basement wall with a single row of boxes on each, not two deep or stacked....single row....that I still need to go through one at a time. (Mostly photos and memorabilia from kids and grands...) We have about 9 totes of clothes belonging to my granddaught and I full of stuff we either don't wear, doesn't fit or are spring/summer clothes packed away. I'm guessing I can get my totes down to 1 and will end up donating most, if not all, of the shoes in the shoe tote.
It's SO exciting to see how much more space we have down there!
And once again, because of this group and this challenge, my hubby and I have gained more living space!!! The last time I did a deep decluttering, we gained a whole room upstairs and decided we didn't need to buy a larger house. This time, we have gained so much more empty living space downstairs that my husband is finally going to have a plumber come give an estimate for adding a second bathroom down there. I've been wanting that since we moved here! I'm almost giddy! Once again, we may not need to move to a larger house. We just need to use our space smarter!
I just wanted to check in and give an update. I'm going downstairs now to rearrange my sewing area, turn on Netflix and begin watching Marie Kondo series. If we can gain all this space without having watched her show or read her books, just think what will happen after we do! So exciting!4 -
@PackerFanInGB I can hear and feel your excitement in your post and it makes me smile😀. Based on the Marie Kondo episodes, it seems couples' relationships are improved by the decluttering process as well as gaining more space. Oh, and a bathroom on another level would be heavenly. Wish I had one upstairs. Have fun walking around and admiring your work👍4
