While none of our rooms or closets look like those belonging to the featured families, we still have too much stuff. I feel like the downstairs is under control but our huge upstairs office is a mess and the furniture in it is daunting. How did we get a 60”x60” map cabinet up the stairs 25 years ago and who the heck can we con into getting it back down? And then there’s the 60” wide printer.
Oh, and the huge Costco elliptical machine…
Among the things that do not bring me joy are several very large pieces of junk in the basement. I’m not sure how mu now ex-husband got them down there and I certainly can’t remove them on my own. A few months ago, while attempting to simply push one thing (a row of seats from a minivan that we junked many years ago) a small distance on the basement floor, I slipped and fell on it and received a very painful bruise. It turned out I was lucky: I made contact with a piece of metal that probably could have taken out one of my eyes if I had landed differently. That incident didn’t bring me joy, either!
DH somehow got a huge old fashioned desk up to his 3rd floor office. When the time came to trash it, 4 of us couldn’t manage to get it out and downstairs. We had to cut it apart.
We’ve got a walk through pantry with 8 drawers. It’s the logical place to stash stamps and envelopes, tools we need to be convenient, appliance instructions, and more. So the flashlight is there. So where are the batteries?
I’m just saying this out of amusement. I found the batteries in one of the bathroom drawers. I’ll tell you what I’m thinking. I need a master list that tells me where things are. A neighborhod map for places in my house and what lives there. Because even if it seems logical in the moment, later it’s a mystery.
I’ve watched the series now and loved it. I am a pretty tidy person; dh has hoarders in his family, and I have worked to tamp down those tendencies. I would love for him to get rid of a bunch of his stuff and talked him into watching two episodes. We watched the first and the one with the widow, because I feel like her situation more closely resembles ours – grown kids who’ve left and more stuff than we need (as opposed to the empty nesters with so much stuff that it’s not even relatable).
Like someone said above, I told him that I don’t want to be a burden on the kids, leaving them piles of stuff to get rid of. And I told him I wanted him to watch so that he could understand what I’m trying to do (while secretly hoping it would motivate him; so far, no luck! lol)
WE moved an old dresser into my closet so that I can try the folding method. I love it thus far for the pants, but I’m not liking my scarves folded up in a drawer. I might leave those hanging. I have a friend who is really negative about the process – “People can’t keep this up,” for instance – but I told her I see it as something like others do a juice cleanse, something to jumpstart a change.
My god, suddenly this lady is everywhere. I had never heard of Marie Kondo before today. In only the last eight hours, my 13-year-old daughter started binge watching the tv show and immediately devoted several hours to reorganizing and cleaning her room. Ten minutes ago, my daughter Summoned me to show off her reorganized dresser with clothes now rolled into compact cylinders, hair bands bundled on rings, and so on, Then I check Washington Post headlines and find a feature and photo of MK is on the home page. A minute later, I come here and find a thread about MK at the top of latests posts. From the next room, my 13-year-old former slob exclaims, “I love cleaning!” Surreal.
NYTimes is offering a “Tidy Home Challenge” - may be for subscribers only. You can choose how you want your doses to come or be due - daily, weekly - whatever you set up. I haven’t looked at it yet, but am curious!
https://www.nytimes.com/programs/home-organization
I’m not fascinated by her. I knew her because a friend lent me her book some time ago. It was a super quick read. My expression of warning to my girls, growing up, was, “See who’s driving the Mercedes.” (I.e., who’s making the money off of us.) Maybe for her, it’s an Acura NSX.
All the publicity is the machine. A bunch of happy people talking about how this revitalized the family or got one through her husband’s death, is part of the hype.
^^^^Well, there seem to be a lot of happy people on this thread who just recently tried adopting some of her ways and are feeling positive about it. That seems pretty real to me.
It’s ok if her way doesn’t rock you. I don’t see anything wrong with a method that motivates or inspires people. Even if it’s only a partial dose of what she prescribes.
I think of her book like any other resource I might use for inspiration. From her, I am a little more apt to look for that spark of joy from items and I’m happily folding my t-shirts and jeans. From Fly Lady, I keep my sink sparkling and put on my gym shoes to start my day.
“ I think of her book like any other resource I might use for inspiration. From her, I am a little more apt to look for that spark of joy from items and I’m happily folding my t-shirts and jeans. From Fly Lady, I keep my sink sparkling and put on my gym shoes to start my day.”
Exactly. You can take from her what works for you. Her waking up books thing seems insane to me. But her folding methods truly do allow one to live a much more peaceful life because you can immediately see what’s in a drawer. You really feel more in control. That’s darn near brilliant. And while her “ sparks joy” seems a bit over the top I do find that asking myself “Am I going to be happy to have this in my house” has allowed me to pare down in a very good way.
I don’t deny it makes people happy to clear up. And it eases the transition for me to thank items before I let them go. But I’ve just gotten what I can from her.
I already fold shirts neatly but stack them in the drawers. That way, I can lift the pile, remove one, and no disorder. On her youtube about folding in thirds, her method obscures the logo. I just think we need to remember every home magazine has an occasional feature about the new, improved way to do something and people like Martha Stewart. I was reacting to the Tidy Home Challenge.
She’s kinda Jordan Peterson for middle-class women, imo. Not bad advice (hey, it’s nice to have a tidy home! There are better and worse ways to fold things!) but couching this practical, straightforward, unoriginal stuff in a broader “philosophy” is where they lose me for good.
“On her youtube about folding in thirds, her method obscures the logo.”
I’m still not sure why she did that. I fold the opposite way, with the logos all facing out, and my drawer of t-shirts is perfect for me- plain Ts vs logo Ts immediately visible and identifiable.
I also fold so that any design is apparent when I view my drawer rather than folding designs/logos inward. It’s more useful in being able to select the garment I wish to wear.
I understand that folding the garment so the neckline and logo is in the fold may make the garments look more uniform but for my purposes of being able to choose my garments at a glance without unfolding one garment and another my method serves my purposes better, like @psychmomma.
I think she makes good money with her but ok, method, tidying products, appearances, shows, professional engagements, etc. Still I think it is worthwhile to see if there are nuggets in her methods that are useful and or applicable and use them as desired.
Our family clearly has too much “stuff” and can certainly part with a substantial amount of it. Any method that helps without costing me & my family funds seems like a win for me and my family.
I see no reason people have to purchase “cute organizing things” or anything. Mostly, getting rid of clutter is deciding to do it and having a method. Her method is certainly one that has worked for some.
I will never stack shirts again. I did find it transforming for me. To have things in view and at your fingertips is wonderful. And easy. And space saving.
Try Pack&Track for your storage boxes. It uses QR labels to attach to storage bins (but I don’t see any reason not to adapt to drawers or cabinets or even closets ) and an app to list of on your phone the location and item. Fully changeable. So where did your dishes go that got stored? Ask your phone. They’re in box A on left side of garage. What’s in box B? You get a list without digging it out. Great system. At Walmart made by Duck.
Wonder if any moving company has a business just to provide muscle to get furniture out of the house and to the curb? Sounds like a lot of people need it!
1-800-got-junk will move your stuff out of your house and get rid of it. Their pricing is high, so I only use them when I have a good amount of big things that I can’t wrangle or don’t have a large enough vehicle to transport. Things that aren’t really donate worthy is what I call them for - very old ratty couch, broken, very old bike, cheap particle board beat up book cases… Things that nobody would ever want.
I get a lot of pleasure from seeing areas of my home neat and organized in a pretty way. For me, that DOES mean a container I like to store things in.
This is her business. Take what you like from her “store” of offerings!
For those of us who feel “weighted down” when we have too much stuff, it all makes sense. It’s not just about folding - it is about having only what you need and that you love and enjoy. I am frugal by nature, and have some items of clothing that I don’t like, but that still have “use” in them. In the past, I would keep them. Today, I plan to thank them and send them on to the rag bin.