the life-changing magic of tidying up

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just got this for kindle. i have housekeeping problems. i don't want to be ashamed at the state of my home anymore. document your life-changing magic here.

computer champion (harbl), Sunday, 22 February 2015 18:13 (nine years ago) link

I am much more inclined to straighten up, organize and declutter than I am to sweep, vacuum, dust or mop. So much more satisfying!

Aimless, Sunday, 22 February 2015 18:22 (nine years ago) link

i'm confused. what did you get for the kindle?

Drop soap, not bombs (Ste), Sunday, 22 February 2015 18:31 (nine years ago) link

thread's title is also a book's title

Aimless, Sunday, 22 February 2015 18:46 (nine years ago) link

sorry for confuse

computer champion (harbl), Sunday, 22 February 2015 19:04 (nine years ago) link

I made it through the first stage in this book: the bedroom. My wife and I cleaned out our closet, drawers, extra storage, etc. It took an entire day, and we don't own a lot of clothing. But I now have only what my little three-drawer dresser can contain, as well as half a closet shelf of sweaters and six dress shirts. I donated seven bags of clothing to epilepsy foundation.

the captain beefheart of personal hygiene (soda), Sunday, 22 February 2015 19:16 (nine years ago) link

Most essential and fakey-zen thought for me: sometimes the purpose of a piece of clothing is to teach you that you no longer want/need/will wear it.

the captain beefheart of personal hygiene (soda), Sunday, 22 February 2015 19:17 (nine years ago) link

it's good. i like her style. i made 3 bags of trash but i need to do some other things today so i'm not totally following the instructions.

computer champion (harbl), Sunday, 22 February 2015 19:55 (nine years ago) link

Mr. Jaq and I did the whole "put all the clothing in a pile in the front room" thing and got rid of so much stuff that did not bring the joy. It's been spilling into other areas of our existence - like we cleared everything off the dining room table finally and have kept things that would normally be piled there put away. It's more relaxing to be home now.

Jaq, Sunday, 22 February 2015 20:08 (nine years ago) link

I am having trouble w/ the books purging. I suffered a traumatic book loss once, and I've got book-hoarding down to an art. Plus, I mean, I'm an English teacher. Last summer (pre-Kondo), I got rid of ~40% of my books, and now I'm down to six Billy-sized cases. Given that it's basically the only thing I collect/love as a physical object, I'm hoping that MK will look the other way re: my library.

Kitchen is next. I kondo'd my home office last week, and it was super easy. Who needs a bajillion paperclips? Not me. Who has them? Apparently everybody. I now have one shoe box full of office supplies, and I'm feeling p. radical about it.

the captain beefheart of personal hygiene (soda), Sunday, 22 February 2015 20:51 (nine years ago) link

I don't think the books or records will ever not bring the joy. Bathroom and linen closet is the next area for me to take on.

Jaq, Sunday, 22 February 2015 21:05 (nine years ago) link

i did this too, it was great

the late great, Sunday, 22 February 2015 21:07 (nine years ago) link

i have to take one more pass at the books i will never read though

the late great, Sunday, 22 February 2015 21:08 (nine years ago) link

a friend of mine is super into this and claims its really amazing. idk i love stuff, owning stuff, looking at stuff i own. also my apt is clean already

no (Lamp), Sunday, 22 February 2015 21:14 (nine years ago) link

moving every couple of years helps with this, since it's a pain to pack and unpack. so we just give a lot of stuff away each time. should just stop buying stuff I guess

droit au butt (Euler), Sunday, 22 February 2015 21:15 (nine years ago) link

if you are satisfied with your house situation i don't think this book is for you, lampy

computer champion (harbl), Sunday, 22 February 2015 21:18 (nine years ago) link

i like theories about organization though

what do you like about it harbl?

no (Lamp), Sunday, 22 February 2015 21:19 (nine years ago) link

i like how she is kind of extreme and doesn't bother to talk about why i procrastinate or you need to Always Be Cleaning crap that i have always had trouble with. just throw your life in the garbage.

computer champion (harbl), Sunday, 22 February 2015 21:35 (nine years ago) link

What was th emost expensive thing you threw out

Wha t was the heaviest

, Sunday, 22 February 2015 21:40 (nine years ago) link

it's not really a theory of organization, it's more just extreme anti-clutter. it's easy to be organized if you have like, no stuff.

the late great, Sunday, 22 February 2015 21:44 (nine years ago) link

i didn't throw out anything expensive or heavy yet. i don't own anything expensive!

computer champion (harbl), Sunday, 22 February 2015 21:51 (nine years ago) link

I am much more inclined to straighten up, organize and declutter than I am to sweep, vacuum, dust or mop. So much more satisfying!

― Aimless, Sunday, February 22, 2015 1:22 PM (3 hours ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

same, great tidier, virtuoso throw of things into the garbage, terrible cleaner

lag∞n, Sunday, 22 February 2015 21:51 (nine years ago) link

i wish i could throw out my car

computer champion (harbl), Sunday, 22 February 2015 21:52 (nine years ago) link

The secret to having a tidy dwelling is to keep all your shit at your parents :~}

, Sunday, 22 February 2015 21:52 (nine years ago) link

i bought this house like a year and a half ago and still my second bedroom is the don't-want-to-unpack zone. slowly i have just been throwing everything in there away. it makes me feel so free. i only have 2 cardboard boxes left but also some plastic totes. i'm going to dump their contents. i haven't used any of the stuff in them.

computer champion (harbl), Sunday, 22 February 2015 21:55 (nine years ago) link

i live to donate garbage bags of my crap

difficult-difficult lemon-difficult (VegemiteGrrl), Sunday, 22 February 2015 21:55 (nine years ago) link

i recently threw 2 xl garbage bags of clothes in to a donation bin

lag∞n, Sunday, 22 February 2015 21:56 (nine years ago) link

right now i have a garbage bag full of dumb towels that were cluttering up my closet

and a bag full of books I will never read

:D

difficult-difficult lemon-difficult (VegemiteGrrl), Sunday, 22 February 2015 22:24 (nine years ago) link

The best thing for me is her clothes folding and "vertical" drawer stacking - that continues to be awesome everywhere I apply it.

Jaq, Sunday, 22 February 2015 23:21 (nine years ago) link

We still have 2 pallets of banker boxes, stacked 4 high, in the basement from our move to this house 5 years ago. Maybe by summer I'll be up to tackling them.

Jaq, Sunday, 22 February 2015 23:23 (nine years ago) link

throw them in the river m8

lag∞n, Sunday, 22 February 2015 23:25 (nine years ago) link

Have to touch each thing, see if there's joy, then into the river

Jaq, Sunday, 22 February 2015 23:27 (nine years ago) link

let the river touch joy --the life-changing magic of tidying up pt 2

lag∞n, Sunday, 22 February 2015 23:32 (nine years ago) link

i bought this as a pass agg birthday gift for my boyfriend in a fit of pique but after it came it just sat on the porch for a week because i was gone and so the post office sent it back. amazon gave me a refund and i didn't even have to do anything. very clutter-free.

hammer smashed nagls (mattresslessness), Monday, 23 February 2015 02:30 (nine years ago) link

Burn After Cleaning

, Monday, 23 February 2015 02:33 (nine years ago) link

i bought this book today

Treeship, Monday, 23 February 2015 02:46 (nine years ago) link

one year passes...

It is my intention to have far less things. Compared to most people I know, I am light on useless crap. Sometimes I buy small ceramic things and I have some feminist art I found at a bus stop and carried home once. I am willing to part with all the things that do not give me joy. I have many things that give me anxiety, like a vase with a weird crackly surface. When I see this vase I worry that it will get dirty and that I will have to clean it and that in cleaning it the surface will crack more and more. I should probably get rid of it. I think I could start a very well curated Etsy store for tasteful 1970s pottery.

My problem is more about clothes. I need much more clothes than the ones that give me joy for practical reasons. I work with special needs kids, I cycle everywhere, rain and shine. I have a whole pile of clothes that exist to get destroyed by the elements, I need a t-shirt to wear everyday in hot weather. Sometimes two. I don't want to ruin my "special spark of joy" trousers by wearing them when I cycle across town and then get vomited on by a four year old. I need a pair of jeans to wear when I paint the hallway or a t-shirt i don't mind getting splattered when I cook. the problem with so many decluttering minimalist manifestos that i see is that it doesn't keep in mind the fact that I sometimes don't have time to do a wash and I often have to do things that are dirty or messy. I always have to bear in mind that my parents are basically hoarders and I have to stop myself from keeping things that "might come in handy" all the time.

plax (ico), Wednesday, 6 July 2016 16:43 (seven years ago) link

is everything supposed to have a "special spark of joy"? what is "joy" anyway? I have a box of lightbulbs, a flashlight, an off-brand leatherman, laundry detergent, and a tin where I keep quarters for laundry, in the weird built in shelf thing by my door. I feel satisfied that I have these things, and that they are in that place because it is strategic and convenient. Is that the same thing as "joy" ... idk

sarahell, Wednesday, 6 July 2016 18:04 (seven years ago) link

I have too much stuff and have clutter issues but I'm going to stick with "emotional resonance" or "physical need" when cleaning. My joy is internal, thanks

mh, Wednesday, 6 July 2016 19:52 (seven years ago) link

except for that mop I bought, the joy mop

mh, Wednesday, 6 July 2016 19:52 (seven years ago) link

my mop is pretty damn dope.

i haven't read the book (my mom has it), but does the author address the issue of items related to one's menstrual cycle?

sarahell, Wednesday, 6 July 2016 20:20 (seven years ago) link

i also realized that the majority of space in my apartment is taken up by things that are part of an "archive" or "library" ... where the thing is a part of a larger collection of things, so it isn't just about my relationship with each individual thing.

but for the most part (like 99%), everything I own is either art/knowledge-related or it is functional. I don't have a bunch of trinket-y things. I have very few things that are mementos or are kept for purely sentimental reasons.

sarahell, Wednesday, 6 July 2016 20:27 (seven years ago) link

i'm moving house tomorrow and christ alive do my partner and i own far too many books. she'd never let me get rid of them though

TARANTINO! (dog latin), Wednesday, 6 July 2016 21:21 (seven years ago) link

my wife read this book (or some of it at least) and said it's mostly about folding things and rolling clothes up into tubes and dumb shit like that

Οὖτις, Wednesday, 6 July 2016 21:41 (seven years ago) link

The clothes-into-tubes thing is cool - that way you can see all of your shirts in the drawer rather than just what's at the top of the stack...

schwantz, Wednesday, 6 July 2016 22:26 (seven years ago) link

Xp lol no it's not

It's a great book if you can see past some of "whimsical" wording - which is prob the result of translation - and the "spark of joy" in relation to practical items is explained pretty well; the point isn't getting rid of stuff, it's about deciding what's worth keeping and appreciating your shit and what your shit does for you. So the "joy" of tampons is supposed to be like "I appreciate these tampons bc they stop me leaking blood everywhere". So yeah it's corny af, but makes a lot of sense.

NB I read it a while ago and still haven't actually konmari'd any part of my house.

just1n3, Wednesday, 6 July 2016 22:34 (seven years ago) link

Xp lol no it's not

It's a great book if you can see past some of "whimsical" wording - which is prob the result of translation - and the "spark of joy" in relation to practical items is explained pretty well; the point isn't getting rid of stuff, it's about deciding what's worth keeping and appreciating your shit and what your shit does for you. So the "joy" of tampons is supposed to be like "I appreciate these tampons bc they stop me leaking blood everywhere". So yeah it's corny af, but makes a lot of sense.

NB I read it a while ago and still haven't actually konmari'd any part of my house.

just1n3, Wednesday, 6 July 2016 22:34 (seven years ago) link

Xp lol no it's not

It's a great book if you can see past some of "whimsical" wording - which is prob the result of translation - and the "spark of joy" in relation to practical items is explained pretty well; the point isn't getting rid of stuff, it's about deciding what's worth keeping and appreciating your shit and what your shit does for you. So the "joy" of tampons is supposed to be like "I appreciate these tampons bc they stop me leaking blood everywhere". So yeah it's corny af, but makes a lot of sense.

NB I read it a while ago and still haven't actually konmari'd any part of my house.

just1n3, Wednesday, 6 July 2016 22:34 (seven years ago) link

Fuck u, zing!!!

just1n3, Wednesday, 6 July 2016 22:34 (seven years ago) link

i think she has a section in the book about getting rid of duplicate items

nomar, Wednesday, 6 July 2016 22:36 (seven years ago) link

I misplaced this book under a stack of magazines and some socks

mh, Wednesday, 6 July 2016 23:49 (seven years ago) link

my wife read this book (or some of it at least) and said it's mostly about folding things and rolling clothes up into tubes and dumb shit like that

― Οὖτις, Wednesday, July 6, 2016 5:41 PM (2 hours ago)

seems like she read (some of it at least)

assawoman bay (harbl), Wednesday, 6 July 2016 23:58 (seven years ago) link

i read this, and did it. i took a few months to really do it, and if you add up all the steps to the very end it took me about a year. i got rid of and replaced some furniture, which takes a while. and i just looked thru a box of personal childhood stuff only recently.

if you skip all of the stories of her clients going thru it and distill the steps of the process you could fit the real meat of the book on a notecard.

i'm really glad i did it. biggest impacts are probably on the wardrobe and the kitchen -- i didn't think i had much stuff, but of course i had a piles of clothes i didn't like and grubby old tools & utensils i didn't use.

i wasn't quite as ruthless as she insists when it came to my books, but i did offload about half of them (adios college) and got rid of no cds. honestly the step dealing with miscellaneous paperwork was probably the most painful.

the book is a funny read for its mix of whimsical touchyfeelyness -- "everything should bring you joy" -- and utter severity -- "keepsakes of the past are useless trash, if your family doesn't like you doing this, lie to them"

i wonder if 2nd-hand shops are seeing a weird glut, the book is enough of a phenomenon that it's inspiring some backlashy thinkpieces; "stop cluttershaming me!" etc

goole, Thursday, 7 July 2016 18:47 (seven years ago) link

like, i just wanted to take stock of what i really owned in life and have an apartment that i enjoyed being in, not reach some shintoist level of immanence or w/e

goole, Thursday, 7 July 2016 18:50 (seven years ago) link

of all the people I can think of, I would trust goole to be able to accomplish this

I think my coworker, who is kind of all over the place unless she's concentrating on a specific task, probably shocked her family by getting rid of everything in their house over a long weekend

mh, Thursday, 7 July 2016 18:51 (seven years ago) link

distill the steps of the process you could fit the real meat of the book on a notecard.

please distill for us

sarahell, Thursday, 7 July 2016 18:59 (seven years ago) link

throw out everything

assawoman bay (harbl), Thursday, 7 July 2016 20:11 (seven years ago) link

i think that the backlash pieces are really dumb. she doesn't cluttershame - she's just really focussed on how you're probably hanging on to shit that is causing anxiety. if you actually like all your clutter and it makes you happy, she's not against that. but she gives you permission to throw out shit you're only holding onto out of guilt. and the idea is to get rid of all the bad shit so your life in your home is more enjoyable.

eg the paperwork thing - she talks about how we keep way too much unnecessary paper and with her system, once you've gotten rid of the excess, it promotes keeping that paper to a minimum, i.e. you keep all your important papers together, but they're so minimal that it's easy to find what you need when you need it but also each time you go to find something, you're forced to look through what you have and discard expired stuff (like warrantees etc)

eg gifts - she talks about how you don't have to hang onto gifts just bc they're gifts, you should look at the gift, appreciate the intent of the giver, and then if it's something that doesn't 'spark joy', you discard it.

even tho i haven't actually done this yet (i haven't had, and still don't have, the mental energy to do this yet), i've packed up my life and thrown away or given away 95% of my shit 3 x in my life, and never regretted anything i've gotten rid of.

i also really appreciate that she doesn't really care about types of storage or organization - sure, she recommends ways to store things better (the clothes rolling for example) but she doesn't have you meticulously organizing shit or buying special storage systems. all you need to do is find a place for everything and make sure things go back to their place every time they're removed. once you have a place for everything, the idea is that when a new item enters your home, you have decide whether it has a place or if you should discard it.

just1n3, Thursday, 7 July 2016 22:48 (seven years ago) link

she's about a million times more reasonable on life advice than alain de botton

mh, Thursday, 7 July 2016 23:24 (seven years ago) link

all pro kondo people otm

Treeship, Thursday, 7 July 2016 23:40 (seven years ago) link

justine otm

goole, Friday, 8 July 2016 15:43 (seven years ago) link

once you have a place for everything, the idea is that when a new item enters your home, you have decide whether it has a place or if you should discard it.

I just started doing something like this with clothing. When I get a new thing that goes in the closet, I will remove an old thing that I don't wear. However, the old thing goes into one of the to-be-altered/refashioned bins under my sewing table ... it does bring me joy thinking how I could alter/refashion said item ... I am probably "doing it wrong"

sarahell, Friday, 8 July 2016 19:58 (seven years ago) link

lol on another site some dude was asking "how do I tell people I know that owning too much stuff is bad?!"

made me realize "too much stuff" is kind of a self-defeating phrase. how much is too much? how little is too little? what is clutter, really

mh, Friday, 8 July 2016 20:10 (seven years ago) link

clutter is the box of every TV Guide magazine from 1985 that I collected at the time because at the age of 10 I had the idea to write some insightful essay about the contents of TV Guide magazine, and this box has sat in my parents garage for almost 30 years. (Though I think they finally got rid of it in the past few months)

sarahell, Friday, 8 July 2016 20:16 (seven years ago) link

as a child, marie kondo used to steal stuff from her parents and siblings that she felt they didn't need and throw them away

Treeship, Friday, 8 July 2016 20:18 (seven years ago) link

my sister, before she could talk, was grabbing my toys and hiding them under her bed. my parents couldn't believe my claims that she was taking my toys until they cleaned under the bed.

mh, Friday, 8 July 2016 20:19 (seven years ago) link

this is why marie kondo and i will never get along

mh, Friday, 8 July 2016 20:19 (seven years ago) link

does your sister still do this?

sarahell, Friday, 8 July 2016 20:20 (seven years ago) link

you know, she dropped by to feed the cat at my place while I was out of town. should probably go to her house and check.

mh, Friday, 8 July 2016 20:22 (seven years ago) link

Far from apologizing for discarding their things without permission, I would retort, "I threw it out for you because you were incapable of doing it yourself."

i got the book to learn the life changing magic of tidying up but instead of changing my life i just ended up really enjoying reading about the author's eccentricities. in some ways it was hard to relate to her because i am a slob (something i hate about myself) but in other ways it was easy because she is also a weirdo.

Treeship, Friday, 8 July 2016 20:25 (seven years ago) link

For myself, I especially hate the idea of turning stuff into family heirlooms which then must be handed down across generations and kept safe by each successive owner so it can be passed along at death. It doesn't matter how small it is or how seemingly 'valuable' or emblematic of family history. If it has no place of its own and no real value to the present owner, it has lost its privileged aura and should be let go of as lightly and easily as if it were an empty cardboard box. Give it away within the family if you can, but if nobody else in the family wants it, ditch it without guilt.

For example, in about 1930 my grandfather, as newly minted associate professor who'd grown up as a poor farm boy in ragged overalls, bought a deluxe calfskin-bound Eleventh Edition of the Encyclopedia Britannica in its own custom bookcase. It was the supreme emblem of his rise in the world. It stood proudly in his living room in every place he dwelt. My mom knew how precious it was to him and took it in at his death. She passed it on to me, because I was the only child willing to take it. I did it to please her. Recently, I gave it to Goodwill. It had lost its purpose.

a little too mature to be cute (Aimless), Friday, 8 July 2016 20:26 (seven years ago) link

imo the purpose was to sell that sucker to a collector and have a nice meal celebrating granddad

mh, Friday, 8 July 2016 20:30 (seven years ago) link

you'll be sorry once this internet fad is over and you can't look up anything

Treeship, Friday, 8 July 2016 20:30 (seven years ago) link

have you lately tried selling an old encyclopedia and bookcase that stands about five feet high by three feet wide by a foot deep and weighs approx. 100 lbs.? Even if I got a nibble over the internet, shipping that monster would have been a huge headache.

a little too mature to be cute (Aimless), Friday, 8 July 2016 20:41 (seven years ago) link

that's why I said "a nice meal" and not the $4k somebody is trying to charge on ebay

mh, Friday, 8 July 2016 20:42 (seven years ago) link

eh heirlooms matter (to me, anyway) but yeah it depends what they are. About the only thing I have of my grandfather's posessions is one of these: https://images.duckduckgo.com/iu/?u=http%3A%2F%2Fmedia-cache-ak0.pinimg.com%2F736x%2Fbd%2F73%2F2d%2Fbd732d30a8de0545d357a00713a9e286.jpg&f=1 Still works! So in an emergency I can listen to Xtian nutjobs on AM radio. And I have some small statues + a painting from my grandmother. These things are small and/or decorative so no big deal.

Οὖτις, Friday, 8 July 2016 20:45 (seven years ago) link

oops sorry lol hueg

Οὖτις, Friday, 8 July 2016 20:45 (seven years ago) link

once you have a place for everything, the idea is that when a new item enters your home, you have decide whether it has a place or if you should discard it.

this is basically my philosophy. I hate having stuff for stuff's sake. As a result I hardly have anything decorative or any furniture as I'm building that up and take bloody ages to painstakingly choose each piece. It's partly a result of moving countries and cities so often and wanting to buy stuff I know I'll want to keep for ages rather than replace it all the time. But my house seems a bit bare until such time as I can swan around buying delightful objets d'art...

certain members of my family equate quantity with quality so always buys me loads of *stuff*. I enjoy permitting myself to pass it on.

kinder, Friday, 8 July 2016 20:47 (seven years ago) link

but, you say that these items have value to you and a place in your life, which passes the threshold test for keeping them.

a little too mature to be cute (Aimless), Friday, 8 July 2016 20:49 (seven years ago) link

ten months pass...

if you actually like all your clutter and it makes you happy, she's not against that. but she gives you permission to throw out shit you're only holding onto out of guilt. and the idea is to get rid of all the bad shit so your life in your home is more enjoyable.

I am starting this process! I've lived in the same apartment for 20 years this November, so part of this is coming to terms that I am no longer in my 20s and that my interests and activities have changed, maybe not drastically, but significantly. So, it's less about holding onto things because of guilt, and more about holding onto things out of fear -- fear of change, fear of getting "old."

I think it's going to take multiple passes through various categories of things. The trick for me, so far, has been physically removing the things I'm getting rid of. For the most part, these are things that other people would like and could use. Also, there's a mental back and forth of "do I try to sell this or do I just donate it?"

sarahell, Saturday, 13 May 2017 21:32 (seven years ago) link

three weeks pass...

This article is kind of amazing

https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/boomers-unwanted-inheritance/2015/03/27/0e75ff6e-45c4-11e4-b437-1a7368204804_story.html?utm_term=.a53f93c8b4e5

in the way it effortlessly pivots from "millennials and their rigorously minimal lifestyle rejecting suburban parental furniture" to "white people making money off regional Mexican cuisine"

Guayaquil (eephus!), Tuesday, 6 June 2017 11:36 (six years ago) link

does it go into the role of stairs and buildings without elevators in terms of the appeal of various pieces of furniture?

sarahell, Tuesday, 6 June 2017 20:26 (six years ago) link

62 percent of millennials prefer to live in the type of mixed-use communities found in urban centers where they can live near shopping, restaurants and work. And 40 percent say they would want to live there in the future.

lord

sexualing healing (crüt), Tuesday, 6 June 2017 20:38 (six years ago) link

sorry kneejerk reaction to "mixed-use." it's normal to want to live near shopping & work.

sexualing healing (crüt), Tuesday, 6 June 2017 20:39 (six years ago) link

hahah yeah, "mixed-use" is pretty much code for luxury apartment/condo complexes that gentrify cities

sarahell, Tuesday, 6 June 2017 20:41 (six years ago) link

To make matters worse, young adults don’t seem to want their own college textbooks, sports trophies or T-shirt collections, still entombed in plastic containers at their parents’ homes.

so many gems in this article

sarahell, Tuesday, 6 June 2017 20:49 (six years ago) link

there's a mental back and forth of "do I try to sell this or do I just donate it?"

― sarahell, Saturday, May 13, 2017 10:32 PM (three weeks ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

boy don't i know this, we have an eternal "garage sale" pile in a closet that we keep adding to. actually this is sort of why i still have as many records as i do as well, the eternal "do i trade 5 records in at amoeba to get one i really want, or do i spend time trying to sell them on eBay?"

nomar, Tuesday, 6 June 2017 21:06 (six years ago) link

I'm a terrible person, but when I do this type of cleaning up I only have two piles, keep and put in the alley. Donation/selling too much effort.

Jeff, Tuesday, 6 June 2017 21:14 (six years ago) link

Love me some KonMari

Treeship, Tuesday, 6 June 2017 21:19 (six years ago) link

xp - do you not have people in your neighborhood on nextdoor or everyblock that regularly complain about their neighbors putting stuff out to give away and causing blight?

sarahell, Tuesday, 6 June 2017 21:27 (six years ago) link

Not really, the scavengers swoop down pretty quickly and pick stuff up. Part of the reason I don't feel so bad about it.

Jeff, Tuesday, 6 June 2017 21:28 (six years ago) link

xp nomar - the used book store I like is great, because they also take donations to Prison Libraries, so the stuff they don't buy, you can just put them in the Prison Library donation area, for your decluttering convenience.

sarahell, Tuesday, 6 June 2017 21:30 (six years ago) link

dosughsfkuhsfgo'husgfouhsf

the ghost of markers, Tuesday, 6 June 2017 22:40 (six years ago) link

one year passes...

This thread basically covers almost everything we went over on the netflix thread. Ha.

Yerac, Monday, 14 January 2019 17:59 (five years ago) link

well of course it does

Fuck the NRA (ulysses), Monday, 14 January 2019 18:32 (five years ago) link

If it no longer brings you joy, you should delete the bookmark.

rb (soda), Monday, 14 January 2019 18:35 (five years ago) link

ilx ouroboros

( ͡☉ ͜ʖ ͡☉) (jim in vancouver), Monday, 14 January 2019 18:36 (five years ago) link

thank you thread and goodbye

Fuck the NRA (ulysses), Monday, 14 January 2019 18:44 (five years ago) link

I love this show. I liked the book too.

Trϵϵship, Saturday, 19 January 2019 02:14 (five years ago) link

I am surprised we have an I love home.

American Fear of Pranksterism (Ed), Saturday, 19 January 2019 11:29 (five years ago) link

i stopped watching the first episode because i hated the reality dad so much

Karl Malone, Saturday, 19 January 2019 23:04 (five years ago) link

My otherwise-lovely grandma burned lots of my favourite stuff on a bonfire when I was about 6.
My father-in-law, who threw out my wife's notebooks full of notes about films and my children's soft toys because he thought them "useless," and who seems to own about 5-10 books in total, always says we have "too much stuff!"

Just hearing about this book / TV series over the last couple of weeks is basically giving me palpitations, and I'm going to find any way I can to mute it from everywhere I go.

mfktz (Camaraderie at Arms Length), Saturday, 19 January 2019 23:14 (five years ago) link

Despite my contempt for these kinds of "oh finally this is the key to life" things which are really about the futility of consumer culture, I was forced into this scenario by separating from my wife, living in a minuscule apartment, taking only things for which my need outweighed my reluctance to further upset my wife, and duplicate purchasing those things which were essential to us both. Apart from stuff which was just plainly mine (largely ceremonial guitar collection) I have ended up living with about 1/4 as many things and pretty fine with that. The mental clarity, however, I ascribe to leaving an unhappy environment and near constant anxiety and anger. I wonder how many of the people doing this are using it as a displacement activity to avoid addressing what's really wrong.
Jeeze I really nailed the "bitter middle-aged man" vibe there it seems. ACHIEVEMENT UNLOCKED.

an incoherent crustacean (MatthewK), Saturday, 19 January 2019 23:16 (five years ago) link

I wonder how many of the people doing this are using it as a displacement activity to avoid addressing what's really wrong.

board description

BIG HOOS aka the steendriver, Sunday, 20 January 2019 00:19 (five years ago) link

close to the bone for me!

an incoherent crustacean (MatthewK), Sunday, 20 January 2019 00:23 (five years ago) link

that describes like 80% of everything that everyone does

call all destroyer, Sunday, 20 January 2019 02:18 (five years ago) link

otm

the late great, Sunday, 20 January 2019 02:37 (five years ago) link

tbf the show does address that thought - that by tidying up, you can actually move onto confronting your problems rather than avoiding it through clutter

Nhex, Sunday, 20 January 2019 02:45 (five years ago) link

and i can believe it somewhat - letting your home become a sprawling, unknownable mess is a pretty good metaphor

Nhex, Sunday, 20 January 2019 02:46 (five years ago) link

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TPVk-m1Pr4s

Fuck the NRA (ulysses), Tuesday, 22 January 2019 19:29 (five years ago) link

kondo is great. accumulating too many possessions is bad.

Trϵϵship, Tuesday, 22 January 2019 19:36 (five years ago) link

Just hearing about this book / TV series over the last couple of weeks is basically giving me palpitations, and I'm going to find any way I can to mute it from everywhere I go.


I never got attached to things. Absolutely zero bonding. Maybe I have that from my grandmother and my dad. The first had zero attachment to things (and pple lolz). My dad maybe bec he was a salesman? Who knows. But me? I could leave everything behind and not shed a tear. Also, I love throwing out/giving away things. But I can understand how painful it must be when someone else decides to destroy your things.

nathom, Tuesday, 22 January 2019 21:06 (five years ago) link

🖼


"Goodbye sucker, thanks for nothing."

nathom, Tuesday, 22 January 2019 21:07 (five years ago) link

I watched one ep -- to me it kind of sounds like every other "life changing" thing that only changes your life for about two weeks before you start to slide. Also, fuck folding t-shirts into little nugget shapes.

Getting rid of excess stuff is good, but you need to address the in-door and not just the out-door, i.e. how to avoid buying stuff you don't need in the first place. Otherwise you're just performing routine maintenance on your excessively consumeristic life. I find that we often go through that process of "Oh, x thing is ugly and doesn't serve a purpose" but then we wind up buying y thing that we convince ourselves will make our lives better than x thing did, and it doesn't. Same happens with clothing -- getting rid of stuff I wound up not wearing doesn't prevent me from falling for the same add'l 40% off sale items "well it's not exactly the color I want" trap over and over again.

longtime caller, first time listener (man alive), Tuesday, 22 January 2019 21:11 (five years ago) link

isn't the idea that between the shock-awareness of doing it all at once (and seeing what your life can be like with less clutter), and the various little moves of being aware of each little thing and whether it sparks joy etc., that you're training yourself in a more mindful way of relating to possessions?

not that that precludes any backsliding!

|Restore| |Restart| |Quit| (Doctor Casino), Wednesday, 23 January 2019 00:34 (five years ago) link

Otherwise you're just performing routine maintenance on your excessively consumeristic life.

what's wrong with routine maintenance?

sarahell, Wednesday, 23 January 2019 00:56 (five years ago) link

I think the point was that it would be more lasting and sensible to reject an "excessively consumeristic life" than to merely maintain it in a way that makes it more tolerable.

A is for (Aimless), Wednesday, 23 January 2019 01:07 (five years ago) link

I think that to do a solid job I would need a dedicated amount of space and a sustained amount of time - neither of which is likely to become available in the near future.

I can nibble around the edges for minor quality-of-life improvements. A few days ago I cleaned out a coat closet. Donated outgrown coats, pitched solo mittens, unsentimentally jettisoned maybe 15 of the 25 scarves we've accumulated (almost all gifts, btw). I have never bought a scarf; I have worn a scarf maybe three times in my life. But I have gotten a scarf for Christmas at least 10 times in 47 years.

I can pretty readily do the same to the "stupid board games with one essential part missing" shelf. (Mostly gifts.) And the art supply bins in which fully half the markers have dried out, or half-abandoned craft projects. (Mostly, you guessed it, gifts.)

Sometimes seems like it's less our own purchasing habits, and more the well-meaning grandparents/aunts/uncles at birthdays and Christmas. We try to direct them away from giving Stuff. But for some folks the idea of a huge pile of gifts under the tree is a marker of love, and I can't always head it off.

Then there are the boxes I'd really like to go through to see what's in them. I don't have space or time to lay things out on a table even long enough to sort into piles (bills to pay, personal memorabilia,concert and movie ticket stubs, work samples, kid artwork, trash, stuff that is OBE, stuff that will never matter again, stuff I will be heartbroken to lose, etc.).

We need the table because that's where we eat. I get halfway through one pile and it's dinnertime again. Where does the stuff go? Back into the box labeled something like "miscellaneous personal save, 1994-2019"

Gunther Gleiben (Ye Mad Puffin), Wednesday, 23 January 2019 01:50 (five years ago) link

at least change the label to "half-sorted miscellaneous personal, 1994-2019"

A is for (Aimless), Wednesday, 23 January 2019 01:54 (five years ago) link

I would actually enjoy 'tidying up" peoples spaces. But I would be the opposite of Marie Kondo and probably traumatize people about all the decisions they made in their life.

Yerac, Wednesday, 23 January 2019 01:59 (five years ago) link

Yerac, lol. "You paid ACTUAL money to see Limp Bizkit? In two thousand FOUR?"

Gunther Gleiben (Ye Mad Puffin), Wednesday, 23 January 2019 02:09 (five years ago) link

I would make them tell me about the show first and their favorite lyric.

Yerac, Wednesday, 23 January 2019 02:16 (five years ago) link

Otherwise you're just performing routine maintenance on your excessively consumeristic life.

what's wrong with routine maintenance?

― sarahell, Tuesday, January 22, 2019 7:56 PM (yesterday) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

I think the point was that it would be more lasting and sensible to reject an "excessively consumeristic life" than to merely maintain it in a way that makes it more tolerable.

― A is for (Aimless), Tuesday, January 22, 2019 8:07 PM (yesterday) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

Right, it's this. So many times I feel like we have gotten rid of something we "don't use" only to replace it with something else we convince ourselves will serve the same purpose better, and then we don't use that either or it's equally lacking in longevity. Purging consumer goods can easily become an integral part of consumeristic habits instead of an antidote to them--an essential part of dealing with the inflow of stuff rather than a means to a more minimalist life.

longtime caller, first time listener (man alive), Wednesday, 23 January 2019 15:12 (five years ago) link

I appreciate that someone wrote this article. I couldn't articulate a lot of this before . I think someone mentioned on the netflix thread about her shinto mindset.

https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/marie-kondo-white-western-audineces_us_5c47859be4b025aa26bde77c?ncid=fcbklnkushpmg00000046&utm_campaign=hp_fb_pages&ir=Entertainment&utm_medium=facebook&utm_source=women_fb&fbclid=IwAR3N6HJMCDeFg9bYOTmG1howmeMOI5WV3KQnPpirnwCGJddHvlM07lpI9nQ

Yerac, Wednesday, 23 January 2019 15:26 (five years ago) link

interesting, but it also seems absurd that that joking tweet about books required an apology

longtime caller, first time listener (man alive), Wednesday, 23 January 2019 15:44 (five years ago) link

Oh, I didn't even see that. My tweet blocking powers are getting stronger and stronger.

Yerac, Wednesday, 23 January 2019 15:48 (five years ago) link

also totally makes sense to me because the little once more religious Jewish voice in the back of my head said "that's idol worship" when I was watching it, lol

longtime caller, first time listener (man alive), Wednesday, 23 January 2019 16:00 (five years ago) link

thx for that article Yerac

Nhex, Wednesday, 23 January 2019 16:51 (five years ago) link

I think the point was that it would be more lasting and sensible to reject an "excessively consumeristic life" than to merely maintain it in a way that makes it more tolerable.

― A is for (Aimless), Tuesday, January 22, 2019 5:07 PM (yesterday)

this is kinda like my "waiting for the revolution" type anarchist friends that don't see the point of voting or getting involved in any form of activism that doesn't result in overthrowing capitalism, the patriarchy, etc.

sarahell, Wednesday, 23 January 2019 17:27 (five years ago) link

lol what? It's nothing like that.

longtime caller, first time listener (man alive), Wednesday, 23 January 2019 17:29 (five years ago) link

it kind of is because you are going to accumulate things and clutter and stuff you don't need because that is life in America, sorry.

sarahell, Wednesday, 23 January 2019 17:30 (five years ago) link

or stuff you want for a while and then don't want -- consumerism is like gravity at this point -- sorry, this is just how I feel and also true

sarahell, Wednesday, 23 January 2019 17:32 (five years ago) link

Buying behavior can just as much be altered as hording behavior. Of course no TV show is going to focus on not buying stuff though /trench

longtime caller, first time listener (man alive), Wednesday, 23 January 2019 17:34 (five years ago) link

imo it's a trickle-down effect, by making you reconsider what you want to keep it makes you reconsider what you've been buying, and what you'll buy in the future

omar little, Wednesday, 23 January 2019 17:37 (five years ago) link

whether you buy it yourself, or receive it as gifts from well-meaning family members, like YMP's, you are gonna end up with a bunch of stuff you end up not wanting ... maybe not as much, but ...yeah, I challenge you to create an anti-clutter force field in yr home to prevent it from getting in.

sarahell, Wednesday, 23 January 2019 17:37 (five years ago) link

Oh well for sure it can't be 100% stopped, I understand that well having a 3yo and a 7yo. We have a policy of throwing away all goodie bag junk after they go to sleep for example.

longtime caller, first time listener (man alive), Wednesday, 23 January 2019 17:40 (five years ago) link

there’s kind of a Say’s law to clutter imo; having a tiny apartment helps. people with houses seem to love filling them up with random crap. my sister has an entire room in her house that’s just ‘storage’ (enormous piles of junk)

flopson, Wednesday, 23 January 2019 17:43 (five years ago) link

I have an anti-clutter forcefield. It was work though.

Yerac, Wednesday, 23 January 2019 17:44 (five years ago) link

Plus it helps that my spouse was a techno hippie and he cleans his shit up like an adult.

Yerac, Wednesday, 23 January 2019 17:46 (five years ago) link

having a tiny apartment helps. people with houses seem to love filling them up with random crap. my sister has an entire room in her house that’s just ‘storage’ (enormous piles of junk)

yeah!!! i remember when real estate ppl started selling the concept of the "bonus room" -- where the bonus room really was just a room to put piles of junk so the rest of the house could look fashionably tidy. otoh, I know plenty of people who live in small apartments that rent storage units.

sarahell, Wednesday, 23 January 2019 17:52 (five years ago) link

Yeah was just talking about that with H -- we are a musician and artist and we always talk about wanting a house to have space for doing music and art. We just visited another musician/artist couple who had moved to a house with extra rooms, but they had managed to fill the extra rooms with crap and still not have space for music and art.

longtime caller, first time listener (man alive), Wednesday, 23 January 2019 17:53 (five years ago) link

i just recently made more room in my apartment for music stuff -- such that, in theory, i could set up my drums in my living room -- which maybe i will do, however the downstairs neighbors would have an issue with me practicing them

sarahell, Wednesday, 23 January 2019 17:58 (five years ago) link

Buy them earplugs

Trϵϵship, Wednesday, 23 January 2019 17:59 (five years ago) link

But them in little gift baskets with a note on scented paper saying you’re going to be drumming now

Trϵϵship, Wednesday, 23 January 2019 17:59 (five years ago) link

hahahah

sarahell, Wednesday, 23 January 2019 18:00 (five years ago) link

everyone hates the drummer neighbour

flopson, Wednesday, 23 January 2019 18:09 (five years ago) link

having a tiny apartment helps. people with houses seem to love filling them up with random crap. my sister has an entire room in her house that’s just ‘storage’ (enormous piles of junk)

a reason why I am not allowed to live in a house with a basement ever again

Jaq, Wednesday, 23 January 2019 19:41 (five years ago) link

Our last place had a garage and my husband was mad the new place didn’t - but guess what we never parked the damn car in there we just filled it with junk. Not having a garage means we def have accumulated way less junk in the last 5 yrs than we did in 2-3 yrs in the old place.

just1n3, Wednesday, 23 January 2019 22:55 (five years ago) link

two years pass...

I do like doing the dishes tho, its a nice satisfying job that leaves the mind free

your own personal qanon (darraghmac), Saturday, 10 April 2021 01:23 (three years ago) link

One of the big choices I make is whether to do the dishes every day or every other day. I need to judge how long it will take me then choose a musical selection of that duration. If I overshoot or undershoot timewise, I'm annoyed.

Halfway there but for you, Saturday, 10 April 2021 01:35 (three years ago) link

doing the dishes is a highlight of my day to be sure

Bignefs Proportionable (seandalai), Saturday, 10 April 2021 14:07 (three years ago) link

I'm starting to enjoy a good hoovering as well

Bignefs Proportionable (seandalai), Saturday, 10 April 2021 14:08 (three years ago) link

The importance of house cleaning has been growing for me over time, but it is also a source of stress and frustration because the other members of my household do not give it the same priority.

Mr. Cacciatore (Moodles), Saturday, 10 April 2021 14:26 (three years ago) link


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