Tidy Magic

Grok would surely have valued his few possessions, and kept them in a special shelf in his cave.  A blunt tool would have been sharpened, not discarded, but even in a world before plastic he may have had to throw out the occasional broken plate.

Now that we have cut the junk from our diets, many are inspired to do the same to our immediate environment.  Let's share our insights here:

Thanks for starting this thread Annie! Somehow AutumnTiger got to me with her December KonMari approach...

If it makes you happy (a.k.a. sparks joy), keep it!

Awesome Annie, I think having a Tidy Magic thread here is well worth it. Something I'm working on myself.

Now since I'm not one to throw away good stuff, I do need to reduce. I happen to be a crafter, mostly knitting, crocheting, quilting etc. Currently I've been knitting hats for my neices/nephews for Christmas as a way to reduce my stash. I have waaaay to much of that stuff. Other yarn will be going with a friend who runs a daycare for their projects.

While KonMarie wants you to just thank the item and bid farewell, I much prefer to repurpose the items to someone who can use them, rather than fill a land fill with perfectly good stuff. Thoughts?

Narrowminded wrote:
While KonMarie wants you to just thank the item and bid farewell, I much prefer to repurpose the items to someone who can use them, rather than fill a land fill with perfectly good stuff.  Thoughts?

I think both are compatible. I say farewell, but the items go on to a new life with someone else (not get dumped unless literally rubbish). The work involved in onselling is not worth it, I have usually had my money's worth by then. I used to try to hand them down to specific people, but even that was time consuming, so now I just donate to the op shop and the person who wants it will find it there and the hospice will receive the income.

A funny thing happened this year. I needed a sofa bed for my music/guest room. I found one in the op shop, so I donated the bunk beds, paid for the sofa bed and had the hospice deliver it.

When the men arrived, they said they had only yesterday collected the sofa bed, it had been in the shop a matter of hours at most.

When I told my mum about this, she said her friend had just donated a sofa bed!!!

Now if I had known this, I could have bought it off the friend direct. But we would have had to lift it, and arrange a trailer for delivery etc. But this way she got her room cleared, I got what I needed and the hospice got the money. Brilliant.

I agree, I'm not into selling the items either.  Too much work and generally not enough payoff.

Nice that you have a hospice that can benefit.

Wow what a nifty story. Nice that everyone benefited from that sleeper sofa.

I have SO MUCH CRAP right now. I wish it was spring so I could have a garage sale. I own an upholstery company and I have an insane amount of leftover fabric and no idea what to do with it. Any thoughts? These fabrics are extremely expensive (at least $100/yard) so throwing them away seems so wasteful and crazy. I want to "sell" them and then donate whatever money I get to a charity. But, winter in Chicago is not exactly hospitable to a sale like that.

I cannot wait to get rid of these fabrics. The only downside is that they literally come in daily to my shop and then the remnants need to go somewhere (my garage).

Don't know if you have spare time on your plate, but maybe check with second hand stores. Maybe you could reupholster things they have there, that then might sell for more. Or redo them and then give them to those i need? Just a thought that popped into my head.

I wonder if Etsy may be a place to advertise the nice remnants you have.  That site is abuzz with craftspeople and designers. Might find a match for your fabrics.

I made a dismal attempt at KonMarie type organization some time ago.  I inherited my parents home as well as all their clutter and non used items.  I  think, before even getting to that point I have to sort all my parents stuff, first, including my deceased Dad's closet.  
It's a little harder to see what brings joy when it's not my stuff.  I plan to keep one or two items of clothing that belonged to my Pop. That will bring me joy.  

The idea of re-purposing the rest of the clothing, esp. to low-income folks will make the effort worthwhile.  I still overwhelm easily (working on changing that re-wiring) due to continued adrenal issues.  I'm pretty hopeful this thread will be a nice source of support as I work through the memories and oceans of parent's stuff.  

Thanks for creating it Annieh.  

HFF, as you know my Dad died almost 22 months ago. My Mom is dealing with things her own way and we of course encourage that, as there are no rules to be followed or time limits to be kept. None of us feels the need to rush her as we understand that these things take time and when she's ready she'll let us know in case she needs/wants help or handles it herself.

Some of his stuff she can part with more or less easily, and other things she hangs onto. Re-purposing is a good choice, but something to remind you and therefore bring joy is great.

Tomorrow is their wedding day... my Dad was very rigorous in throwing (in his eyes and by that time unwanted) things out, where my Mom is more sentimental. So not much actual clutter to deal with, aside from lots of paperwork... Let's hope she'll be around for many years to come.

Only advice I can give you: start with the easy stuff. Especially since you've got a whole house to deal with, clutter as well as nice things. There will be obvious clutter, throw that out first. Especially since your Mom's around, who may need to see familiar things in her day to day life.

Thanks LB,

It's begun. My mom's sewing room was primary target, today. :]

Excellent - so pleased to have a Tidy Magic thread!

I really need to get a handle on my clothing, I did so well on a big cleanout a couple of years ago, but there sure seems to be a lot of it again... Need spouse to go away for a time to do this though.

With the death of his father about 15 months ago, we too are sorting through parental stuff. Unfortunately, my husband wants a great deal of the hobby stuff (rock hound) and we've no where to put it, so he stresses that if left in place it will get thrown away by the other siblings who are simply looking to clear out as much stuff as possible from an over-crowded house and multiple storage buildings. Eek! MIL hates to part with anything but I think it won't be long before she will have to move to an assisted living arrangement... I forsee another storage building on our property in my not too distant future. "You might be a redneck if..." Yep, that is me!

Heuristicfireflower wrote:Thanks LB,

It's begun.  My mom's sewing room was primary target, today.  :]

Happy dance for you!

Meant2Move wrote:
With the death of his father about 15 months ago, we too are sorting through parental stuff. Unfortunately, my husband wants a great deal of the hobby stuff (rock hound) and we've no where to put it, so he stresses that if left in place it will get thrown away by the other siblings who are simply looking to clear out as much stuff as possible from an over-crowded house and multiple storage buildings. Eek!  MIL hates to part with anything but I think it won't be long before she will have to move to an assisted living arrangement... I forsee another storage building on our property in my not too distant future.  "You might be a redneck if..."  Yep, that is me!

That's indeed a very different situation than what we're dealing with. Wow. If and when my Mom would have to leave her garden/yard behind she would give up. It's one of the main things that kept/keeps her going, her flowers. And the fact that she's a very social person. Talkative.

There is so much of moving parents, or loss of one or both. I guess most of us are at that age where it happens, although others, its due to unexpected circumstance.

As we moved my folks this fall, all I could think of was how much stuff they were keeping and that I would have to deal with probably in the not to far future.

My MIL on the other hand was completely different. We lost my FIL in Jan. With in a few months she had all of his stuff sorted, donated or whatever. She also pared down for her move to an apt, from a large home, rather quickly and completely.

Everyone has their own way I guess.

My favourite room in the house right now is the one I have just prepared for my dd who is coming home for a month before getting married.  I'm loving it because it's empty, haha. This makes me realise once more just how soothing a clear space can be.

Unfortunately, the same cannot be said for the actual cupboards in there (which are stashed to the brim) and the rest of the house (which has absorbed the excess contents).  We even have two pianos in the lounge now - we might be able to literally play piano duets or even quartets.

I will feast my eyes on this room for the next few hours, until she returns with all her belongings.

That sounds wonderful, Annie. I can't seem to keep a clear space, but I do adore the feel of one. We are drawing plans for a new house and I envision space without clutter - I hope we can actually achieve that at least in one or 2 areas...

Annie I so understand how you feel about that room. I used to want bookshelves filled with the classics, now when I see a room that has something similar it makes me crazy. I feel like all that stuff makes the room really loud and cluttered, even though it’s all neatly arranged.

Since I don’t get a lot of time to clear clutter, which o try to keep to a minimum, I think it’s also due to general stress in my case. Don’t know for sure, but no bookshelves for me. Still ove to read, but love my kindle in that aspect

My home office is in serious need of KMing.

No magical tidiness happening out there in Grokland?

Annie, all is not lost. Yesterday I tore into part of my one storage closet and KMed my gift wrapping supplies. The are where I keep that stuff was a mess, so I drug it all out, got rid of what wasn’t good and organized what was. So much better, and found I have gift wrapping supplies that should last a few years. As is notable things were bought because I didn’t realize what I had. Feels so much better in thát small corner.

Thank goodness this thread got mentioned in NM's journal - I had not come across it. I tend to keep to the diaries and can't even keep up with them, yet, but tagging myself in here as I love Tidy Magic and foresee plenty of KM in my future.

It is rather ironic finding the thread after returning from a trip to see my mum who has not only joined the leagues of hoarders but appears to have subscribed for lifetime membership.

I am continuing my own challenges at home. Most of my "hoarding" tendencies stem from a lack of organisation, but an intention to be organised. And there are two major themes: firstly, anything paper based, i.e. books, bills, receipts and magazines, as well as pretty and/or versatile stationery, secondly, mementos from trips - quite often involving more paper, like maps and tickets

Currently on the Work In Progress table is another of those "tidy it all in to a carrier bag" bags, which emptied off my sofa seat a short while before Christmas. Hopefully I'll get that one sorted this week.

Annieh wrote:A funny thing happened this year.  I needed a sofa bed for my music/guest room.  I found one in the op shop, so I donated the bunk beds, paid for the sofa bed and had the hospice deliver it.

When the men arrived, they said they had only yesterday collected the sofa bed, it had been in the shop a matter of hours at most.  

When I told my mum about this, she said her friend had just donated a sofa bed!!!  

Now if I had known this, I could have bought it off the friend direct.  But we would have had to lift it, and arrange a trailer for delivery etc.  But this way she got her room cleared, I got what I needed and the hospice got the money.  Brilliant.

I had a similar "not probable" incident a few months ago. I've been in my house almost two years and did not have any kind of sofa. I wanted something that would not clash with my Midcentury Modern furniture, and not big because my room is small. One like I liked at where I used to volunteer, in fact. I learned they came from Ikea, went and found that it's a love seat and they are still available................for $400.

So I put out a request on nextdoor.com to see if anyone had one to sell. A few days later, a woman responded, I could HAVE hers, not in great condition, and she could also deliver it! Hell, yes! I had to do some leg repairs, and I rehabbed the fake leather. All told, some 8 hours of work and maybe $30 in materials, and it looks like brand new, for what would have been sales tax on a purchase!

A few weeks later, my to-become-finance' walked through my door for the first time. Love seat ready.

Not sure what "op" stands for in "op shop," but sounds like a "thrift store," no?

I volunteer at the Round Rock Serving Center, checking out electrical and electronic items for sale in the thrift shop. It helps fund the center, which supplies food, clothing, and other items and services to low income neighbors.

I have come to really dislike Goodwill, what most people in the US think of when they think of thrift stores. A year ago, they jacked the price of short sleeved men's shirts to EIGHT DOLLARS! Long sleeved, more. The shirt was free, and the labor that checked it out and got it hung is something like a bit over $2/hr. It's a huge loophole in federal labor law under the guise of job training, which is the whole guise that Goodwill operates under.

Find a place like my Serving Center, or donate to the Salvation Army. They pay regular wages and their prices are lower!

Tidying continues - the carrier bag is empty, which included a small tin (previously housing shortbread biscuits) that had receipts in.

Not quite sure what is next now, which is kind of a good thing, as it means I'm through the obvious stuff.

Still got some general tidying to do around the house after being poorly last week and being away at the weekend.

I am pretty good these days at emptying my overnight bag etc, but its amazing how there are always other bits and pieces to attend to.