Tag Archives: Marie Kondo

KonMari Method, Decluttering, Vowing To Be Frugal: Catherine Balavage On Her Quest For Less

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There are many perks to living in London: living in the greatest city on earth, always having something to do, the history, the beauty, the parks, the museums, the monuments, the restaurants….I could go on forever. Perks you do not have however usually involve space. My first flat in London was a tiny studio in Highgate I paid £595 for per month. Practically a bargain now. It even had a garden. The next place I lived was a tiny 9 foot by 10 foot room in a house share with five other people. There was a communal storage room, but it was always packed. It didn’t matter initially that I had no room as most of my stuff was at my parent’s home. When I was 24 I asked my parents to bring it all down. Boxes and boxes of stuff. They weren’t sure where I would put all of my belongings, and my room was stuffed and over-cluttered for a long time, but here is the thing: I sold it all. It helped pay my rent and I felt much clearer. And there the addiction started.

I think the first thing I sold was a hair crimping machine (Yes, I know). But it went for about £28. A fair amount of money. Now we live in a two-bedroom flat in South-West London, and my husband and I have been hit by the clearing out bug more than ever. We also have a child now so can’t use the second bedroom for storage like we used to. We both hate shopping, but seem to accumulate an insane amount of stuff. It doesn’t help that as a writer I get sent a lot of stuff to review, and that when we moved to our previous place my husband took his belongings from the family home and his storage unit. But we are feeling proud. I have got rid of thousands (yes, thousands) of things, and my husband has too. This article is a first in a series of decluttering and turning your house into a home. I previously reviewed the The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying which you can read here. It is a helpful book, my husband even used the phrase ‘tidy up properly once and you will never have to tidy up again’, so it definitely works!

Most of our stuff has gone to Oxfam and Fara. Some of it was sold on eBay.co.uk. There is no point in just throwing your stuff out to it ends up on some landfill site, harming the environment and creating waste. We have donated, sold or recycled everything. It has been a huge job and has taken a long time. Forget what is says in the The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying. I just don’t believe you can do it in a day. Well, not if you have a child anyway. Marie Kondo wrote her book before she had a child, it would be interesting to see if she thinks doing it in a day is possible now.

I hope you will join me on my journey. It makes such a difference to your life to get rid of the old and declutter. Watch this space.

 

 

 

The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying By Marie Kondo Book Review

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thelifechangingmagicoftidyingDe-cluttering is very in at the moment. In fact, it is a trend that does not seem to be going away, and when you think of our consumeristic society and all of the stuff we have is it any wonder? We buy too much and have nowhere to put it. Most of us are drowning in stuff. The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying By Marie Kondo is less of a book, more of a movement. People on Mumsnet rave about it and people say it has changed their life. It has 453 five star reviews on Amazon.co.uk. The hype is so high I was actually thinking about buying the book the very day it arrived to be reviewed. Happy me. I read the book quickly. We moved in to our new place in May this year and our flat is still overflowing with stuff, despite numerous trips to charity shops and selling stuff on eBay.co.uk. Can this book help? Let’s find out.

The books premise is that you should only keep things in your life if they spark joy. The KonMari method (a nickname of the authors) claims to tidy your rooms once and for all. You start with clothes, then books, then papers, miscellaneous items (like kitchen equipment) and, lastly, sentimental items. You leave sentimental things to last after your decision making skills have become better. Some of the book is great and other things seem harder. The tidying must be done all at once. Not easy when you have a baby. Whatever section you are doing must be put in a pile on the floor and then done all at once. I don’t know when I would find the time to do this. As for everything ‘sparking joy’. I have a lot of things that don’t spark joy but I need them. I am not going to get excited about my underwear or cutlery. Despite this, this is a good book. The book is not just about throwing things out, it is also about storing things, finding the place where things should go. Kondo even tells you how to fold properly (vertically, as it turns out). Some of the book is a bit hippy but Marie Kondo knows her stuff and following the method will result in a tidy and clutter free house. I will do this method fully and do a more in depth article soon. I just have to find the time. In the meantime, I like this book because it left me feeling inspired to get going and has great ideas. I have already thrown a lot of stuff out and this book even helps you make some tough decisions. Good if you want to get your life, and home, in order.

The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying: A simple, effective way to banish clutter forever is available here.

Transform your home into a permanently clear and clutter-free space with the incredible KonMari Method. Japan’s expert declutterer and professional cleaner Marie Kondo will help you tidy your rooms once and for all with her inspirational step-by-step method.

The key to successful tidying is to tackle your home in the correct order, to keep only the things you really love and to do it all at once – and quickly. After that for the rest of your life you only need to choose what to keep and what to discard.

The KonMari Method will not just transform your space. Once you have your house in order you will find that your whole life will change. You can feel more confident, you can become more successful, and you can have the energy and motivation to create the life you want. You will also have the courage to move on from the negative aspects of your life: you can recognise and finish a bad relationship; you can stop feeling anxious; you can finally lose weight.

Marie Kondo’s method is based on a ‘once-cleaned, never-messy-again’ approach. If you think that such a thing is impossible then you should definitely read this compelling book.