I got rid of that red, gold and green chain garland. It just seemed loud and obnoxious to me.
I read Marie Kondo's book, The Magic of Tidying last week.
Ignoring all the odd bits (like objects have feelings and desires), her process for decluttering is helpful.
I decided to keep the Christmas cds with the tree as putting up the tree is the first time we want them.
The first page in this, my Christmas planner, tells me to buy Christmas cards and wrapping paper.
That is it in a nutshell. There's a procedure for going through your home (Kondo recommends starting with your clothes and then moving on to books and then other things. For obvious reasons, Christmas decorations are not a category.) She also advises you to dump everything you are considering out on the floor in order to force yourself pick up each and every item.
I didn't do that.
The newly emptied outbox is getting filled back up again.
I asked the question.
I got rid of two boxes worth of stuff.
And when I got everything back to its home under the basement stairs, I wondered how they had ever fit in the first place!
But did you make sure to stack them in such a way as to not cause them emotional stress and turmoil, and thank them for their services???
ReplyDeleteSeriously though, it's nice to see that it helped out! I dread the idea of trying something like that in our communal storage space.
Blast! I did not. But it isn't too late. I'll try to remember to do that when I bag them up. Thanks for the reminder! :)
ReplyDeleteToo funny - I had just, a couple of weeks ago, heard of Kondo's book, and had been thinking of buying it (our library doesn't have it). But now that I hear that she says objects have feelings and desires, I think I'll pass!! (I have a copy of Karen Kingston's Clear Your Clutter with Feng Shui, which I've found very useful, but I have to ignore/take with a grain of salt her assertion that we are connected to our belongings by strands of energy! I think hearing that objects have feelings and desires would make it harder, not easier, to get rid of things? Unless she's saying these objects are asking to have a useful and loved existence in another home?)
ReplyDeleteAnd small world...I have to admit I've known for a while that you live in the city I grew up in, but now I hear you've also lived in the banana belt!! :)
Marian--you grew up here? Oh small world!
ReplyDeleteKondo only reveals the part about objects having feelings very slowly. But I can imagine that if they have feelings (and labels, by the way, "talk" to her, so she doesn't label anything) living with lots of objects would be like living with lots and lots of people. Not fun. (By the way, their desire is to serve you--her universe is quite benevolent. And if the only "purpose" of something was to show you you can live happily without it, then it is happy to move along.)
This year I went through the Christmas stuff and got rid of one box of assorted things. I now have 3 large tubs of decorations, and a 4 ft tall nutcracker. That is all. I feel great about it too. I can't wait to pair down the Halloween and Easter stuff now!
ReplyDeleteGood for you, Lorijo! It is a lovely feeling.
ReplyDeleteHello Alana!
ReplyDeleteI a glad I found your blog.
Tonight I am going to ask the question to my grandparent's soup bowl which I never use(d).
;-)
greetings,
Paula
Interesting item to apply the question to. Do you love the bowl, itself? Or the memories? I suspect it is the latter. Thanks for stopping by!
ReplyDelete