Anybody tried the Konmarie purging method?

[SomethingNew]

Thoughts that you'd like to share? How's going after a year? two or more?

How long did the process take you? Did you get rid of stuff that you later regretted?

We have so much cluttering in our house and I feel like I can do a good purge, but I know myself, once I start, I won't be able to stop. I need to realistically take some time off from work to do that, because I know it will take at least a week if not a month to complete the whole process. Also, DH and the kids will need to be on board and do their share, which is going to be even more challenging to accomplish.

 

[House Cat]

I did my closet. The process was so overwhelming that I didn’t get to anything else. After a year, my closet looks as though I did nothing to it.

I need to try again.

 

[Dee*Jay]

I did a modified version to my clothes closet. I.e., I touched everything but didn't put it in a big pile in the middle of my floor. I also tried on a lot of things that I wasn't sure about rather than just continuing to shove the hanger down the rod, which had been the case for years on some things. I got rid of a lot, but have somehow managed to "restock" LOL. My closet has never really been a "mess" and, like House Cat, it looks pretty much the same as it did before the great Konmarie.

As for some of the other things, like talking to my clothes... um... NO. I chose to undertake the process in full control of my faculties.

 

[redwood66]

I wish I could but can't bring myself to do it. If I am overwhelmed before I even start then I can't imagine what kind of a basket case I would be if I had all my crap in a pile. We might never sleep in the bedroom again.

 

[secretagentlaura]

Maybe it's because we live overseas and move a lot, but I am really into reducing what we have. I've reduced the amount of clothes I own by half, finally. I've never read Marie Kondo's books, but I watch videos on her clothes organization (IKEA has fantastic little drawer boxes) and I get the sentiment of evaluating what belongings have reached the end of their life and served us well, and what I'd like to take into the future. I feel so much better not having as much stuff now as we did ten years ago. Once I get into a rhythm of sorting stuff into toss, donate, and keep bins, it feels so good to be ruthless.

If you've guessed that I am responsible for packing and inventorying our belongings for each move, you are correct

 

[Asscherhalo_lover]

I have honestly always been a "thrower outer", even when I was a kid. If anything, I learned much better ways of folding my clothes from her which I LOVE. I have never been very attached to "things" but if you are, prepare yourself!

 

[baby monster]

I read the book and did a small scale 3 years ago when we moved. was forced to do that because I didn't want to pack useless stuff. I dislike throwing away useful things so I didn't go full-on Kondo. I made use-up piles of various categories and wrote lists of things I had because I was buying duplicates as things weren't organized.

I did save my pre-pregnancy clothes with the hope that I'll lose weight and I'm actively trying to do so. They are in a separate storage area so my closet now has only clothes I like and can fit into. BTW, Kondo says not to force people to declutter so I didn't. Couldn't get DH to go through his clothes so they are still in the same moving boxes which proves the point. Did the papers and shredded so much. Scanned important documents. Donated books to the library.

The book really changed how I view purchases. Supporting the economy is good but clutter drives me nuts so I had many conversations with the family regarding bringing "stuff" into the house. Birthday presents for the kids are now experiences rather than plastic toys, I also ask for consumable gifts and DH is cut off from buying kitchen gadgets.

I loved watching Neflix series and did a little bit more declutter in the basement. Gave away remaining baby stuff and clothes to someone who really needed it and was grateful for not spending money. Went through all the bigger kids clothing I was saving and donated what my younger won't be able to wear.

 

[ame]

I did my closet, but I live with someone who REFUSES to get rid of anything. So I had bags to donate that I had to hide in my car and donate because he lost his shit seeing stuff pile up. He is ridiculous about getting rid of anything, so it was over pretty fast. I also think the "thanking my stuff" thing is stupid.

 

[missy]

I’ve never heard of the konmarie purging method but lately I’ve been throwing out whatever doesn’t give me joy or have a functional use. It’s new to me but have been working on it for the last few months and so far so good. I take it one day at a time because otherwise it would be overwhelming. I have too much stuff. I want to live my authentic life and the minimalist in me is wanting to get out and I’m onboard with that.

 

[TooPatient]

No, but I am working on at decluttering our house. I pick two things a day to post on the buy nothing group. Plus watch for any ISO posts and give what we can. I also started keeping a list on my phone of things to give away when I think of them so that I can post later when I might have trouble finding something to easily select to give away.

Clothes: I found a great non profit raising money for the awesome children's hospital and gave about 1/4 of everything to them. Will go through again and take a bunch more to a local church that gives clothes to those in need.


I figured I would start with the obvious stuff and then move on to the rest. So far, no regrets!

 

[monarch64]

I did my closet, but I live with someone who REFUSES to get rid of anything. So I had bags to donate that I had to hide in my car and donate because he lost his shit seeing stuff pile up. He is ridiculous about getting rid of anything, so it was over pretty fast. I also think the "thanking my stuff" thing is stupid.

I didn't get it, either. When her show came on Netflix, I started seeing all kinds of memes on Facebook sort of mocking her methods. Then I came across an article (can't find it now, of course) that explained why it was kind of shitty to insult her basic principles--many are based on Shintoism. Then it all made a lot more sense. Maybe I don't assign things the same value or consider their "feelings," but now I at least understand why someone else might. It's pretty interesting! https://www.bustle.com/p/how-shinto-influenced-marie-kondos-konmari-method-of-organizing-15861445

 

[kgizo]

I’m not familiar with the konmarie method but try to declutter during spring and fall big cleanings. My husband is a pack rat, I am not and we share a closet. When I can’t stand the creep on his side I take a few things he hasn’t worn in a long time and hide them for a few weeks. If he doesn’t miss them during that time I donate them. If he notices an item is lost I magically find it the next day. He has only noticed something missing once.

 

[YadaYadaYada]

Haven't tried this method but we did recently get new beds for our kids and that meant a thorough declutter. I kid you not, I took 80% of my four year old's toys out of his room and he didn't even notice. Decided to get rid of a bunch of stuff but start rotating his toys, so each month he will have "new" toys to play with.

With my older son he has a ton of Legos so I got some of those under the bed storage containers to keep them in and again we got rid of a bunch of stuff. Is it normal for a twelve year old kid to sleep with so many stuffed animals? Well now he only has five and the rest can keep another kid company!

I think it's important for kids especially to learn how to sort items themselves. Quite a few years ago I belonged to Freecycle and probably got a bit carried away with it. Well I was complaining to DH that the house is so hard to keep clean and he said "if you keep bringing things into the house you will never get ahead" so that was a lightbulb moment for sure.

 

[House Cat]

 

[Indylady]

I try to purge semi regularly. Lugg is a useful app, for a fee they will take your things to
Goodwill, the City recycling center, etc.

 

[Indylady]

I also wanted to post a cultural concept that is now enjoying an international spotlight—the concept of a hygge space, which in very short, means a cozy home. Think fuzzy socks, throw blankets, candles, etc. it feels to me that it’s a tiny bit antitheical to a total minimalist life (cause you do need a little ‘stuff’ for that cozy, a family lives here kind of feeling). https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.ne...ge-the-danish-obsession-with-getting-cozy/amp

 

[cmd2014]

Yes. My husband and I have been doing it since Christmas. We started with her exact method - and did our clothes first. That alone has been life changing. We did the huge pile, decided that we would not be able to sleep until it was sorted through, opened a bottle or two of wine, and started sorting. We did not keep anything that did not fit, that we did not love, and that we did not have sentimental attachment to. Her folding method also allows you to fit a remarkable amount of clothes into a drawer - way more than the way we were doing before. So between the two things it's been amazing. Before it never felt like there was enough space. Now we have empty drawers. We're 3 months later and it's maintained. The laundry never piles up because it's obvious what is laundry. Everything has a home. I have found clothes I had forgotten I had (in a good way). Mornings are no longer chaotic with us not being able to find an outfit to wear (which was daily before). We fold things together and it feels nice instead of an argument like it had been before.

Then we kept decluttering and organizing but did not follow her method. So far we have done the clothes, the pantry, the bedrooms, the linen closets, and the bathrooms. We have yet to tackle the books, the kitchen, the basement, or the garage. Next up will probably be the kitchen.

For me it is nice that we are both committed to doing it and we have been keeping it up. Without the show I wouldn't have gotten DH on board. Now it doesn't feel so overwhelming, as we have a way to talk to each other about what we want to keep vs what we want to declutter, and it has been nice to see how nice it is to make sure that everything really does have a home and that we are only keeping what we truly love and use. We were never messy before, but it's way better now. I almost feel like I'm living in my mom's home, and that's saying something.

 

[telephone89]

I watched a few episodes and it did inspire me to declutter a bit. My husband and I each have our own closet and bathroom, and so I started with our bathrooms. We have sooo many little hotel sample sizes and they were all over the place. I went through all my random crap, incl makeup/skin care and tossed a ton. My bathroom is pretty minimal now, even if I still leave my hairdryer and curling iron on the counter (). My husbands bathroom, I put all his crap except the few things I know he uses daily (toothbrush, etc) into a big bin and left it for him. He put it under the sink, and we'll likely toss it pretty soon.

I don't want to do my closet, because I've gained weight and an im the process of losing it. I don't want to throw away all my nice "skinny" clothes lol. But i have decided that I'm not buying any more clothing at my current size unless absolutely necessary. So the bathroom was as far as we got. I would love to do the rest of the house, but I'm wary lol.

 

[telephone89]

I also wanted to post a cultural concept that is now enjoying an international spotlight—the concept of a hygge space, which in very short, means a cozy home. Think fuzzy socks, throw blankets, candles, etc. it feels to me that it’s a tiny bit antitheical to a total minimalist life (cause you do need a little ‘stuff’ for that cozy, a family lives here kind of feeling). https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.ne...ge-the-danish-obsession-with-getting-cozy/amp

I LOVE this! But it's probably because this winter has sucked and I've been cozied up inside haha

 

[lilmosun]

My cousin and I were talking about this today.

She runs a higher end for-charity shop and she was just telling that Marie Kondo has been great for donations, but it's funny how many come back looking for something hey regretted giving away.

She has longed told me that we just have the "gene" as collecting stuff just runs on our side of the family. She was shocked that I don't have a clutter room (descried as a room that serves no purpose other than to collect stuff and something I realize many in our side of the family have). I told her "That's why I collect jewelry - it doesn't take much space!"

 

[TooPatient]

I just ran across this article while looking for some additional information on her method. This really resonates with me and is something DH and I have talked about in past. It makes an interesting read.

https://www.theatlantic.com/enterta...ie-kondo-and-the-privilege-of-clutter/475266/

 

[yssie]

Most of my house is spartan.

I have anywhere between seven and eight animals roaming it at any given time. Seven or eight furry animals that occasionally have accidents, occasionally get territorial, occasionally decide to eat things I don't personally classify as food but...

Throws and blankets? They'll get peed on.
Long curtains? Marking dangers.
Rugs? Fur catchers.
Decorative odds and ends perched up high? Impossible to dust.
Decorative odds and ends within animal reach? Going to get broken.

The animals aren't allowed into three bedrooms, two of which are guest rooms.

That means I've got one bedroom for stuff I don't want the animals near. I'm a "collector" and "clutterer" by nature... but years of living with this crittery have trained me to be very very selective about what I choose to hold onto

The other half and I did do a clothes cleanout a few weeks ago. Close examination lasted probably fifteen minutes... by the end of the hour I was just throwing things into contractor bags willy-nilly. I'm sure I tossed some things I shouldn't have.

 

[cmd2014]

I have to admit that I have never read her books, and have only watched the Netflix show, so I may not have a full appreciation of the method. But my impression is that she has never suggested that anyone let go of items that still have sentimental value to someone (as technically they would spark joy). On the show, people kept what I personally would have thought of as excessive amounts of things (like the guy with the shoe collection - many of the pairs did not fit him and were not wearable in any case due to having fallen apart with the passage of time, and yet he kept something like 200 pairs of shoes, or the woman with the Christmas decoration obsession - she kept boxes and boxes of decorations in the end). It's more an idea of keeping only the things that are important to you in some way (functionally or emotionally) and making sure that everything has a home to go in. I also appreciated her approach to organizing drawers and closets. The origami technique that she does with fabrics really does dramatically reduce how much space items take up, and it makes them more accessible. You can see everything and everything can be taken out and put back in easily, which is fantastic.

So far we have not regretted anything that we have given away. But I am attached to my stuff, so I can say that I leaned on the side of caution when purging. I may do a round 2 at some point, but so far I am really happy with what we kept, what we didn't, and how everything has been working so far. I did not give away anything that meant a lot to me. I still have my wedding dress. I still have pieces of jewelry that I don't wear but are sentimental pieces. I still have stuff from my childhood tucked away.

What my husband said to me yesterday is that having less has made him value what he has more.

 

[SomethingNew]

Yes. My husband and I have been doing it since Christmas. We started with her exact method - and did our clothes first. That alone has been life changing. We did the huge pile, decided that we would not be able to sleep until it was sorted through, opened a bottle or two of wine, and started sorting. We did not keep anything that did not fit, that we did not love, and that we did not have sentimental attachment to. Her folding method also allows you to fit a remarkable amount of clothes into a drawer - way more than the way we were doing before. So between the two things it's been amazing. Before it never felt like there was enough space. Now we have empty drawers. We're 3 months later and it's maintained. The laundry never piles up because it's obvious what is laundry. Everything has a home. I have found clothes I had forgotten I had (in a good way). Mornings are no longer chaotic with us not being able to find an outfit to wear (which was daily before). We fold things together and it feels nice instead of an argument like it had been before.

Then we kept decluttering and organizing but did not follow her method. So far we have done the clothes, the pantry, the bedrooms, the linen closets, and the bathrooms. We have yet to tackle the books, the kitchen, the basement, or the garage. Next up will probably be the kitchen.

For me it is nice that we are both committed to doing it and we have been keeping it up. Without the show I wouldn't have gotten DH on board. Now it doesn't feel so overwhelming, as we have a way to talk to each other about what we want to keep vs what we want to declutter, and it has been nice to see how nice it is to make sure that everything really does have a home and that we are only keeping what we truly love and use. We were never messy before, but it's way better now. I almost feel like I'm living in my mom's home, and that's saying something.

It is a huge determination and commitment to be going thru the entire process like you are doing now, and to have your DH on board with you, that's half the success already! My DH does support me, but he is not willing to commit the time (i don't blame him, as our weekends and sometime weekdays are all occupied with kids and family activities). He doesn't get a lot of free time for himself already. He doesn't get a opportunity to hang out with his own friends, sleep in on weekends, etc. And that's not healthy for him or for our family. The last thing he needs is a whole new level of stress, even though we are both confident the end result will bring us peace and help us to organize our hectic life better. But the process does sound very overwhelming.

I read both her books, her show and a ton of other methods of purging. I feel stress already when thinking off pulling EVERYTHING from the closet and putting in one pile. But i think it does make sense in a way. If you don't go thru that process, you don't feel how much stuff there is, and many have been piling up for years. We have a considerably big home where we live (in CA), but i always feel like we don't have enough space. I thought of doing a modified, less stressful version which, we already do every once in a while, but I am beginning to think only to have gone thru this process, you can bring the whole family into agreement that this is not only about cleaning up but a life style change.

I am just curious to see how many people is able to do the full blown Konmarie method and if that stick overtime. And how many people did a less intrusive version and whether that worked at all. Do they feel they have successfully get rid of the cluttering by using other method? And do they actually feel they have lighten up their lives?

 

[SomethingNew]

I did a modified version to my clothes closet. I.e., I touched everything but didn't put it in a big pile in the middle of my floor. I also tried on a lot of things that I wasn't sure about rather than just continuing to shove the hanger down the rod, which had been the case for years on some things. I got rid of a lot, but have somehow managed to "restock" LOL. My closet has never really been a "mess" and, like House Cat, it looks pretty much the same as it did before the great Konmarie.

As for some of the other things, like talking to my clothes... um... NO. I chose to undertake the process in full control of my faculties.

Yes, same here, I do slimming down my closet every once in a while (actually for years even with multiple moves and purges). But it doesn't stick and so I am seriously considering a more drastic way to get rid of our excessive belongings. I think my issue is not only about reducing the amount we own, but about our lifestyle, shopping habits, and willingness to part with stuff.

 

[SomethingNew]

I wish I could but can't bring myself to do it. If I am overwhelmed before I even start then I can't imagine what kind of a basket case I would be if I had all my crap in a pile. We might never sleep in the bedroom again.

YES! It does sound so stressful, that's why I still have not start. it is a HUGE time commitment, and mentally too! but it may also be only to have gone thru this, you will not want to do it again which is why many claims her method works.

 

[lilmosun]

I was very interested in her folding because my drawers are not well organized. The question I have is how you can tell one shirt from another when folded up like that? I can see myself creating a mess trying to find the right shirt in the morning.

Yes, same here, I do slimming down my closet every once in a while (actually for years even with multiple moves and purges). But it doesn't stick and so I am seriously considering a more drastic way to get rid of our excessive belongings. I think my issue is not only about reducing the amount we own, but about our lifestyle, shopping habits, and willingness to part with stuff.

I do this at least once a year but as you say, it's a vicious circle unless I change my shopping habits.

I just ran across this article while looking for some additional information on her method. This really resonates with me and is something DH and I have talked about in past. It makes an interesting read.

https://www.theatlantic.com/enterta...ie-kondo-and-the-privilege-of-clutter/475266/

Thanks for sharing this...I think there is a lot of truth as it resonates with what I have seen on my mom's side of the family.

 

[baby monster]

I just ran across this article while looking for some additional information on her method. This really resonates with me and is something DH and I have talked about in past. It makes an interesting read.

https://www.theatlantic.com/enterta...ie-kondo-and-the-privilege-of-clutter/475266/

To me, the article is silly. Yes, it explains why people get attached to stuff but poverty isn't an excuse for hoarding. I grew up very poor so I know I can survive on very little with very basic clothing and household items. Keeping old things just clutters up the space to the point no one can find anything or know what they have. And most of the sentimental items she talks about have been sitting untouched for decades. If they are so important, they should be part of her regular life, not shoved into the basement slowly decomposing into dust.

The fear that you may throw out things you might need one day is the reason 1-800-junk is such a successful business. Can't take it with you so kids or grandkids have to get large containers to clean out the house before selling it.

 

[MeowMeow]

My husband had her netflix show on trying to teach our new baby early about tidying since neither of us enjoy it in the slightest lmao. I was most interested in her folding methods since clothes in a drawer are our biggest enemy sometimes. Maybe I just don't have it down yet but it almost seems worse for me than folding and stacking vertically. I dunno. I'll keep trying. We are supposedly moving overseas soon so I am definitely trying to purge where I can. Especially in the stuff that came from my family's storage unit from 15 years ago. My dad was like omg that toilet paper was perfectly good!!! Handsoap too!!! And I was like .... it's not your house it's cluttering!! I have several tubs of still useful things I need to bring to the Airmans attic where we live. I already gave away 5 tubs worth of antique dishes and some toys. They can pry my Prescut (sp?)out of my cold dead hands though.

 

[House Cat]

Just thought this was hilarious. But honestly, I just asked my husband if we could start organizing again.