Konmarie really works (decluttering content)

[regentrude]

I don't really suffer from clutter since all my items have a dedicated place in my home, but I own way too much stuff, much more than I actually need. After finally reading the Marie Kondo book at the library (I resisted purchasing it because it seemed ironic to bring this book as yet another item into my home), I konmarie'd my closet. I really touched every piece of clothing, felt whether it sparked joy, and donated everything that didn't (except for three shirts I am ambivalent about, but that are useful to wear under a suit. They are at the back of my mind, making me feel guilty about not fully following through.). Took two boxes to Goodwill today. And honestly, it made a huge difference compared to just going through and weeding out the totally unwanted things, because I now only have clothes that I really enjoy. I can highly recommend it and will tackle other possessions in due time.

And then I went on a great decluttering spree, and facebook was the perfect tool in finding new homes for things. Two boxes of textbooks went to local homeschoolers who can use them for highschool. An old digital camera with low resolution went to a 6 y/o who was excited to have his first camera of his own. A bag of like-new stuffed animals went to a lady who gives them to kids with cancer. And a 28 year old sofa bed will be picked up tonight, and if the guy does not show, there are eight more people interested. Yeah!

A set of my grandma's silverware went to DD (flat rate box!). And a bunch of miscellaneous kitchen items and a toaster I haven't used in years are packed up and ready to send with DS when he moves.

[Twigs]

Well done!

[KungFuPanda]

I love my drawers this way. I’ll never go back to stacking things in the drawers. They stay so much neater whe you can see everything without digging. 

[2ndGenHomeschooler]

10 minutes ago, KungFuPanda said:

I love my drawers this way. I’ll never go back to stacking things in the drawers. They stay so much neater whe you can see everything without digging. 

Yes! Mine too!

[RoundAbout]

Totally agree. It's changed my perspective on things forever. As an example: we recently spent 5 weeks on a self-drive camping safari in Africa and needed some quick dry UV clothes. As soon as I got back I got rid of them. They served a purpose but were not stylish, were not something I would wear in daily life, and were extra worn and pill-y from all constant rough washing in a bucket (we only brought three outfits each). In the past I would have saved them for another camping trip and then never have worn them. I realized its ok to have some clothes that I used for just a month, its just part of the expense of the trip.

I did save the hat I bought though. I love the hat ?

[happi duck]

Thanks for this encouragement!

Without going into detail, I'll just say that this is perfect timing!

[Liz CA]

I was proud when I got my sock and underwear drawer konmarie'd and it has brought me joy for a whole year now. I am afraid to open the closet though...

[Ann.without.an.e]

1 hour ago, regentrude said:

I don't really suffer from clutter since all my items have a dedicated place in my home, but I own way too much stuff, much more than I actually need. After finally reading the Marie Kondo book at the library (I resisted purchasing it because it seemed ironic to bring this book as yet another item into my home), I konmarie'd my closet. I really touched every piece of clothing, felt whether it sparked joy, and donated everything that didn't (except for three shirts I am ambivalent about, but that are useful to wear under a suit. They are at the back of my mind, making me feel guilty about not fully following through.). Took two boxes to Goodwill today. And honestly, it made a huge difference compared to just going through and weeding out the totally unwanted things, because I now only have clothes that I really enjoy. I can highly recommend it and will tackle other possessions in due time.

And then I went on a great decluttering spree, and facebook was the perfect tool in finding new homes for things. Two boxes of textbooks went to local homeschoolers who can use them for highschool. An old digital camera with low resolution went to a 6 y/o who was excited to have his first camera of his own. A bag of like-new stuffed animals went to a lady who gives them to kids with cancer. And a 28 year old sofa bed will be picked up tonight, and if the guy does not show, there are eight more people interested. Yeah!

A set of my grandma's silverware went to DD (flat rate box!). And a bunch of miscellaneous kitchen items and a toaster I haven't used in years are packed up and ready to send with DS when he moves.

 

 

Which book did you happen to read?  I am actually already in process of decluttering like a mad woman so this post is perfect timing.  I would love to incorporate some new ideas ❤️ 

[regentrude]

10 minutes ago, Attolia said:

Which book did you happen to read?  I am actually already in process of decluttering like a mad woman so this post is perfect timing.  I would love to incorporate some new ideas ❤️ 

Marie Kondo The lifechanging magic of tidying up

[Ann.without.an.e]

4 minutes ago, regentrude said:

Marie Kondo The lifechanging magic of tidying up

 

 

Thank you!  I found her booklist on amazon but I wasn't sure exactly which one you used ?  I will see if the library has it or I can do kindle ❤️ 

[mlktwins]

I loved the book and the method, but I struggle with just getting rid of stuff I paid good money for ?!  I'm not bringing new "stuff" into the house anymore, but I need to get rid of stuff I already have and feel like I should try and sell it or something.  I don't have time to do that though with homeschooling and other responsibilities.  I would feel so much better though if it was just out of my house.  How do ya'll deal with this?  

[regentrude]

28 minutes ago, mlktwins said:

I loved the book and the method, but I struggle with just getting rid of stuff I paid good money for ?!  I'm not bringing new "stuff" into the house anymore, but I need to get rid of stuff I already have and feel like I should try and sell it or something.  I don't have time to do that though with homeschooling and other stuff.  I would feel so much better though if it was just out of my house.  How do ya'll deal with this?  

I give away almost everything. This is my reasoning:

I have paid for the item and gotten the use out of it for which I paid. The item is now sitting there taking up space. Giving it away does not cost me any money - the money was spent years ago and is long gone, and I got the use of the item in exchange. Items are meant to be used; they are unhappy sitting idle. I am blessing the universe by making sure the things go where they can serve and be enjoyed.

[dirty ethel rackham]

I've been afraid to read the book.  It just makes me feel inferior.  We do have clutter.  I am not super attached to stuff, but I struggle with how to get rid of things and not put them in a landfill.  I have several things on giveaway sites and have no takers.  If I used her method on my closet, I'd be naked.  My clothes don't bring me joy because I don't like how I look in anything.  I do get rid of things that are no longer useful to me (don't fit, don't need because I won't be going to an event like that, looking a little dated.)  We did a ton of decluttering when we did our house projects.  For the most part, things are not coming back in the house, but I do have to work on getting them out of my garage (see above quandry about how to get rid of them.)  

[cjzimmer1]

1 minute ago, dirty ethel rackham said:

I've been afraid to read the book.  It just makes me feel inferior.  We do have clutter.  I am not super attached to stuff, but I struggle with how to get rid of things and not put them in a landfill.  I have several things on giveaway sites and have no takers.  If I used her method on my closet, I'd be naked.  My clothes don't bring me joy because I don't like how I look in anything.  I do get rid of things that are no longer useful to me (don't fit, don't need because I won't be going to an event like that, looking a little dated.)  We did a ton of decluttering when we did our house projects.  For the most part, things are not coming back in the house, but I do have to work on getting them out of my garage (see above quandry about how to get rid of them.)  

Goodwill, and the Restore (building supplies, furniture etc) are where 95% of my stuff goes.  Both have pretty good programs for dealing with the non-sellable items (at least in my area).  Goodwill will take any kind of cloth fiber (even stain ripped clothes that in the past I always just tossed) and has a source for them.  They also recycle certain kinds of old electronics/computer stuff.  

 

[CAJinBE]

I want to do this! I have been getting rid of things every season and have finally let go of my work suits that I spent so much on since I haven't needed a suit for work in 18 years now. I've been doing good trying to get things that go with everything else like blues and greys. But the problem still is things that don't fit well but I still use because I have trouble finding things I like in my size. I'm losing weight after my back surgery with all this walking they want me to do and more free time due to not being able to do housework. This might be the time I can finally manage to do this. Thanks Regentrude! I'll look for the book on kindle.

[Teaching3bears]

Yesterday I donated 3 garbage bags and 3 boxes of stuff.  I recycled 2 boxes of paper this week.  I have over 3 boxes of stuff waiting to go to a kids consignment store, I still have a bunch of paper to declutter, I want to go through my kitchen, stuffed animals .... So there's so much more.  I have to stop buying so many toys and games.  

[KrissiK]

11 hours ago, regentrude said:

I give away almost everything. This is my reasoning:

I have paid for the item and gotten the use out of it for which I paid. The item is now sitting there taking up space. Giving it away does not cost me any money - the money was spent years ago and is long gone, and I got the use of the item in exchange. Items are meant to be used; they are unhappy sitting idle. I am blessing the universe by making sure the things go where they can serve and be enjoyed.

I try to tell myself this, too, and it helps a lot. I hang on to stuff out of guilt and this has helped me part with a lot of things I don’t need, clothes that don’t suit me or I don’t like. A lot of people knock the “psychology” of her method, but that’s what helped me the most.

[aggie96]

11 hours ago, mlktwins said:

I loved the book and the method, but I struggle with just getting rid of stuff I paid good money for ?!  I'm not bringing new "stuff" into the house anymore, but I need to get rid of stuff I already have and feel like I should try and sell it or something.  I don't have time to do that though with homeschooling and other responsibilities.  I would feel so much better though if it was just out of my house.  How do ya'll deal with this?  

 

I struggled with this also. I found a charity with a cause that I really wanted to support, rented a Uhaul, and took everything to them. Some of the stuff will go to their safe house and some will go through their resale system (where their recipients also get to shop for free). I didn't mind not making money on the items (I just consider it my "tithing"), but I absolutely did not want it going to Goodwill and the likes where they tear stuff up as they receive the items and have a vague mission (at least in my area).

[Baseball mom]

Very timely. 

I just went thru most of our clothes and got rid of a bunch (ok not gone yet but in a pile waiting to go).  I am proud of dh and dss for getting rid of as much as they did!  I wanted to get rid of more but I  kept going back to "it does fit and I do wear it on occasion".  They do NOT spark joy but I can't find clothes easily and we have NO money for clothes.  So I kept some.

I am ready to do the rest of our house.  We have entirely to much carp and it makes me anxious and ashamed.   

We may not be able to afford new things but by George our house can quit looking so junky.

The guilt factor is another big one.  (it was a gift,  it was my grandmother's,  paid good money) But I am working on that too.   

 

[Annie G]

The most difficult part for me is that dh Will Not part with anything. It has taken me a long time to accept that I can only control my own possessions and that being upset about dh’s stuff just isn’t helping anything. For the most part I’m able to keep my mouth shut, but we’re packing things for storage so we can sell the house and relocate and there have been times it’s been hard to keep my cool. I have 5 boxes of books. Dh has 85.  He has probably 20 boxes of ‘stuff’ from his office or past jobs that he wants to keep. Complete collections of Reason magazine and three car magazine subscriptions.  We’re on the same page about most of the important things in life but ‘stuff’ ain’t one of them. 

 

[Kassia]

27 minutes ago, Annie G said:

The most difficult part for me is that dh Will Not part with anything. It has taken me a long time to accept that I can only control my own possessions and that being upset about dh’s stuff just isn’t helping anything. For the most part I’m able to keep my mouth shut, but we’re packing things for storage so we can sell the house and relocate and there have been times it’s been hard to keep my cool. I have 5 boxes of books. Dh has 85.  He has probably 20 boxes of ‘stuff’ from his office or past jobs that he wants to keep. Complete collections of Reason magazine and three car magazine subscriptions.  We’re on the same page about most of the important things in life but ‘stuff’ ain’t one of them. 

 

 

We might be married to the same man.  ?

[cintinative]

2 hours ago, Baseball mom said:

We have entirely to much carp and it makes me anxious and ashamed.   

 

I totally know what you mean, and can relate to the frustration of wanting to get rid of stuff but perhaps lacking time to tackle it . .. 

but can I just tell you, I am giggling at you having "entirely too much carp"?  It sounds like a Lake Erie problem.

[mlktwins]

2 hours ago, aggie96 said:

 

I struggled with this also. I found a charity with a cause that I really wanted to support, rented a Uhaul, and took everything to them. Some of the stuff will go to their safe house and some will go through their resale system (where their recipients also get to shop for free). I didn't mind not making money on the items (I just consider it my "tithing"), but I absolutely did not want it going to Goodwill and the likes where they tear stuff up as they receive the items and have a vague mission (at least in my area).

I had a place that helped families trying to get back on their feet after leaving a domestic abuse situation.  The families were usually leaving with just the clothes on their backs.  What they didn't need, the rest was sold at a monthly yard sale and the proceeds went back into helping with the temporary living quarters expenses.  They stopped taking donations last year and I haven't found anything to take their place yet. 

[Pen]

17 hours ago, Liz CA said:

I was proud when I got my sock and underwear drawer konmarie'd and it has brought me joy for a whole year now.

 

Oooooh!  I love this!  

2 hours ago, Baseball mom said:

Very timely. 

I just went thru most of our clothes and got rid of a bunch (ok not gone yet but in a pile waiting to go).  I am proud of dh and dss for getting rid of as much as they did!  I wanted to get rid of more but I  kept going back to "it does fit and I do wear it on occasion".  They do NOT spark joy but I can't find clothes easily and we have NO money for clothes.  So I kept some.

I am ready to do the rest of our house.  We have entirely to much carp and it makes me anxious and ashamed.   

We may not be able to afford new things but by George our house can quit looking so junky.

The guilt factor is another big one.  (it was a gift,  it was my grandmother's,  paid good money) But I am working on that too.   

 

 

I have an “it sparks joy” to have something serviceable in some cases. Or it sparks joy to have some items I don’t have to be careful of. Or it sparks joy not to have to buy something. 

As I get new this I am trying to get things that are more intrinsically joy sparking. Like not getting a color I don’t like because it’s a few dollars less than the one I prefer. 

I am saying thank you’s and good bye’s to a car I bought 26 years ago. It needs to move on, but saying goodbye to a major object in my life for so long is hard to do. I feel like Mma Ramotswe with her little van that she does not want to part with in the Alexander McCall Smith books. 

[KungFuPanda]

16 hours ago, mlktwins said:

I loved the book and the method, but I struggle with just getting rid of stuff I paid good money for ?!  I'm not bringing new "stuff" into the house anymore, but I need to get rid of stuff I already have and feel like I should try and sell it or something.  I don't have time to do that though with homeschooling and other responsibilities.  I would feel so much better though if it was just out of my house.  How do ya'll deal with this?  

Lemme help with that mindset:

1. Is it worth $200 to you to NOT have a yard sale? Just drop it all off at goodwill and pretend you paid yourself not to bother selling stuff. You “might” have made a few bucks but having that stuff gone is valuable self care.  Get a receipt if you’ll remember to use it. 

2.  Real estate is expensive.  Is your clutter worth more per square foot than the space it occupies? Trash it and gain space!

 

I have this book in my iPad, so no clutter induced guilt from THAT purchase.

 

[Momto6inIN]

I do my spring cleaning in the summer since that's when I have time and just this weekend went through the kids' bedrooms with them. This is not a job for the faint of heart lol

But I guess some of the stuff I've taught them has actually sunk in... It was a hoot to hear them asking themselves, "Is it useful? Is it beautiful? Do I love it?" and creating a big stack of stuff to trash/donate ?

[KrissiK]

17 hours ago, mlktwins said:

I loved the book and the method, but I struggle with just getting rid of stuff I paid good money for ?!  I'm not bringing new "stuff" into the house anymore, but I need to get rid of stuff I already have and feel like I should try and sell it or something.  I don't have time to do that though with homeschooling and other responsibilities.  I would feel so much better though if it was just out of my house.  How do ya'll deal with this?  

I hate yard sales.  I just won’t do it. But the whole “paid good money for it” thing, yes, I struggle with that. I guess one thing I do is try to go down the road mentally as to how I came to acquire it. Was it an impulse purchase? Did I just not bother not return it when I didn’t like It? My big downfall is buying clothes to “get out of a rut” so I will buy a different style or color, wear it once or twice, hate it and there it hangs.  That was a big lesson I learned Konmari-ing the first time. I got rid of the clothes, thanked them for teaching me that I looked terrible in that color or style and realized that I needed to stop doing things like that. It’s kind of funny, butnStitch-Fix has really helped me expand my wardrobe and try new things, but within the bounds of what looks good on me.

[cintinative]

9 hours ago, Baseball mom said:

The guilt factor is another big one.  (it was a gift,  it was my grandmother's,  paid good money) But I am working on that too.   

Me too.

[HS Mom in NC]

I'm fairly well organized and not very sentimental about objects, but Konmari deeply resonated with me and gave me the missing piece I needed to really declutter all the way. She was also instrumental in developing my minimalist wardrobe after a size change.  Now I shop looking for essential pieces that spark joy, or are soul stirring, or resonate more deeply, or whatever. I first articulate the kind of piece I need within my color scheme: white or cream short sleeve, dress casual top; casual grey warm weather skirt; black dress casual pants; colored (blues, greens, or burgundies) lightweight sweater, then when I find something that fits the criteria, I ask if it sparks joy when I see, touch or wear it. If it does, I buy it.  I notice I've been wearing those that do much more than those that just fit the category. 

Glad it worked out so well for you, OP.

[Baseball mom]

9 hours ago, cintinative said:

 

I totally know what you mean, and can relate to the frustration of wanting to get rid of stuff but perhaps lacking time to tackle it . .. 

but can I just tell you, I am giggling at you having "entirely too much carp"?  It sounds like a Lake Erie problem.

 

[Baseball mom]

Well it was suppose to say to much crap  but my crazy auto correct decided to change it and I didn't notice LOL

[regentrude]

150 National Geographic magazines found homes!

[Annie G]

The butt-ugly huge fake painting my ‘interior designer’ sister in law gave us years ago has been taken to Goodwill. Christmas in July!!!!  I jumped with joy when dh said to get rid of it. 

[Jaz]

We're working on an in-depth Konmarie anticipating a move next spring. I took 5 bags of donations in last month. My goal is another five this one. I cleared out 3 bags of garbage over the last 2 days!

[regentrude]

Still going at it. Have a few things I don't know what to do with them:

Fragile items. I am afraid to donate breakables (like vases and crystal, not generic dishes) to the thriftstore. Do I need to package them as for a move? Seems slight overkill.

Books in foreign languages. What do I do with all the German books? Thriftstore probably throws them away.

Great Courses lectures. They were a major part of our homeschooling and are sooo hard to part with. I am afraid people locally won't be able to appreciate them for what they are. Listed some on the Classifies here on the board, but that seems to be pretty dead and not see a lot of traffic. 

argh. Clothes were sooo easy.

[Arcadia]

30 minutes ago, regentrude said:

Books in foreign languages. What do I do with all the German books? Thriftstore probably throws them away.

 

Any high schools or private schools offering German language classes? The teachers and parents might appreciate those. My kids German Saturday school gets some funding from the German government to buy German books but they rely mostly on donations to build the school library.  

Half Price Bookstore locally carries German books, fiction and non-fiction. If you have a store near you, you can call and ask if they would buy.

My local libraries’ book sales have German books too. People often donate to the libraries German, French, Russian, Italian books.

[regentrude]

4 minutes ago, Arcadia said:

Any high schools or private schools offering German language classes? The teachers and parents might appreciate those. My kids German Saturday school gets some funding from the German government to buy German books but they rely mostly on donations to build the school library.  

Half Price Bookstore locally carries German books, fiction and non-fiction. If you have a store near you, you can call and ask if they would buy.

My local libraries’ book sales have German books too. People often donate to the libraries German, French, Russian, Italian books.

we have one high school. I will ask, but I highly doubt that they have a use for the books - language instruction only begins in 9th grade, so after 4 years students are not capable of reading actual literature.

Half price books is a good idea, but the closest it's 100 miles away. Our town is small; never seen foreign language books at the library or the library sale.

[Ottakee]

For the German books, do you have a local FB group?  If so, offer them on the page for free.  Someone is likely to snag them.

[scholastica]

1 hour ago, regentrude said:

Still going at it. Have a few things I don't know what to do with them:

Fragile items. I am afraid to donate breakables (like vases and crystal, not generic dishes) to the thriftstore. Do I need to package them as for a move? Seems slight overkill.

Books in foreign languages. What do I do with all the German books? Thriftstore probably throws them away.

Great Courses lectures. They were a major part of our homeschooling and are sooo hard to part with. I am afraid people locally won't be able to appreciate them for what they are. Listed some on the Classifies here on the board, but that seems to be pretty dead and not see a lot of traffic. 

argh. Clothes were sooo easy.

Just wrap the breakables in moving paper or newspaper like you would for a move. I just did this yesterday with the light fixture of an old but still working ceiling fan we’re taking to the Restore.

 

[CAJinBE]

I read the book on Kindle and started with my bedroom. I didn't throw all the clothes on the floor like she suggests due to my back surgery or go into the winter storage, but I made a good dent in it. I got rid of one large garbage bag worth of worn out tank tops that I was saving for layering, nylons still in their packages that I know that I will never wear. One pair I took out of its package didn't seem stretchy anymore anyway. And some sweaters that I didn't like. There were a few things I could donate. I couldn't tackle the shoes because they were on the closet floor and I couldn't bend down enough to reach them, but I made a mental list for later. I already feel better about the room. There is one empty drawer now and I moved all my walking shorts and socks into my bedside table where I can get them first thing in the morning. I thought I needed to buy more of those, but actually I have plenty even if I walk everyday for two weeks without doing laundry. It was kind of fun and I like the way things look rolled up. 

We have probably thousands of books. I've got a lot to donate but most belong to my dh and I'm not sure he is prepared to get rid of them. He uses a lot of them for work, but there are many that go back to college days. They have a whole room in our house. A lot of our homeschooling stuff will be going soon. I think I can find good homes for most of that. Last year we rented a huge dumpster for a couple weeks. We did a big purge then. The dumpster company took care of sorting the recycling and so on. That was fantastic, but there is so much more if we use the Konmari method. 

[regentrude]

10 minutes ago, Ottakee said:

For the German books, do you have a local FB group?  If so, offer them on the page for free.  Someone is likely to snag them.

I have done that. But am not holding my breath

[scholastica]

3 minutes ago, regentrude said:

I have done that. But am not holding my breath

Someone might surprise you!

[Arcadia]

3 minutes ago, regentrude said:

I have done that. But am not holding my breath

 

Maybe message the AATG (American Association of Teachers of German) Facebook page. They might know teachers/lecturers near to you who could use them for a class library. https://www.facebook.com/AATGHQ/

Their contact details:

American Association of Teachers of German
112 Haddontowne Court, #104
Cherry Hill, NJ 08034
Phone: 856-795-5553 Fax: 856-795-9398
E-mail: info@aatg.org

https://www.aatg.org/

[G5052]

We moved in March, downsizing to a house 3/5 of the old one with a much smaller garage and no shed. And watching all the things I really don't use come in the door as we moved was painful. I'm not going to do that again. We've paired down some since we moved, but we did a big push yesterday, and I have about a dozen things to sell and six bags of things to donate. I separated out two sets of China and that we are going to take to Replacements. We can finally bring the treadmill in from the garage.

However, I still have a lot of boxes to go. There are a lot of mixed boxes that are going to take some time to go through.

It's got to be done though. I keep telling myself that.

[regentrude]

Dvds culled. CDs culled. Board games culled. Car trunk full of boxes going to community thriftstore tomorrow morning.

We can totally rearrange storage in the living room now.

[mlktwins]

On 7/17/2018 at 2:29 PM, KungFuPanda said:

Lemme help with that mindset:

1. Is it worth $200 to you to NOT have a yard sale? Just drop it all off at goodwill and pretend you paid yourself not to bother selling stuff. You “might” have made a few bucks but having that stuff gone is valuable self care.  Get a receipt if you’ll remember to use it. 

2.  Real estate is expensive.  Is your clutter worth more per square foot than the space it occupies? Trash it and gain space!

 

I have this book in my iPad, so no clutter induced guilt from THAT purchase.

 

I am just getting back to this thread!  Thank you for your response!!!  Unfortunately, we have the space.  But...I feel like it is cluttering my mind along with my house.  And...I don't want to leave this stuff for my DH and/or boys to go through.  And...we have my dad's house and my IL's house to go through at some point in the next 5-10 years.  I really just need to get it out and not worry about what I spent!  This really did help!

[G5052]

I had an interesting conversations with my realtor about 1980's houses with smaller rooms and less storage (the one I'm renting) and more modern "executive" houses with walk-in closets and full basements (the one we sold).

She observed that people have so much stuff now, that some see a large house as necessity. Some people of course enjoy the space, but she's had clients who (as an example) had a lots and lots of kitchen stuff so judged every house on the basis of wanting to house all of  it. But (dramatic pause), they rarely cook. Or they had large closets of clothing in the house they were putting on the market and wanted even bigger closets in the new house, even though they admitted to wearing only a fraction of those clothes.

I keep telling my young adults that the next house, whether rental or purchased, will be even smaller than this one. They help me keep it up, but the chances of both being with me in five years are very low because both are in college right now. At some point they're going to fly the coop. And I don't want a house this big full of stuff even though it's smaller than the one we sold. I'm going even smaller next time.

[Pen]

1 hour ago, G5052 said:

I had an interesting conversations with my realtor about 1980's houses with smaller rooms and less storage (the one I'm renting) and more modern "executive" houses with walk-in closets and full basements (the one we sold).

She observed that people have so much stuff now, that some see a large house as necessity. Some people of course enjoy the space, but she's had clients who (as an example) had a lots and lots of kitchen stuff so judged every house on the basis of wanting to house all of  it. But (dramatic pause), they rarely cook. Or they had large closets of clothing in the house they were putting on the market and wanted even bigger closets in the new house, even though they admitted to wearing only a fraction of those clothes.

I keep telling my young adults that the next house, whether rental or purchased, will be even smaller than this one. They help me keep it up, but the chances of both being with me in five years are very low because both are in college right now. At some point they're going to fly the coop. And I don't want a house this big full of stuff even though it's smaller than the one we sold. I'm going even smaller next time.

 

There is some strange thing about kitchen size and cooking. I have a pretty small kitchen in a 1930s bungalow cottage in a rural area. It is inefficient. It doesn’t have a dishwasher appliance. It doesn’t have an indoor refrigerator. It doesn’t even have a good counter for food prep. And yet I cook in it.  I’d really like an electric dishwasher, an indoor fridge, better counters. But, if I had them, would that actually improve the meals coming out of the kitchen?

Or is there something about making do that enhances creativity and cooking? Is too much just stultifying?

[regentrude]

8 minutes ago, Pen said:

.  I’d really like an electric dishwasher, an indoor fridge, better counters. But, if I had them, would that actually improve the meals coming out of the kitchen?

Or is there something about making do that enhances creativity and cooking? Is too much just stultifying?

No, more space is definitely better for cooking. I had a tiny kitchen in my first two apartments, and much of food prep happened at the living room table. Not ideal. I make a lot more and more elaborate things now that I have a larger kitchen and can do things like knead dough or roll out pastry on the countertop.

DD's previous kitchen was microscopic, and baking or more elaborate food prep was very difficult; also, only one person could work in the kitchen. She has moved to an apartment with a larger kitchen and is reveling in the space and cooking and baking up a storm. 

I vote it's dependent on the person; the people who don't cook in the large kitchens would not cook in tiny kitchens either.

[KathyBC]

3 hours ago, G5052 said:

I had an interesting conversations with my realtor about 1980's houses with smaller rooms and less storage (the one I'm renting) and more modern "executive" houses with walk-in closets and full basements (the one we sold).

 

Total aside, but in our little circle we are finding our parents' generation had two-storey 1970's houses (2500 sq ft) with basements, garages, large lots with room for a shed... and our generation seems to be stuck in townhomes or basement-less, smaller homes (1500 sq ft). Or renting out the basement of a bigger home to supplement the mortgage, so still having less space. Could just be the crazy accelerated real-estate inflation in our province/country, though.