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Finally watched tidying up


busymama7
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I wanted to see more of the practical how to's of her method. I have never read the book but was hoping to see more of it in action. I mean the house looked good in the after shot but I wanted more of the process. Also it was nice to see the husband hands on and the end but he was kinda jerky at the beginning (although it could have been editing). I take primary responsibility for the home as well as my husband works full time but he is understanding of what I can't get to and prefers to hire me help.  

I also do a pretty good job of straightening when I get to it but maintenance is a huge issue. I would like to see how people get over that part. Although I do know that neatness begets more neatness so there is that.  

Are there videos on YouTube with her folding method? What I had read about it previously didn't interest me but seeing it in action I saw the genius of it. I may or may not watch more episodes to get more nitty gritty. 

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10 hours ago, busymama7 said:

I also do a pretty good job of straightening when I get to it but maintenance is a huge issue. I would like to see how people get over that part. Although I do know that neatness begets more neatness so there is that.

Routines are everything. I’ve fought against them for ages, because I liked to think of myself as spontaneous/flexible/free, but that didn’t do my house any good!

Flylady had it right with her morning/evening routines and dividing her house into zones. If each area/zone of my house gets a little extra attention once a week, things stay pretty organized and clean.  If I miss an area one week, it doesn’t get too out of control by the time I get to it the next week.

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9 hours ago, Carrie12345 said:

Routines are everything. I’ve fought against them for ages, because I liked to think of myself as spontaneous/flexible/free, but that didn’t do my house any good!

Flylady had it right with her morning/evening routines and dividing her house into zones. If each area/zone of my house gets a little extra attention once a week, things stay pretty organized and clean.  If I miss an area one week, it doesn’t get too out of control by the time I get to it the next week.

Yeah I have routines down so the daily stuff happens but I don't rotate through zones to keep things up. I think it would help a lot if I did.  We are just so busy and just doing daily stuff and laundry takes all my time. So closets and drawer get out of hand until I can't handle it anymore 🙄

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My insignificant two cents about the folding method and placing clothes on edge in the drawers: IMO, this is better in theory than it is in fact. Firstly, folded cotton wrinkles whether you set it on edge or pile things in a stack, so what she says in the book is this avoids wrinkles but I find that untrue. 

Secondly, to me the biggest drawback of folding like that is that I re-wear plenty of things and folding this way is soooooo tedious, especially for pants. When I fold up pants to stack in a drawer, I can do this “in the air” in a minute. If I have to lay it out and fold it into a little rectangle, it’s just too futsy. 

For full disclosure, I nevertheless do dh’s tshirts (but not his work tshirts) this way because he has too darn many of them and it’s the only way they fit in his drawers. 

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3 hours ago, Quill said:

My insignificant two cents about the folding method and placing clothes on edge in the drawers: IMO, this is better in theory than it is in fact. Firstly, folded cotton wrinkles whether you set it on edge or pile things in a stack, so what she says in the book is this avoids wrinkles but I find that untrue. 

Secondly, to me the biggest drawback of folding like that is that I re-wear plenty of things and folding this way is soooooo tedious, especially for pants. When I fold up pants to stack in a drawer, I can do this “in the air” in a minute. If I have to lay it out and fold it into a little rectangle, it’s just too futsy. 

For full disclosure, I nevertheless do dh’s tshirts (but not his work tshirts) this way because he has too darn many of them and it’s the only way they fit in his drawers. 

 

I prefer to hang as much as I have space for.  I agree that certain fabrics don’t fold really well. Anything silky, won’t fold and stand at all. 

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So I ended up binge watching most of the episodes and then I tackled my clothes. I actually love the genius of starting on my own clothes as the mess and stress of them was definitely weighing down my days.  I am Christian and chose to pray as I went as I didn't feel comfortable talking to/thanking my clothes but I REALLY needed something to help me release the ones I was hanging on to. My youngest of nine has been weaned for over 2 years but breastfeeding my nine babies was such a huge part of two decades of my life. Letting go of nursing clothing (most of which I had sewn), bras and such was SO hard. I've been putting it off for a long time.  Taking a few minutes to pray, thanking God for my babies and the gift of breastfeeding them, made the impossible feel possible and I did it!  I appreciate her religion/world view and thought she was the sweetest, fun person as I watched the show.  I just adapted the ideas to fit for me. 

My drawers look amazing and the clothes I kept take up so much less room. My nicer tops and skirts and dresses are hanging but my t shirts, pajamas, cami's,  underclothes, and jeans not only look great but I really believe it will help me keep them neater since there is no digging to find stuff. The actual folding doesn't take any more time than the other way I was doing it.  I made my own drawer dividers from foam core and I just keep sliding my drawers open to look again. It makes me smile. 

Ive always been good about periodic de cluttering and straightening but there are areas that are constant problems. I hope the kids and I can all learn some better habits for keeping things tidy. 

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I just watched a couple of episodes.  I had read the book when these forums alerted me to their existence.

 I found the videos helpful to see what greeting the House looked like, to see some folding in action.   ...  and other visuals beyond the books.  

It didn’t seem to be particularly discussed, but for a couple of episodes it seems like emotional trauma of some sort might be underlying the stuff that has accumulated or is hard to part with.   ETA I think that’s true for me.  

I liked seeing the people seem actually to become more sparkly and joyful in the process.

 I am afraid to do the “pile everything of a type” approach because I have health issues and a small house with more than one floor (stairs).  I think I would have a serious health bad result if all clothes or all books (anything heavy and that we have in more than one area) had to go to one spot in one room on one floor.  

I got stuck on that issue of pile all the _____ when I tried to konmari before, and am again.  Hmmm.

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3 hours ago, Pen said:

I just watched a couple of episodes.  I had read the book when these forums alerted me to their existence.

 I found the videos helpful to see what greeting the House looked like, to see some folding in action.   ...  and other visuals beyond the books.  

It didn’t seem to be particularly discussed, but for a couple of episodes it seems like emotional trauma of some sort might be underlying the stuff that has accumulated or is hard to part with.   ETA I think that’s true for me.  

I liked seeing the people seem actually to become more sparkly and joyful in the process.

 I am afraid to do the “pile everything of a type” approach because I have health issues and a small house with more than one floor (stairs).  I think I would have a serious health bad result if all clothes or all books (anything heavy and that we have in more than one area) had to go to one spot in one room on one floor.  

I got stuck on that issue of pile all the _____ when I tried to konmari before, and am again.  Hmmm.

Yeah, I’m not a fan of piling all of a category together. Books alone - I cannot manage this physically or mentally. It makes much more sense to deal with books in sections of the house or even just one shelf at a time. That way, I can do one shelf in less than a half hour and not herniate a disc trying to haul books upstairs and down. 

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Quote

I am Christian and chose to pray as I went as I didn't feel comfortable talking to/thanking my clothes but I REALLY needed something to help me release the ones I was hanging on to. My youngest of nine has been weaned for over 2 years but breastfeeding my nine babies was such a huge part of two decades of my life. Letting go of nursing clothing (most of which I had sewn), bras and such was SO hard. I've been putting it off for a long time.  Taking a few minutes to pray, thanking God for my babies and the gift of breastfeeding them, made the impossible feel possible and I did it!  I appreciate her religion/world view and thought she was the sweetest, fun person as I watched the show.  I just adapted the ideas to fit for me. 

This was so very sweet it made me tear up. 

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That still looks pretty daunting!  And lots of exercise getting up and down from floor with books. 

 

I think I’ll use a bench to set books on and limit number at a time to what fits comfortably on bench.  Or determine how many I can do in x time and work in units of that much.  

 

I just ordered a paper shredder .  Books in general spark joy for me even though I do need to cull.  But excess papers don’t spark joy for me.  

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I still haven’t watched an episode (no Netflix here), but from all I’m reading, it doesn’t necessarily sound like my way of paring down. Honestly if I got rid of everything in my home that didn’t spark joy, I’m not sure there’d be much left other than the pictures of my kids and grandkids on my walls (and maybe my claw foot tub).

I think I’m more in line with the minimalists, though not quite as radical as some. I really believe it’s easier and less stressful to maintain less “stuff.” I think most households have way more of everything than they need.

I’ve helped quite a few friends clean out and organize (one has told me for years I should have a business/blog - shame on me for not doing THAT sooner), and it boils down to a mindset of not being owned/controlled by possessions (and not trying to keep up with what society tells us we “need”). It’s pretty freeing in every way when you reach that point. Certainly it’s financially freeing to not have to afford massive space to store unnecessary stuff, and also to not be purchasing random stuff every time you step in a store. It’s mentally freeing to not look around and see clutter at every turn. It frees time for more important things when you don’t have to spend extra hours weekly cleaning and maintaining it all.

I’ve really enjoyed paring down even more in my home over the last month, and trying to work on projects (like dealing with photographs) that I’ve needed to do for a while. I wouldn’t call a couple of boxes of photos organized and stored neatly in a closet massive clutter, but it’s just something hanging over my head that I’ve been wanting to do, so time to get off the pot and get it done!

 

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On 1/22/2019 at 7:06 PM, Quill said:

My insignificant two cents about the folding method and placing clothes on edge in the drawers: IMO, this is better in theory than it is in fact. Firstly, folded cotton wrinkles whether you set it on edge or pile things in a stack, so what she says in the book is this avoids wrinkles but I find that untrue. 

Secondly, to me the biggest drawback of folding like that is that I re-wear plenty of things and folding this way is soooooo tedious, especially for pants. When I fold up pants to stack in a drawer, I can do this “in the air” in a minute. If I have to lay it out and fold it into a little rectangle, it’s just too futsy. 

For full disclosure, I nevertheless do dh’s tshirts (but not his work tshirts) this way because he has too darn many of them and it’s the only way they fit in his drawers. 

If there were a denomination for people who don't fold I would join it.  I hang everything but underwear and socks.  One of my goals in life to avoid as much ironing as possible ( I quilt, so I have to iron every seam in every project already.) I have always found that hanging items allows for less ironing and is more forgiving of a child rifling through items than folding does.  I do have a more minimalist wardrobe than the typical American, and I have enough closet space to allow for the hanging I need.

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19 hours ago, Quill said:

Yeah, I’m not a fan of piling all of a category together. Books alone - I cannot manage this physically or mentally. It makes much more sense to deal with books in sections of the house or even just one shelf at a time. That way, I can do one shelf in less than a half hour and not herniate a disc trying to haul books upstairs and down. 

It makes sense for people who don't have an accurate sense of how much they actually have.  That's the "aha" moment so many people need to wake them up from their mindless consumption and storage.  So many people on that show had no idea the incredible volume of stuff they had even though they'D been drowning in it for years.  Our consumerist/materialist culture keeps telling people it's never enough, but actually creating a physical pile of what they have can finally show people that it's more than enough, especially people who have stuff in one category like clothes or Christmas decor scattered all over the house. 

Edited by Homeschool Mom in AZ
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10 minutes ago, Homeschool Mom in AZ said:

It makes sense for people who don't have an accurate sense of how much they actually have.  That's the "aha" moment so many people need to wake them up from their mindless consumption and storage.  So many people on that show had no idea the incredible volume of stuff they had even though they've been drowning in it for years.  Our consumerist/materialist culture keeps telling people it's never enough, but actually creating a physical pile of what they have can finally show people that it's more than enough, especially people who have stuff in one category like clothes or Christmas decor scattered all over the house. 

Yeah, I can see how that is true for some/many people. Still, physically...I really don’t know how an average middle-aged American can physically manage this. Books in particular. A couple years ago, I hurt my back big time cleaning and moving books just from one bookshelf in my house. I spent several hours taking down books, cleaning the shelves, culling some books and then replacing them on the shelves. (I even posted about it on here.) I think about that sometimes. 

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33 minutes ago, Quill said:

Yeah, I can see how that is true for some/many people. Still, physically...I really don’t know how an average middle-aged American can physically manage this. Books in particular. A couple years ago, I hurt my back big time cleaning and moving books just from one bookshelf in my house. I spent several hours taking down books, cleaning the shelves, culling some books and then replacing them on the shelves. (I even posted about it on here.) I think about that sometimes. 

I think the number of books the typical homeschooler has compared to the typical American is very different.  You have to remember that advice is geared to the masses, not niche groups. And it originated in big city Japan which is legendary for high cost of living and limited living space size which would limit the amount of consumption compared to the lower cost of living and increased living space size in the US, which allows for more consumption and storage for most people.  Context matters.

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1 hour ago, Homeschool Mom in AZ said:

If there were a denomination for people who don't fold I would join it.  I hang everything but underwear and socks.  One of my goals in life to avoid as much ironing as possible ( I quilt, so I have to iron every seam in every project already.) I have always found that hanging items allows for less ironing and is more forgiving of a child rifling through items than folding does.  I do have a more minimalist wardrobe than the typical American, and I have enough closet space to allow for the hanging I need.

I have hanging hanging kids clothes to be extremely aggravating because they fall off the hanger so much.  How do you solve this issue? I mean some things button close to the neck but other things are just too wide to stay on the hanger as half their clothes end up on the floor of their closet.  I can't use adult size hangers as those are too big.  

I love the idea of them not having to dig through thier drawers but when I've hung more in the past it all ended up on the floor. 

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40 minutes ago, busymama7 said:

I have hanging hanging kids clothes to be extremely aggravating because they fall off the hanger so much.  How do you solve this issue? I mean some things button close to the neck but other things are just too wide to stay on the hanger as half their clothes end up on the floor of their closet.  I can't use adult size hangers as those are too big.  

I love the idea of them not having to dig through thier drawers but when I've hung more in the past it all ended up on the floor. 

I didn't have that problem with kid clothes falling off kid hangers.  There are fabric covered hangers I use for  adult clothing that stops things from slipping.  You can buy them at Walmart and Ross cheaply.  The pants are on hangers that have clips that grip the waistband.

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My FIL converted my wardrobe/amiore that used to house a TV back to hanging space for my snow gear.  Now if a doorway opens to Narnia I'm ready.  On a related note, we're clearing some space in the woods (Cat briar is my nemesis.) to mark the boundary line for our property and we're using.......a solar lamppost! Squeee! I'm leaning towards one with a planter around it. https://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss_2?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=solar+lampost
Thoughts?
Now I just need to find a statue of a fawn.
There's a sign on the door of our extra bedroom that reads Spare Oom.
All that sparks joy for me!

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47 minutes ago, Homeschool Mom in AZ said:

My FIL converted my wardrobe/amiore that used to house a TV back to hanging space for my snow gear.  Now if a doorway opens to Narnia I'm ready.  On a related note, we're clearing some space in the woods (Cat briar is my nemesis.) to mark the boundary line for our property and we're using.......a solar lamppost! Squeee! I'm leaning towards one with a planter around it. https://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss_2?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=solar+lampost
Thoughts?
Now I just need to find a statue of a fawn.
There's a sign on the door of our extra bedroom that reads Spare Oom.
All that sparks joy for me!

Fantastic!

I frequent a thrift store that decorates their window space with donated items.  They once did a perfect Narnia display when they had donations of fur coats and Christmas trees!

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