Lyn Vicknair

March 21, 2016

Lazy Cleaning

Step Three: Komono

Lyn Vicknair

March 21, 2016

Lazy Cleaning

Back at it with Marie Kondo's method! This month, I tackled the category she calls "komono" which is kind of a catch-all. The first part of this category is CDs and DVDs, but I already cleaned those out one bored Saturday a few months ago, and not really to do it as part of the process but because they were bugging me.

So, I'm skipping that part (and the accessories because I did that with my clothes) and going to make-up and beauty products.

I borrowed an empty shelf box from my office and collected everything from my dresser, bathroom and my purses and piled it all on the bed. Then I started with my hair products. I kept them all, but I also cleaned them off the best I could with just a dry towel. I moved on to lotions and perfumes. I tossed this very lovely gift set that my mother-in-law gave me for Christmas. I thanked it for the thought she put into it, but the smell makes both me and Mr. LL think of little old ladies. The Tease perfume, that I love and was a gift from Mr. LL, doesn't work anymore. The pump broke so it was just taking up space.

Next up was skin care. I have quite a few masks and the usual cleaning products. I ended up only tossing one mask that was a tad old. Nails were up next, and not photographed is my nail polish remover. I didn't see it when I did this group, but I kept it. I did get rid of some VERY old foot lotion. Bleah.

Finally, it was time to face the big part of this task: my make-up. I thought I wouldn't have much because I'm not one to hold onto a lot of make-up, but I was surprised by how much I tossed. I got rid of my favorite little eyeshadow palette because 1-it's broken and 2-I've had it way longer than one should keep eye products. I also got rid of a BB cream, two eyeliners, a lipstick and some eye cream because I don't use any of them. And I had an empty BB cream container that I had been holding on so I could properly replace it but they don't make it anymore. This also gave me the opportunity to clean all my make-up brushes which DESPERATELY needed it (I love beauty blenders, but so does Bigby so I stopped buying them just to find my money chewed up and under the couch).

I feel good about cleaning all this stuff out and putting everything else away where I can find them all better (like my makeup brush cleanser). Next month I'm going to tackle electrical equipment and that should be interesting. O.o

Step Two: The Book Purge

Lyn Vicknair

February 15, 2016

Lazy Cleaning

It's been a hot minute since I've kept up with Marie Kondo's teachings and put them into practice, but now that the holidays and Mardi Gras are past, I'm back in purge mode!

You may not recall, but last September, I read Kondo's book, The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up and started my journey to decluttering my life. The first step, which I did then, is to declutter your clothes and accessories. The reason this is the first category that Kondo has her clients tackle is because of all the things we own, our clothes (for the most part) hold the least sentimental value (but I'll be damned if I can say that about my wedding dress!). Something like old photos is way down the list and something you tackle after you become addicted to the purge-high.

Now, five months later, I'm moving on to the next phase, which is books. I honestly thought this phase would be a lot harder on me. I love books, and even though I would never just chuck books in the trash (they are going to a thrift store), it is still hard for me to let go of my precious books. Well, come to find out, I have no freakin' clue where most of my books are! Ha ha. I'm serious though. The only books I found were a couple of coffee table books, my Wicca books, and boxes of books that Mr. LL's friend gave us. Now, I know somewhere, probably in a closet and out of my reach, is a box of books. I own a lot of books, but Mr. LL has hidden them from me. In my search though, thinking through what books I know I should have, it has made it clear to me what I will be keeping once they are found.

I'll keep my cookbooks, because I really do need them. I really would like to find them, too. I'll keep my complete set of the Chronicles of Narnia because that series had a HUGE impact on me when I was a little kid. I thought about keeping my well-worn copy of Jane Eyre, but honestly, I don't think I will. The older I've gotten, the more flaws I find in that romance between Jane and Mr. Rochester. So, that's really it.

What I kept out of the books I did have at hand was a cook book, those two coffee table books (one is Mr. LL's anyway) and books that don't actually belong me (oh and my signed copy of Destroying Angel). I need to return the books I borrowed from Diana (Part Time Monster) and from the editor at work.

These days, I do a lot of my reading on my iPad through the Kindle app and through the e-reader apps that my library uses. I also check out books from the library (like I did with Kondo's book).

Next up, I have to tackle what Kondo calls "komono" which includes: CDs/DVDs; skin care products; make-up; accessories; "valuables" like passport, credit cards, etc. I'll probably do each sub-category of "komono" individually, but don't worry, I'll bring you along with me! And hopefully I'll be able to take pictures (as I've mentioned in a few posts now, my camera isn't really usable at the moment).

Step One: Declutter your closet

Lyn Vicknair

September 7, 2015

Lazy Cleaning

This post is going up super late. So did Goal Getter. It's been a weekend. Mr. LL finally had a few days off thanks to Labor Day, so I've been spending some time recharging with him. It's been really nice to hang out together, playing video games, laughing, just being with each other. However, now it's Monday night and I'm doing laundry while trying to get some posts out! Everything has a price.

But, to the post at hand. I took the first step from Marie Kondo's The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up and decluttered my closet. I don't have a lot of purses, belts or other accessories, so I just went through my clothes and shoes.

She has a whole system on how to go through your clothes, but I just did them all at once. Kondo instructs you to take all of your stuff and put it on the floor; well, I have three pets, so I was not about to put clean clothes on the floor. So I piled them on the bed. All of them, except what was in the laundry (but I figure that if it's in the laundry, it's probably something I wear with regularity, so I wasn't too concerned).

The mountain of clothes, plus Bigby. Gah, I've had that purple suit thing since I was 18. Not anymore!

Kondo's advice is to hold each item and ask yourself one question: Does this bring me joy? Some pieces of clothing were easy to answer. That ugly suit thing I've had since I was a teenager, that I got for a funeral, was an easy "no." My favorite maxi dress, easy "yes." There were some gray areas though. I had a few moments that I was like "I wear this top, I like the idea of this top but..." I just had to stop rationalizing why I was holding on to these items and ask "but does it bring me joy?" Every time I found myself rationalizing something, the answer to that question was "no." So, I put it away.

The hardest items for me to get rid of were two pairs of really cute wedges that I wore only once each. While I love how these shoes look, they hurt. I have a scar on my ankle from one pair. I spent money on these shoes and never wore them, but they brought me no joy. Just regret and disappointment and who needs that in there lives.

Here is the result of my purge, three garbage bags full of clothes and shoes that are going to a thrift store.

None of the items I got rid of are in bad condition. When we moved a few months ago, I got rid of those kind of items. These were just items that did not bring me joy or I hadn't worn in over a decade.

I then went through my keepers and put them away just as Kondo recommends...well, the best I could remember. I read this book from the library, so I just have my memory and a few notes to guide me. I do think she is a bit concerned about how much your socks are relaxing. ¬.¬ Just saying.

My closet and drawers are now all organized and full of only what brings me joy. It was very liberating to do this! I've always loved taking things out of a drawer and putting them back, organized and folded neatly. This was different though. I had been carrying around t-shirts for years that I don't want to wear. The material wasn't that soft, worn-in feel that I like in my t-shirts; they were just from my college clubs and I felt bad getting rid of them. But they don't bring me joy. At one time they did, and I thanked them for that time. But I don't want them any more. I kept my Jesters sweater and a Highlander sweatshirt, but the rest of those shirts were given up. My underwear didn't really need a lot of work, because this past New Year's I adopted a new tradition of throwing out all the undies that were past their prime and buying new pairs. I don't use socks that often, living in the south where sandals are a year round shoe style, so I didn't have much to do their either. I did get rid of some nice blouses, though. But the common theme among the majority of them was that they were button ups that just didn't button well across the bust area.

I am looking forward to tackling my books next, and a little apprehensive about that project, too. I'm a BIG reader, and I love my books. I love seeing full bookshelves. But it's time to let go of the clutter in my life.