WEEK 10. STILL GETTING PAPER CUTS

For continuation of the 'papers' category, I did bring all my clippings and articles of recipes, food, and entertaining into one place. It was a very big, spreading pile as I like to cook and entertain and don't like to throw anything out.  I went through thousands (I'm sure) of recipes and threw most of them out because they no longer bring me joy or are not worth the trouble of trying out.

For example, I threw out an ancient recipe from the New York Times for a Chocolate Pecan Viennese Torte. I made it a year after I was married. I guess I was still trying to impress my new husband. My note said it took five hours to make and was not worth it. Then why did I keep the recipe? Was it a reminder not to ever struggle for hours with a recipe that wasn't worth it? Well, it's gone now, but I did keep a few (hundreds?) that do bring me joy.

Magazine 'cookbooks' I kept

Many women's magazines back in the day when married women were identified by their husbands' names carried special food sections which were inserted like a separate little cookbook. I have most of those that Woman's Day published under the name The Collector's Cook Book, which I didn't discard. Some of the titles: Grown-up Lunch Boxes, How to Save Money by Using Your Freezer, and Cooking by the Minute.

Many other special sections had beautiful pictures of glistening, richly colored food. They reminded me of the glamorous fashion models who have teams of beauty experts to make sure not a hair or a freckle is out of place. The displayed food also had food stylists who made sure the presented food looks as desirable to the cook as the women's photos do to the clothes shopper.

The vast majority of the old recipes I discarded because I no longer have the time or interest to make labor intensive, multi ingredient foods, such as cakes from scratch, although I do like to decorate them. Many of the recipes called for ingredients no longer appropriate—lard, margarine, and monosodium glutamate. As I filled up a huge recycle box, I thought I should really start a blog about 'vintage' recipes and how women used to entertain. But that will be for someone younger if she can keep from laughing as she reads them.

Some of the recipes and
travel brochures I recycled

Another huge category I've been working on, is travel material. I travel a lot, as much and as often as I can. And I always pick up maps and brochures about interesting places because I think they will come in handy the next time I go. A large under counter cupboard in my family room was filled with them, from Portland, OR to Washington, DC. And I always forget about them whenever I'm planning a trip. So I filled another huge box for the recycling bin with all that material probably printed at a huge cost of tourist dollars. I did keep city and regional maps, because if you read last week's blog you know I have an illness that Ken Jennings also has, mapmania. I also feel joyful thinking about New Mexico and Santa Fe so I kept material about the Land of Enchantment. It is a state I love and would have moved there but it is too cold in winter.

I also kept anything that had the word Christmas in it. We once had a house with three decorated Christmas trees inside that reflected on three glass walls surrounding a courtyard with several lighted evergreens outside. Holiday decorations will be another hard category to tidy up.

The question I asked last week was answered when I lifted the yellow quilt covering the table in my office and discovered a lot more paper. More drafts of works in progress, all to be discarded. But also a large box of high school and college mementos. I can put those aside until I reach that category.

But now am I really ready to move on to BOOKS?

WEEK 9. DROWNING IN PAPER

According to the book, I should now be working on books, but I love books and it's going to be hard for me to discard any, so I'm postponing that and instead will do “papers”. I'm a writer and in my office I am surrounded by six file drawers for clippings, documents, articles, bank statements, and health records. I also have some of the shelves in my seven tall bookcases stacked with pages of typed manuscripts. Same with a 'working' table that has no space for work. And there are several drawers in the family room stuffed with various kinds of papers, such as maps and recipes. So I decided I had papers, not books, that urgently needed discarding.  But how was I going to pile all of them in the middle of the room.

Impossible. For most of the discarding, I would have to do it, drawer by drawer, surface by surface. Sorry Marie. I hope this isn't a fatal flaw in successfully completing your plan. But when you discover how much I discard you might understand. Several months ago, before I read the book, I had already gone through and discarded two garbage sacks of papers. And I still have tons left.

I don't know if holding the papers and feeling a spark of joy will work in this category either. The papers I keep will be 'necessary'. What I discard will be either not necessary or not joyful.

If you still believe I couldn't be worse than you, I have all my bank books which lists deposits and checks since I graduated from college. Yes, years of them. If I ever write a memoir of my epic trip to Europe I can check exactly what I paid for a steamship crossing.

I started working on this category with all papers on top of surfaces. First off, I realized this category also includes book marks, business cards, and folder tabs for new folders. These I kept on two shelves and did reduce them to one shelf. But I'm keeping notebooks and diaries that I probably should just throw out, but I can't. Maybe later. I know the Kondo method would say 'later' means 'never'.

I am failing miserably in this category. I have folders for airline and hotel memberships and they are full of junk mail, but I'm afraid I might throw away something important for claiming miles or perks. I did clean them out a bit, but instead of throwing the whole file away I just moved it to a more hidden place. Arrgh.

This is much worse than working on my clothes. Three hours and not even halfway through.

Some files, map,
still messy board, 

I've completed three large book cases on the north side of my office. I still have two two-drawer file cabinets on that side to go through later. Now I've moved on to the first bookcase (of four) on the south side. There are envelopes, stationery, including from foreign hotels, and a large box of cards (birthday and thank you) from friends for more than ten years. I'll only save those congratulating me on my first book to encourage me to keep writing. And then there's a box of cards from my children and other family members. I must keep those. I organized new, unused Xmas cards received from charitable organizations into a usable stack. I did throw away some unsuitable ones. Most I kept for this coming Christmas and then will discard any still left. (Do I really trust myself to throw them away later? It's probably not in the Kondo spirit to keep putting off discards).

I went through years of medical records that were stacked on a bookshelf next to my books about health. It took me almost two hours to go through and throw most away. How many years of negative mammogram reports does anyone need? I did keep some records, mainly those about major incidents, broken knee, surgery, rotator cuff. I'm really very healthy so it's amazing that I have so many papers relating to health issues. But I hate to throw anything out.

This habit may have been inherited. Whenever my mother would ask my father if she should throw something away, he'd say, “We've got the room, so might as well keep it.” This created a terrible problem when it came to clean out the house they had lived in for more than fifty years. That is one of the reasons I'd like to reduce the items in my life.

Well, enough about the agony of deciding which papers are necessary and which discardable. None really give me a spark of joy. Well, yes, reading over cards from friends is pleasant, so I'm not going to throw them away. Earlier I said I'd discard those but I changed my mind.

OK, moving on. Maps also come under papers. I have a drawer stuffed with maps. Marie would say throw them away.  They are out of date, and current maps are easily accessed on the internet. But I like maps. I've always liked maps and was pleased to know that Ken Jennings, the 'Jeopardy' TV champ wrote a book about liking maps, Maphead: Charting the Wide, Weird World of Geography Wonks. I also have a crazy idea that all the state maps I'm saving may some day be worth a lot of money, when nobody prints them anymore. So I will keep them for my great grandchildren to get rich. More likely my children will throw them out after I'm gone.

What's hiding under the quilt?

The paper category is not going to be done in one attempt. I forgot all the paper I have under a quilt covered work table in my office. The quilt was made by my grandmother and mother when I graduated from grade school (no middle school in my town). It has a yellow background with pieced appliques of sixteen sun bonnet Sues made out of my cotton school dresses. Each square is embroidered with the name of an eighth grade friend. It's a special treasure to me, but I had forgotten what it hides. Kondoing what's under the quilt will be covered in my next blog.

Halloween will be the perfect time also to face the horrors of a lifetime of clipped, saved, and unused recipes.   

WEEK 8. AM I A CLOTHES HORSE?

Unfortunately, I really 'fell off the Kondo wagon.' Last night I took a discarded skirt out of my give a way pile which was still waiting to be given away. I wanted to wear it to a special restaurant and thought it would look good. I'm sooo bad. Decided not to wear it after all, but now I don't know whether to keep it, just in case, or truly discard it. I'm taking discarded clothes to Salvation Army in two days, so have to make final decision by then.I also slept in as I always do when I have important plans for the morning, and this was the day to get to the big item clothes—dresses and suits. But I did get through the next step in my project.

I piled all my dresses and suits (from three closets!) on the two beds in our guest room.
There were thirty-one items and I discarded only seven—about 23%.

A pile of dresses that no longer bring
me joy or don't fit.

I kept five of seven floor length dresses. When I first moved to the desert, women wore long dresses to house parties, lots of fun and we felt so glamorous. Now we don't do that much, but I kept some because I love them and I do feel special when I wear them. One is a dress I wore to two of my children's weddings and it still fits! But I don't have room in my regular closet for these long items. I guess I should work on getting all my clothes in one closet but that's going to take some time. So now they are in the guest closet.

The other five dresses and suits I'm discarding because they no longer give me joy or frankly, they don't fit anymore and it's time to admit that ship has sailed as far as achieving a smaller waist. One is a beautiful peach suit that I wore to special work related occasions. But it doesn't fit and I no longer have special work events. Others are two deep purple suits—does anyone really need two of them. I also discarded a beige linen shirt and pants suit that I love but it's linen and I don't iron. Finally, I discarded an old, and much loved black silk 'funeral' dress which no longer fits and I had already replaced with another black silk dress I had made in Thailand. Young people may think it's amusing to have a dress for going to somber occasions, but unfortunately the older I get the more of these I attend. And of course, you can never go wrong with a little black dress wherever you go.

Dresses I kept, note
LBD

All the suits and dresses I kept really do bring me joy when I wear them and they fit well. Whenever I read how French women stay chic, the importance of good fit and using a tailor, if necessary, to alter clothes for a better fit is stressed. I haven't used a tailor yet, but perhaps that's the next step after my tidying-up project.

Now that I've finished Marie's first category: clothes, I need to store them. In her book, she discusses why it's best to keep all in a category in the same place. But one closet isn't big enough for all my clothes. I'm not really a clothes horse, but I need more than one location. Most of my clothes are in my closet. I have two six-feet rods for short items (blouses, skirts) and a two-foot rod for long items (pants and dresses). I also have two thirty-inch shelves where I keep my boxes filled with tee shirts and tank tops. In my bedroom I use four drawers: socks, shorts/yoga pants, scarves/belts, and sweaters. I guess I have to admit that I also keep wool cardigan sweaters in a cedar chest during the summer.

But wait, there's more. In the bathroom I have a drawer with underwear and sleepwear. And that's it, except for the long dresses still in the guest closet, and a few jackets in the hall closet.

Now that I'm done with tidying-up my clothes, can I look forward to what Ms. Kondo foresees?

“Tidying brings visible results... When people revert to clutter no matter how much they tidy, it is not their room or their belongings but their way of thinking that is at fault. Even if they are initially inspired, they can’t stay motivated and their efforts peter out. The root cause lies in the fact that they can’t see the results or feel the effects. This is precisely why success depends on experiencing tangible results immediately. If you use the right method and concentrate your efforts on eliminating clutter thoroughly and completely within a short span of time, you’ll see instant results that will empower you to keep your space in order ever after. Anyone who experiences this process, no matter who they are, will vow never clutter again” pp.16-17, The Life-changing Magic of Tidying Up.  

A well organized closet leads
to a well organized mind.

It really is pleasant and inspiring to see only clothes that fit and I enjoy in a tidy order. In fact, I have carried over some of her precepts into traveling. I recently stayed in a motel for three weeks and actually put my clothes in the available dresser drawers—usually I just live out of a suitcase. Not only did I put my tee shirts in a drawer but they were all neatly folded and stacked vertically ala the Kondo method. And they stayed neat the whole time, including through two wash days. Her method seems to be working for me. But the next category is going to be even harder.

Week 8 delayed

Week 8 has been delayed until Thursday morning.  Please come back to read how I deal with dresses and suits--a fascinating subject. ☺

WEEK 7. WHAT'S AN UNMENTIONABLE?

Today is the day I was going to do my last large category of clothes, dresses, suits, and pants outfits but it's just too hot to try on clothes. It's October and should be cool, but the blazing temperatures are not yet gone. And I have to try on these items because if it doesn't fit it doesn't matter how much joy it sparks.  I have to get rid of it.

So I did small things. It's funny, but I just remembered an old-fashioned term. Unmentionables. Would anybody under thirty know that was a term used to describe underwear? Anyway, whatever you call them, that was next on my schedule. 

 I first went through underpants and bras, discarding nothing because I had gone through them a few months before I started this tidying up project and they were in good shape.

Nightgowns/pajamas, ditto. I have one beautiful cotton lawn, heavily embroidered knee length night gown I bought in Thailand nine years ago. I love it but it's getting frayed under the arms and I should get rid of it, but I keep hoping I will find a magic tailor who can repair it. It only cost $25 (remember I said Thailand, nine years ago) and I bought it because I was mad at my husband who said I shouldn't buy anything at the 'night market', so I bought this in a very upscale store. Not a very rational reason but it does bring me joy.

Swim suits, I finally found one that fit and looked good a few weeks ago, so I could get rid of the two piece suit with its fluffy top draped to hide bellies that I have always hated. I did keep my 'back up' suit, which isn't perfect, but since we live in southern California I feel I need to keep a back up suit. It does not spark joy, but I think it's necessary right now. The more I wear the new suit, the more I like it.

Socks. This was a fruitful category. Again I was shocked to discover I had forty-one pairs!! Why do I need forty-one pairs of socks, white, black, brown, and several novelty pairs trimmed with Santa Claus or Winnie the Pooh, and several knee length 'nylons' for under trousers. I got rid of nine pairs, mainly some heavy black wool socks which I don't know why I've kept. They would only be useful at the North Pole. Giving away nine of forty-one is 22%.

So I didn't do much in this category. But to date I have emptied two dresser drawers, and I can actually see the tops and bottoms hanging in my closet. Also my seven shoe boxes of Kondo folded tee shirts look nice. Next week I finish up the clothing category.

WEEK 6. BOTTOMS UP

My camera is giving me trouble, so I won't be able to post pictures of what I've done with bottoms.  I'm also trying not to worry that I won't be successful at this project because I am not following the procedure exactly.

It's somewhat unnerving to read that the author believes “The ultimate secret of success is this: If you tidy up in one shot, rather than little by little, you can dramatically change your mind-set. A change so profound that it touches your emotions will irresistibly affect your way of thinking and your lifestyle habits. My clients do not develop the habit of tidying gradually. Every one of them has been clutter-free since they undertook their tidying marathon. This approach is the key to preventing rebound.” [Kondo, page 16]

I'm not sure exactly what her definition of 'one shot' is because elsewhere she mentions that it takes her clients an average of six months to do the entire process. There is no way I can do a whole house in one shot. I am doing each category, or sub category in one shot. Like in so many matters, I will just have to trust that doing the process to the best of my ability will eventually lead to success.

I have psyched myself up so I am now ready to face skirts, shorts, and pants. My lifestyle doesn't call for many skirts. Of twelve skirts, I kept nine, about 75%. Maybe I'm just better at choosing joyful skirts than other clothing categories.

One interesting outcome of this process is that I'm discovering how many articles of clothing I actually own. T-shirts were embarrassing and now I'm faced with thirty-one long pants. I kept twenty-two, 71%. Some are lightweight, cropped, some are jeans, some are patterned, and some are wool for cool weather. Most are black or khaki colored.

As usual I had to save something because I needed it. I kept my only pair of navy pants, not because they bring me joy. I just feel neutral about them but I have some tops that spark my joy and they need to go with navy pants so I will keep them until I find a navy pair that sparks my joy or until I've discarded the several navy tops I have kept.

Although it's very hot here, I only have six pairs of shorts. I don't like to wear them out in public, but when it's 115 degrees I can't worry about how I look. And I didn't discard any of them. I guess that's one category of clothes I buy very carefully.

Next week I hope to finish the clothes category.

WEEK 5. FROM TOPS TO....MORE TOPS

Last week, when I packed up my discarded shoes to take to a charitable thrift store, I felt better. In the guest closet I found a sack of shoes I had discarded before I started Kondo's tidying-up process but hadn't give away yet. So I did discard more than two pairs of shoes. Hooray for me. But now I had to start on clothes, I'd put it off long enough and I would start at the top.

As I faced them I decided to just do indoor tops first. Outer wear like jackets and sweaters would have to go into a subcategory, later. I know, I know. Another deviation from the proposed method. But it was too overwhelming to have to consider everything in one day. I know I'm already going to have a problem because I may have to keep some things that are not joyful, but are necessary. 

I piled all my tops, blouses, shirts on my guest room bed. Frankly, I was embarrassed as I kept piling up more and more, from dresser drawers and closet shelves and hangers. I who so often said I have nothing to wear, actually had more than 100 tops, exactly 119, which included fifty-seven T shirts. It is very hard for me to discard anything and some of these items were pretty old. But guided by the Kondo method I managed to eliminate forty-nine of the 119 tops, or about 41%.

Here are some of the gruesome statistics on how much I kept.

57 T shirts, kept 34 including 3 collared polo shirts, about 60%

21 Tank tops, sleeveless shirts, kept 15, 71%

15 sleeved blouses, kept 6, about 40%

26 long sleeved shirts/blouse, kept 15, 58%.

I admired the pile of discarded clothes that hopefully someone else would be able to use. And I admired the empty spaces in my closet. The day had gone well. I folded the kept T shirts according to Marie Kondo's method and put them, sorted by color, in shoe boxes on the closet shelves where I used to stack them. As she directs in the book, I hung my tops in a rising, long to short, dark to light order, within each category, long sleeved shirts, short sleeved, sleeveless. I sighed as I look at this neatly filled space. How long I wondered will they stay that neat? Hmmm.

The next morning I started on my other sub category—jackets and sweaters.  I live in the California desert so I don't have much cold weather wear. My only coat is an avocado green trench coat which I've had for more than twenty years and still love. It brings back memories of when I wanted to be a foreign correspondent. It has a liner so can be worn if I ever go anywhere that's actually cold. Cold to my desert thinned blood is under sixty degrees.

The first item I pulled from the new pile of clothing was a surprise--a white silk, mandarin style jacket, heavily embroidered with colorful designs. I thought I'd get rid of cause I hardly wear it, but I felt joyful when I held it. So I kept it and this winter I'll make an effort to wear it more often.

In the pockets of a hot pink, puffy, winter jacket I found a pair of black leather gloves I thought I'd lost.  I never wear the jacket but keep it for Chicago's 'snow' country.  I put the black gloves in an 'accessory' drawer where I can keep an eye on them.

I had eighteen outerwear items and kept fourteen, a keep rate of 78%.  I discarded only 22%-- not very good. But maybe I'm better at choosing outer wear than other articles of clothing.

I started on the sweaters.  It was ninety degrees outside, supposed to go to 109 degrees and I was holding wool sweaters in my hands. Of course, none of them brought me joy right then, but I had to think of the future.

My first discards were two of my mother's cardigans. She's been a saint in heaven for ten years and I've worn them occasionally to feel close to her. Now I could let them go and hope they bring joy to someone else.

For more than twenty years, I have loved a charming white sweater with pastel embroidered flowers but I had to admit it's too small to ever wear again.

When done I had discarded nine (four pull overs, five cardigans) and  kept twenty-four (seven pull overs, seventeen cardigans)

Score: discard 27%, kept 73%, again not too good.

Marie says her clients give away an average of one half (50%) to three fourths (75%) of their clothes, so far I'm averaging 27%, 22%, 41%. I have not even made her clients' lowest average of 50%.

Well, I still have skirts, slacks, dresses, two piece outfits to go.  And that's just the rest of the clothes category.