My KonMari Journey: KOMONO. OTHER - HOME DECOR

Welcome to 'My KonMari Journey' series. Over the next few months I will be sharing my progress, as I make my way through the KonMari Method, based on the best-seller book 'The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up' by Japanese organising enthusiast, Marie Kondo.

Today I am sharing - KOMONO: Other - Home Decor





If you are new to my blog, Welcome! In case you missed it, be sure to read my Introduction and Getting Started post, so you know what the KonMari Method is all about and the reasons why I am doing it.

In a nutshell, Marie Kondo has four rules she recommends people follow when doing the KonMari Method:

1. Tidy in one shot, as quickly and completely as possible.

2. Sort by category, not by location

3. Selection Criterion: Does it 'spark joy?'

4. Order of tidying: Clothes, Books, Documents (Paper), Miscellaneous items (Komono), and Momentos (Sentimental)

As suggested in the book, I will start doing the KonMari Method with my own 'stuff' first, then I will work though the kids items, because I am too sentimental and would find it hard to part with their things right off the bat. I also need to get my head around this new process of de-cluttering, tidying and organising, so hopefully when it comes to purging my kids stuff, it will be a lot easier (well, let's hope so).

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The fourth category of the KonMari Method is KOMONO (Miscellaneous). Now for me, this category is probably bigger than the Paper category. Do you remember in my Introduction post, I mentioned I felt overwhelmed by the amount of stuff I had stored in containers sitting in my office, well majority of them fit into this category. I have containers of miscellaneous items - that I haven't really touched for the past 3 years and includes stuff I have kept for over 10! This category may take some time, however I will be following Marie Kondo's recommended order (see below) and will hopefully (fingers crossed) find a new home for everything and only "keep things because you love them, not 'just because'" (Marie Kondo) - which is totally why I always rebound, and why I NEED the KonMari Method in my life.

Over the next couple of weeks or however long it takes me, I will be tackling Komono (miscellaneous items 1) which includes:

1. CDs, DVDs 
2. Skincare products 
3. Make-Up 
4. Accessories 
5. Valuables (passports, credit cards, etc)
6. Electrical equipment and appliances (digital cameras, electric cords, anything that seems vaguely 'electric')
7. Household Equipment: Stationery & Crafts
8. Household supplies (expendables like medicine, detergents, tissues, etc) 
9. Kitchen goods/food supplies - EATING - COOKING TOOLS - FOOD - FOOD STORAGE
10. Other - 

• LINEN CUPBOARD 
• HOLIDAY DECORATIONS
• HOME DECOR <------YOU ARE HERE

 As always I will be keeping these three rules in mind when doing my purge:

1. Tidy in one shot, as quickly and completely as possible.
2. Sort by category, not by location
3. Selection Criterion: Does it 'spark joy?'

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Today I am sharing KOMONO: Other - Home Decor

I found this category overwhelming because I didn't really know how I was going to tackle it. I have Home Decor items stored away and some on display (I am a big fan of bric and brac). However my style has changed over the years and I don't really have a lot on display. So at this moment in time, I am going to leave the home decor items I currently have on display, and hold off on the items I have stored away, because they are mostly sentimental items. Today, I'm just going to tackle another home decor area that is pretty big (well, for me) - Photo Frames.

I knew I had a lot of frames, however I did not think I would fill 2x 60L containers. Last week, I went through my external office and home and corralled all of my photo frames to get ready for the purge, however time was not my friend and I couldn't get it done until today. I was shocked that I had so many and none of them were on display. We only have our big 20 photo collage frame above our mantel and one on a side table. 

So...this is what all of my frames look like in one place. 

I bought the three 18-20 photo collage frames ages ago for only $5 each (down from $20)...and have big plans to fill them up once I go through my photos and get prints etc. 

In the two containers, there is a mixture of frames - frames I have held on to for over a decade - different sizes, colours, designs etc...sadly, some of them are broken (sad face). 

In total, I had almost 80 photo frames! 

Let the KONMARI PURGE BEGIN...

DURING

Sort by category...

The first thing I did was pulled all of the frames out of the containers and took out the photos (that was an emotional moment), and then I held each frame and asked the question 'Does it Spark Joy?' Will I happily display this frame in my home. I grouped them into three piles - KEEP, DONATE and RUBBISH. 

You can see in this photo there are some home decor items - I have decided to move these to the Sentimental category. I am not ready to deal with these items just yet because I have had them for way to long. 

PHOTOS: 

These have also been added to my Sentimental category. I did take a minute or two reminiscing the moments and messaged a couple to friends. (but quickly returned to the job at hand).

KEEP

Before I began this category, I was overwhelmed, however once I had all the frames out and looked at each one, the decision whether to keep them or not came pretty quickly.

These are the photo frames I am keeping (plus the three big collage frames). The two big frames at the top belonged to my late GrandDad, so I am definitely keeping them. I have also kept several wooden frames for a project I am going to be starting, once I have finished this KonMari method. (if I ever finish - Watch this space. The other frames I have kept for more sentimental reasons, and will re-home.

DONATE

As you can see, I went through a Silver and Black frame phase, with a splash of wood and pink. All of these frames are in good condition, so they will be donated to charity (or my Mum - especially if she sees this photo).

RUBBISH 
The pile of rubble. Sadly, there were several photo frames that were broken (including broken glass), so they will be discarded safely.

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***UPDATED*** (19/6/16)

Other Decor Items:

When I started the 'Home Decor' category, I took an inventory of the items listed below from around my home. I don't own many of each, however the items I do have, do spark joy - so they are here to stay.

• Artwork and Mirrors
• Collections
• Furniture
• Lamps
• Candles
• Throw pillows 
• Throw blankets
• Vases

I am really happy that task is over! Phew! I feel so much lighter now after purging all of those frames. I think I purged 3/4s of what I had at the beginning. That's pretty good, considering I am a photo frame hoarder. 

Ideally, I want to display my photos in the big frames, or have smaller frames that are all the same colour (I'm a little OCD). I am really looking forward to up-cycling the wooden frames for a couple of projects I have planned and eventually getting more photos displayed in our home. I will definitely share photos once it's all done...fingers crossed it's before Christmas. 

What about you! - Are you a photo frame hoarder? 

Coming Up Next: My KonMari Journey: KOMONO #2

I will share some more Komono tasks/categories that Marie Kondo has mentioned in her books - plus new KonMari printable.  

Note: I will be doing  a 'KonMari with Kids' series once I have finished my own KonMari journey. Watch this space or  Subscribe to my Blog, so you don't miss a post.

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I am super excited about this journey and I would love for you to follow along in this process, better yet, join me - Subscribe to my Blog, so you don't miss a post and together we can tidy our homes and change our lives, once and for all. I will also be sharing my journey on my Facebook page, and Instagram, so be sure to follow me there too.

Charlene

If you would like to give the KonMari Method a go, and you don't have the book - Here is a checklist of the fourth category - KOMONO (Miscellaneous items 1) . Click the image below and Save/Print. You can also view my previous checklists HERE.

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