Welcome to my new series: 'KonMari With Kids'.
If you have just joined me - WELCOME - I recently completed the KonMari method with my OWN belongings, read 'My KonMari Journey' to see how I did. Now, it's time to get stuck into my kid's stuff - I have two children: Miss B, 12 years old and Master M, 3 years old.
Previously on the blog, I shared how I KonMari'd my kids clothes (Baby, Toddler and Tween), their books., Paper - including Art Work and School Memorabilia, TOYS, and now it's time for the rest of KOMONO (miscellaneous items).
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- KOMONO -
Marie suggests children as young as three years old can decide what gives them joy and the key principle is that each person should be making the decisions for themselves. Before you tackle your kids items, she does recommend you KonMari your own belongings first.
I found Komono (miscellaneous items) quite overwhelming, only because there are so many sub-categories within the category. I thought I was never going to get out of Komono, but I did! (You can read about it here)
In Kondo's second book, Spark Joy, she mentions that "The key to fast and efficient komono tidying is to know your categories". Once you have identified the categories that exist in your home, you can follow the three basic steps for each one.
- Gather all items in that category in one place.
- Choose only those that spark joy
- Store by category.
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Today I am sharing:
KOMONO: DVDS, STATIONERY, CRAFT, HOBBIES AND BEDROOM DECOR.
If you are familiar with Marie Kondo or the KonMari Method, then you will know one of the categories is KOMONO. This is quite a big category, as it consists of many sub-categories, depending on your home. When I started this new series 'KonMari With Kids', the biggest Komono item was TOYS, so I tackled it first. Now it's time to tackle everything else...but what exactly fits in this category for KIDS?
For my kids, I will be covering:
- DVDs
- Stationery/Craft Supplies
- Hobby related items (Nail polish)
- Bedroom Decor
One of the things I have found helpful during this whole KonMari journey is actually sorting everything into the five categories first, according to Marie Kondo: Clothes, Books, Paper, Komono and Sentimental. Going through the boxes and cupboards and sorting everything into piles matching the above categories, so when it came to tackling a particular category...it was all there, ready and I knew I wasn't going to find it anywhere else in the home.
Once that was done, I was able to begin...
DVDS
When my daughter was younger, we had A LOT of DVDs, however over the years she's grown out of them (GOODBYE DORA!) and we ended up discarding a whole heap when we moved in with my partner, and also over the years during my decluttering journey.
Nowadays, we tend to borrow DVDs from either my parents for a few weeks or hire them from the video store. My parents have a HUGE collection of DVDs, so they are our go-to place if we want to watch a DVD. We also have Sky and Netflix, and there are a lot of great movies on there, so we record them or watch them on the laptop (I'm going to purchase a Chrome Cast this week - so we can sync the laptop to our 'not-so-smart' TV).
As you can see our collection is fairly small, nonetheless, it was good to go through them and discard ones that we no longer need or want.
BEFORE
DONATE
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| Add caption |
AFTER
Remember: we borrow movies from my parents and we hold on to them for a few weeks (sometimes months depending if they are popular with the kids or not) and we also record movies on Sky too. It's nice to have a variety, especially if we are on the road or it's a miserable day.
We keep our DVDS in this white rattan basket in our TV cabinet. I keep my parent's DVDs in there until I see them again. I also have the portable dvd player in the basket too, so it's all in one place. We usually take our portable DVD player when we go on long trips - to keep the kids entertained, while travelling. My partner's XBox games are also in tv cabinet too.
These DVDs belong to my parents and will be returned to them on our next visit. It's also a good time to get some new ones.
STATIONERY / CRAFT SUPPLIES
BEFORE
Miss B sorting her KOMONO into sub-categories: DVDS, STATIONERY, CRAFTS, HOBBIES and BEDROOM DECOR. We also found books and clothes (oh dear), however Miss B was happy to discard these items, as she totally forgot she had them.
PENCIL CASES
PENCIL CASES AFTER
(I kept the Arsenal one - it sparked joy!)
STATIONERY AND CRAFT SUPPLIES (bits and bobs) BEFORE
STATIONERY AND CRAFT SUPPLIES (bits and bobs) AFTER
HOBBY RELATED ITEMS
NAIL POLISH BEFORE
NAIL POLISH AFTER
AFTER
This is what is being returned to Miss B's bedroom. So much lighter, and organised. The grey boxes are stored in her wardrobe and everything else Miss B has found homes for. I gave the organisers on the left to my Mum - perfect for her jewellery art (she was very thankful)
DISCARD PILE
We emptied 3 x 60L containers and it feels FANTASTIC.
DONATE PILE
All of this has been donated! My daughter was very relieved to have it out of her space, and knows someone else will treasure these items.
BEDROOM DECOR
Since I started the 'KonMari With Kids' series, the kids bedrooms have had makeovers. I actually did them in March, however they still look the same today, so KonMari for the WIN! Before I did the makeover on my daughter's bedroom, I got her to take everything out that she no longer wanted in her room - that's all the stuff that is in the BEFORE photo above. Everything that was left in the room, sparked joy - she loves her new room and so do I!
NOTE: The BEFORE photos (smaller photo) are from Christmas and were taken just before I started this series. What a difference?!
Once I have finished the KonMari With Series, I might look into sharing a full tour of the kids bedrooms (watch this space).
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It feels good to finally share with you the BEFORE and AFTER photos of the KOMONO category. It can be a difficult category, because everything that doesn't belong in Clothes, Books, Paper and Sentimental - belongs in KOMONO and it can be overwhelming.
However, breaking it [KOMONO] into sub-categories like DVDs, Stationery/Craft Supplies or Hobby related items and Bedroom decor will make this category less daunting, and you will be able to tidy each space/area more efficiently.
I think it's really important to follow Marie Kondo's basic steps when tidying Komono...
- Gather all items in that category in one place.
- Choose only those that spark joy
- Store by category
My daughter had a vision for her room, so the purging process was easy. A lot of the stuff she had, she has outgrown - some of which she's had since she was 5 years old, so it was good for her to have a really good clean out. She loves her space and takes pride in it. It does get untidy, however now, it doesn't take her long to tidy because 1) there is less stuff and 2) everything has a place.
So once again...for the KOMONO category, I split it into 5 sub-categories
2. DVDS
3. STATIONERY/CRAFTS
4. HOBBY RELATED ITEMS
5. BEDROOM DECOR
I hope you found this post helpful. If you did, please feel free to PIN and/or SHARE with your friends and family.
Thanks for reading,
Thanks for reading,
Charlene
Coming Up Next: KonMari With Kids: Sentimental Items
It's the mother of all categories - SENTIMENTAL! I have been decluttering my daughter's sentimental belongings over for years, however I haven't touched any of my son's - so this is going to be a big task for me. I will probably break it up into smaller sub-categories, like I did with my own Sentimental items - WATCH THIS SPACE.
It's the mother of all categories - SENTIMENTAL! I have been decluttering my daughter's sentimental belongings over for years, however I haven't touched any of my son's - so this is going to be a big task for me. I will probably break it up into smaller sub-categories, like I did with my own Sentimental items - WATCH THIS SPACE.
I am super excited about this new series 'KonMari With Kids' and 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 'KonMari With Kids'. I will also be sharing my journey on my Facebook page, and Instagram, so be sure to follow me there too.
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