My KonMari Journey: KOMONO ITEMS 1 - CDs and DVDs


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.


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. To date, I have completed the first category - Clothes - you can read about it and see my before & after photos HERE, followed closely by the second category - Books and then Paper, which proved to be a massive task for me. I shared an update 2 days later.

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 I 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:
  • CDs, DVDs
  • Skincare products
  • Make-Up
  • Accessories
  • Valuables (passports, credit cards, etc)
  • Electrical equipment and appliances (digital cameras, electric cords, anything that seems vaguely 'electric')
  • Household equipment (stationery and writing materials, sewing kits, etc.)
  • Household supplies (expendables like medicine, detergents, tissues, etc)
  • Kitchen goods/food supplies
  • Other 
Today I am sharing the first sub-category: CDs & DVDs...

1. Tidy in one shot, as quickly and completely as possible.
I spent a bit of time searching the house, car and my office for all of my CDs and DVDs. I was amazed at how disorganised my collection was. I corralled all of my CDs into a container and did the same for my DVDs. I even found a bag of old cassette tapes (including Peter Andre & Aaron Neville), so I decided to chuck these into this category as well (makes sense right?).

The container on the left is my partners CDs and DVDs - he has the container in his 'man cave' now and will go through these in his own time.


2. Sort by category, not by location
It was a mission going through all of the containers in the office, however it was a really important step to find ALL the CDs and DVDs and have them together as one category. This way I got to see everything I owned in one place and made the next step easier.



3. Selection Criterion: Does it 'spark joy?'
By now, you would have heard the words 'spark joy' quite a lot but you know what - it's the best question to ask yourself especially when you are going through this purging/de-cluttering method. The thing I love most about this KonMari Method is that it is more about keeping the things you love and that 'spark joy', as opposed to 'What am I going to throw away?'. <---That right there is one of the mind shifts you will go through. Just imagine a home full of items you LOVE? Now take that vision and start purging.



I still like to listen to CD's (old school, I know), mainly in the car when we go on long road trips. As I was going through my CD collection, quite a few of them 'sparked joy' because I listen to them regularly.

As you can see in the after photo below, I did get rid of a few and I came across some educational ones, that I will add to my Teacher Resources later on when I get to that category. But in the meantime I have stored my CDs in this teal rattan basket.



Now because I listen to my CDs in my car, I decided to put them in this CD wallet, for easier access. Miss B likes to see what songs are on the CDs (and I do too), so I pulled out the front covers from the cases and slid these behind the actual CD - and they ALL FIT!

CONFESSION: I am breaking the 'just because' rule. I have decided to keep the cases to the CDs that are in the wallet "just in case" I want to donate them. Eventually, I would like to download the music to my laptop or my iPod, but for now, this system works for me. (sorry Marie)





 Not much of a 'purge pile', however like I said, I like to listen to my CDs when I'm on the road. I am really happy with the way I have stored my CDs (for now) and the cases are organised neatly in the rattan basket, so if I want/need the case, I know where it is, so no more scrummaging through miscellaneous containers in the office. Yippee!



Next on the list is DVDs.
This is my before....

And this is what I decided to keep!
I purged about half of my collection and it feels great. I have watched all of these movies at least once and will happily watch them again (and again) if I was in the mood. 

The best thing is they all fit in this rattan basket (like the one I used for my CDs). This is only a temporary storage solution for my DVDs - I would love to know how YOU organise/store your collection. Send me an email - teacherbytrademotherbynature (at) gmail (dot) com - INSPIRE ME! 


Goodbye DVDs - Thanks for the laughs, the tears and for entertaining me.

MISSING DVD - I am going to hold on to this case because I love this movie and I know the DVD will be here somewhere, obviously it's been misplaced. If I don't find it, then the case will go into the bin. Simple.


Woohoo! The first (of many) sub-categories for KOMONO is complete. I have put the rattan baskets under my side table located in the lounge. The baskets fit in well with my colour theme and are easily accessible if I want to watch a DVD or if I need a CD case. The CD wallet is in my car - ready for those road trips! I'm not ready to say goodbye to my CD collection just yet, maybe one day in the not so distant future. 

Do you still own CDs or am the only one? How do you store your CDs and DVDs? Let me know in the comments below. 

Next: 'My KonMari Journey' - Komono: Skincare products, Make-Up and Jewellery
Please note: The Komono (Miscellaneous) category has several sub-categories, so I will be sharing a post for most of them. 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

Also in this series: 
Introduction & Getting Started
Clothes
Books
Paper
Paper (Update)

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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5 comments

  1. Oh gosh yes I have waaay too many CDs & DVDs & still a few vhs tapes too! We are in desperate need of a declutter here but I'm so sentimental & attached to my crap it's hard to even start. We moved almost a year ago & I got rid of some things but really could have been more ruthless & now my cupboard & back shed are full of boxes that haven't been touched for a year! I think they'd probably be a good place to start.

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  2. Oh gosh yes I have waaay too many CDs & DVDs & still a few vhs tapes too! We are in desperate need of a declutter here but I'm so sentimental & attached to my crap it's hard to even start. We moved almost a year ago & I got rid of some things but really could have been more ruthless & now my cupboard & back shed are full of boxes that haven't been touched for a year! I think they'd probably be a good place to start.

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  3. I'm enjoying your series on the Konmari method! I plan to start soon. The next weeks are too busy for me to give this project the attention that is deserves. I'm really excited about it though! Like you I still have a ton CDs, and occasionally I listen to them in the car. I'm not sure how many I'll have left after the purge though.

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  4. We have literally hundreds of CDs and DVDs and they're all housed on shelves in the living room. The irony is we never watch the DVDs... because Netflix! And we never listen to the CDs because of ipods. We'd have so much more space and less clutter if we purged our collection. You've totally inspired me and made me feel a little relieved, I thought we were the only people who still had CDs!

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  5. We have lots of CDs, not many of our own DVDs but heaps of the kids which they watch! Like you our CDs mostly get played in the car, although my 'new' car has a fancy system that scans the CD and saves it into the system! And my eldest son loves to play CDs at home :)

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