My KonMari Journey: KOMONO: Other - Linen Cupboard

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 - Linen Cupboard
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).

*******

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:

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 <------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?'

*******

Today I am sharing - KOMONO: Other - Linen Cupboard

Linen Cupboard - BEDDING

To be honest with you, I have been looking forward to this task since I started the KOMONO category. Our linen cupboard is situated in the hallway and is home to our bedding and vacuum cleaner. When we moved in to our new home, the linen cupboard was tidy and organised. However fast forward 9 months and it got to the point where we were just shoving the sheets and blankets in where ever they fitted. It was frustrating and I just couldn't bring myself to organise, until now. 

So, following Marie Kondo's three rules, I pulled everything out of the cupboard and put it on the floor in the lounge. I stood in front of a mountain of sheets, blankets and duvet covers etc, took a deep breathe and begun the purge. 

BEFORE

In total, I had 13 duvet covers, 17 sheets, several blankets and a whole heap of mismatched pillowcases. I was amazed at how much we had accumulated over the years, and a lot of it we didn't even use, therefore taking up valuable space. I corralled like things together first (sort by category) and only kept the items that a) sparked joy and b) we needed to keep. Keeping in mind, I was aiming to have 1-2 bedding items (duvet cover & sheets) for each bed.

AFTER

The purge took me about 20 minutes - to sort and purge. I was left with 3 piles - KEEP, DONATE, RUBBISH. I folded the KEEP pile and returned to the linen cupboard. (See photos below of how I organised this cupboard.

As you can see in the before photo (left), everything was a jumbled mess and sheets shoved in and now (photo on the right) - there is so much space and everything has a place in the cupboard. The sheets and duvet covers are stored in their matching pillowcases (Thanks Martha Stewart).

 

LINEN CUPBOARD ORGANISATION
Top Shelf: Spare duvet inners and pillows + spare blankets



2nd Shelf: Queen sheets (Summer) + spare Queen duvet cover
3rd Shelf: Single sheets + single duvet cover (Miss B has a trundler bed under her bed)
4th Shelf: Polar Fleece Winter sheets -  (single and Queen)
5th Shelf: Bed skirts/valance

6th (bottom) Shelf: Sleeping bags + three corner pillow cases in the basket

Floor: Vacuum and Master M's special toys - Daddy's childhood Transformers (they only come out when I vacuum). The box belongs to my partner. 

Purge pile
I couldn't believe I purged 3/4s of our linen cupboard. WOW! I created 2 piles - one pile to donate to the SPCA (they use old towels and bedding in the animal shelters) and one pile for our local Op-Shop. Each pile filled a rubbish bag black sack! When I dropped off the bag to the SPCA, they were very grateful for my donation. It made me feel good too.

Donated to SPCA

LAUNDRY CUPBOARD (Including Towels)

We have a cupboard in our laundry where we keep our towels. It is located next to the bathroom, so it was the best place to store these items, as well as the cleaning products etc. I was planning on just purging the towels for this sub-category, however the whole cupboard needed sorting, and maybe a little re-organising. So I pulled everything out, minus a few things I knew I was keeping (or had to keep, because they belong to my partner).

BEFORE: 

DURING: 
I would love to paint or maybe wallpaper the inside of this cupboard because it looks so drab and dark. However, in the meantime, I bought these yellow placemats for $1 each from KMart a while ago to match the laundry and to brighten it up a bit. I hang our mop, broom and brush/dustpan on the laundry cupboard door (they match our red-themed kitchen). Doing this keeps them off the floor, which mean less clutter.

AFTER: 

Even though most of these towels don't spark joy, we do need towels. I did get rid of a few that had seen better days, and I am hoping to buy some new towels in the near future. So for now, these are what we have and I'm fine with that. 

Woohoo! Linen cupboard and Laundry cupboard - TICK! It feels good to have these two cupboards sorted. They are organised, I can see what we have at a glance and I have kept the things we need and use regularly. Hopefully my partner will let me give the laundry cupboard a makeover. I will share photos if and when I (we) do. 

*Feeling Amused* 

My partner came home from work and I was really excited to show him our Linen cupboard...ta-daaaa...his response..."I don't know what it looked like before, I don't even think I have ever opened the door" I'm like REALLY??? (Note: we have lived in our house for 9 months and it's where we keep the vacuum) LOL at least the linen cupboard looks amazing now :) lol I had to show him the before photo, so he could praise me. Gotta love him. 

Next week: My KonMari Journey: KOMONO: Other - Holiday Decorations

I have accumulated a lot of holiday decorations over the years, some things I have never used, so I am going to pull it all out, go through it and only keep what sparks joy. Watch this space. 

Please note: The Komono (Miscellaneous) category has several sub-categories, and I will be sharing a post for all of them (some will be combined, some will be split into two parts). Watch this space or  Subscribe to my Blog, so you don't miss a post.

*******

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.

Don't Miss A Post - Subscribe Today!

* indicates required

First Name *

Email Address *

Select Your Email Option Below

• Each Post
• Weekly Newsletter