To Be KonMari Clean (Decoration: Vision Realized 2)

Posted on 08/13/2016 by n2n

Visual tidiness = tranquility

What’s the point of all the KonMari work? Why fold and store clothing Konmari way? I first tried folding things my way then her way, the difference–much lower visual noise.

I was amazed how well visual tidiness brings tranquility to my life. I am more relaxed when I am in my room and in general. Then I applied the same principle to other categories.

Window shopping = energy to go on

Again, this started with my vision of a tidy built-in bookshelf. I didn’t know the exact items to buy but I know how they must work:

Must be able to hold heaver weight. The tiny stubs can’t hold much more than the shelf planks, not useful.
Must hold all I kept after Konmari sorting–mostly items from this bookshelf and the meditation corner (formally the clutter blackhole).
Must have colors that brings me joy.

konmari-ed shelving, storage vision It was 5 months into the process, since I needed a break, I measured my shelf, armed with a tape measure, then visited various stores and web site for inspiration. Boy, that was fun and productive. Building this vision also pumped me up to finish the office supplies and smalls categories.

Then it was finally time to make my vision come true. (See the continuing post)

To Be KonMari Clean (Decoration: Vision Realized 1)

Posted on 08/12/2016 by n2n

Vision that sparked action

If you read Marie’s first book, you know before you even sort a thing, you must envision the end result.

Mine was simple–have a meditation corner in my room, perhaps with a comfy chair. And if I have the desire and energy, I will put up my own oversized Zentangle art in turquoise blue, black, and white.

That vision powered me through to the end of the Konmari process. And trust me, this end vision is crucial to the process, even if the vision might change on the way, and the end result might be different.

Vision is not carved in stone

After 7 months of tidying up, I got my clean corner.

Sorry, no before picture, all I cared at the time was getting rid of the corner clutter–dusty black metal shelves, an IKEA double hamper, and a bunch of this-might-com-in-handy-someday stuff. Trust me, no one needs to see that.

I also swapped out the comfy chair idea with two Made In USA toy chests because:

A decent comfy chair is expensive
The chair is bulky and permanent
I wanted something modern with clean lines

Instead, I bought some yoga gears on sale to fulfill the vision of the meditation corner.

One of the toy chests you see here holds those gears, the other holds my backpack and cloth I’ve already worn but not ready to wash. Once I put the lids down, no loose items, no visual noise.

This works so much better for me than my original vision.

Tips on vision and decorating

Figure out the essence of your original vision. In my case, I just wanted my own quiet, uncluttered space.
Be flexible and creative. Would following your original idea really spark joy? If not, look around, get ideas, change it. To suit my needs, I often find myself using/buying things that have different original purposes.
Be okay to wait and buy what you need. Only after I knew what I need to make a new home for the items in each category, I start looking for their “home”, starting with what you already have. If that doesn’t spark any joy, then start searching to buy.
To save money, use the boxes and trays you are not using/recycling for organizing things that will be inside drawers or closets. The point is to have a clean visual environment.
Listen to your inner voice–“Yes, this definitely sparks my joy”

Eco Drain, Septic Cleaner That Works: PlumbClear

Posted on 07/26/2016 by n2n

Been bothered by the slow draining issue for our bathtub for a while.

We’ve always used an extra mesh catch (very cheap with varies sizes at Daiso stores, place it upside down for bathtubs.) to stop hair and junk from getting into the pipes but tiny things that got down there do accumulate.

Chemical, homemade, or eco ready-made?

During my research, I learned that some plumbers don’t like the chemical solutions because they create particles that are harmful to your septic tank.

Then I read some homemade solutions but didn’t trust them because how varied and inconsistant they are. I wanted something that just works and not having to spend time testing all the formulas and run the risk of clogging up the pipes.

When I found this eco drain, septic cleaner, Plumb Clear, on Amazon.com, I didn’t believe it will work well like many eco-friendly products. Since the reviews were so positive and it’s made in USA, I bought it anyway.

Since I wasn’t expecting much, I didn’t video my experiment. And I trust you’d understand that I won’t wait for my pipe to clog up again to record that it works.

First try with AMAZING result

After reading the instructions, I used the [Septic Tank ratio]–2 scoops with 2 cups of warm water, waited 2-4 hours as asked. Then I accidentally spilled it into the tub, only some got into the drain. I didn’t want to leave any solution in the tub so I rinsed the tub right away.

At this point, I thought, it’s not going to work, I washed it away. That night when I took a shower, I was amazed how well it drained.

Second try with a toilet

For this slow draining toilet, I used the [Septic/Drains ratio]–2 scoops with 5 cups of water. I wanted to make sure the enzyme and friendly bacteria had a chance to eat the built-up in the outlet path of the toilet so I dump 1 cup of the solution into the toilet bowl without flushing for an hour.

When I finally flashed it, it drained so quickly. I was very happy!

Tricks and Tips

When you first open the container, you need to fish out the scoop and the plastic snake.
To help you mix the solution and apply with more precision:
1. Find an old sports bottle similar to this (the point is to not spend any money while using something that’s just taking up space)
2. Measure and draw the lines at 1 cup increments, this allows you adjust the mix to only the volume needed.
3. IMPORTANT!!! Remember to also mark the bottle “NOT FOR DRINKING”.
Don’t wait too long to clean the pipes. According to the seller, Alson Enterprises, it works not as well for fully clogged pipe. The solution needs to come in contact with the organic built-up to digest the gunk in the pipes.
For the opening of the sink/tub drain, pull the stopper, pour in the solution (I used the more diluted ratio) until it overflows a little, let it sit for a while (I waited 15 minutes), then unstop it.

[UPDATE] PlumbClear Clears Semi Clogged Toilet

To Be KonMari Clean (Reorganizing & Spark Joy)

Posted on 07/24/2016 by n2n

Cherish the empty spaces

After donating, recycling, and throwing away the rest of what I no longer need or love, I was surprised that I actually have shelves and drawers left empty. And I have to remind myself that empty spaces are the best medicine for my sanity.

Now I’ve lived with my KonMari-ed room, I am proud to not pile things up again. One empty shelf is now the holding place for things to be give away, either going to friends or for donation.

Reclaiming the joy of paper crafting

For my desk, I have two metal boxes from IKEA, holding the most used items. The boxes come with cork lids but bits of cork fall out all the time. So, I decided to make lids my way:

Instead of having to remove the lid, the new lid act as a hinged cover. It’s much easier to open and shut.
No more holes in the lids for dust to get in the boxes.
Have my own design: I wanted white cover but found the contrast too sharp for my desk. I added a stripe of real cherry wood veneer. (By Arc Crafts on Amazon.com.)
This process also helped me reduce my specialty paper collections. My collections are my sentimental items. I figured the more I used now, the less volume (i.e. pain) I would have parting with them.
I had great fun making and designing the lids, therapeutic while productive, exactly how I roll.
Since white dirties easily, I also made inserts to line the boxes. See the bright yellow poking out from the bottom of the black insert? Sparks joy everytime I raise the cover.

Repurposing & make it yours

You may not be a paper nut like me but try repurposing what you do collect. Marie did suggest to use what you have on hand to save money as you reorganize your items. You can’t buy read-made items to fit your every need anyway, why not make them your own?

To Be KonMari Clean (Documents)

Posted on 01/27/2016 by n2n

After a 3-month interruption, I am back on the KonMari Clean horse. Here are some updates and document cleanup tips.

Living with less

With less clothes, I noticed changes in behavior:

Live with alternatives instead of buying more (living with less is my new default mode)
Donated more items I kept during the clothing cleanup (became even more conscious of the “sparks” of my things)
Buy only what I needed (better able to resist the lure of a sale)

Document Cleanup

I have never been so thankful for the digital age. Though being an “old school” writer, I’ll never be without pen and paper, I love that I don’t have to keep a hardcopy of everything.

Writers, don’t live in the piles of your drafts! According to Pam Binder of the Pacific Northwest Writers Association, you only need keep digital drafts and perhaps a hardcopy of the latest version.

Remember to shred your old drafts, just to be safe.

Sorting documents, what to keep?

Most of what I had were old statements and were almost all shredded after I read through these articles.

Advices from Consumer Reports
Advices from Clark Howard

Shred your documents

Since I can recycle shredded paper with residential garbage collection and I have a cross-cut shredder (strip-cut is not as secured), I decided to shred as I sort. I tried to mix different types of documents when I shred, cautious or paranoid? Could be both, ha ha!

If you don’t have a shredder or you have a lot of confidential documents, look for free document shredding events in your area.

Learn the recycling rules

Can you recycle shredded paper?
How do they want it? Our collector asks us to put shredded paper into clear plastic bags. (I saved the dry cleaning protective covers from the “clothes on hanger” phase, tied the hanger ends and used it for hold the sheredded paper.)
Can photo paper be recycled with regular paper? In our area, you can recycle photos but only if they are shredded.

KonMari Methods, How to Fold w/ Marie

Posted on 01/27/2016 by n2n

After I finished sorting through my clothes the KonMari way, I tried folding and storing her way and my way. In deed, her way is better because her way:

Ends up with a cleaner presentation (not showing folds and sort by colors are part of cutting down visual noise)
Keeps the spots for items removed (if you fold it right, it should stand on its own, which means when you take one item out, its place remains opened for restoring.)

How to fold the KonMari way

This video is in Japanese, but it’s by far the most instructional one I’ve found. Below, I’ve listed the important points in the video: (hopfully my translation is not too far off)

Smooth out your clothes, infuse your love and gratitude into the item.
First fold in half but keep the end unlayered, then fold in third so it’d stand up on its own.
When folding long sleeves, distritube the thickness before folding.
Note: in other videos, she mentioned that if it’s smaller you don’t have to fold it exactly the same way but never ball up your socks!

Best Non-Toxic Carpet Spot Remover

Posted on 12/16/2015 by n2n

Folex is by far my favorit non-toxic carpet spot cleaner. It knocked Naturally It’s Clean Carpet Cleaner (see my review) down to a slight distant 2nd. And other Folex customers would agree with me.

Folex took the top spot because unlike Naturally It’s Clean Carpet Cleaner, it leave no oder and no color residue.

Folex also works in an instant as the bottle claimed. Follow these simple instructions: spray the spot, work it into the fiber (very important), and blot it dry with a clean cloth or paper towel.

Folex is cheaper, too. As of today, the best price I saw so far is from Bed Bath & Beyond with their readly availble 20% off coupon. 2nd best place to look is your local independent hardware store (where I first discovered it). And when all else failed, there is always Amazon.

Both Folex and Naturally It’s Clean are made in USA and I believe they only clean, don’t disinfect.

To Be KonMari Clean (Books, Magazines)

Posted on 10/20/2015 by n2n

On my first read of The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up, I realized my design career no longer sparked joy. And for the first time in many years, I stopped blaming clients for not letting me go because I was actually the one who couldn’t let go.

Little did I know, this revelation even helped me clean out my books, too.

Declutter, make money, donate

I found out many of my design/art books are worth pretty good money. So before you throw your books out, do the following:

Check the trade-in values on Amazon.com
Sell to local secondhand bookstores
Donate to your local library (in our area, most branches sales book to raise funds)
Recycle (hardcover books might not be accepted for residential pickups, check with your garbage company)

Combining the sales to Amazon traid-in and secondhand bookstores, I made almost $100. That is more joy for the rest of the KonMari process.

General (books for fun)

Kept 0. Lucky for me, our library almost always has what I am looking for and more.

Practical (reference, cookbooks)

Kept 2 for writing novels
2 dictionaries (Japanese, English idioms)
3 Adobe CS books (running an old version, so best to keep on hands)
1 Mac OS book (can’t search for answers if the Mac dies)
4 Computer language books (still running WordPress sites)
A box of reference books for my next book/series, not in English, items not easily found here
1 baking book

Visual (photographic, art)

Kept 0

Design related books

Since I finally decided to end my design career for good, I was able to let most of them go. It felt like I am telling myself and the Universe that I’ve declared my intention to move away from design and focus on writing
Kept only what I love the most, patterns, graphics from old catalogs and products.
Paper swatches and print samples. Be sure to remove metal bindings before recycling the paper. The metal binding might contain unknown combination of metals that can not be reversed into pure forms again.

Magazines

I only had ones for graphic/web design, so I didn’t keep any but these are what I’ve tried.

Sold on ebay before, expensive to ship because of the low price point. And it’s a lot of work to package them. Unless you do this for a living, it’s not worth the effort.
Local secondhand bookstores didn’t want them
Recycling them turned out to be the only option

All my books fit into one single shelf with space left over.

To Be KonMari Clean (Interruptions)

Posted on 10/19/2015 by n2n

This may be a long term project

Before I go into tidying up my books KonMari style, I feel it’s important to say that this is turning out to be a long term project. After all:

It took years to accumulate all that I have.
Doing what I can to throw as little as possible into the trash (i.e. recycle/reuse whenever I can) takes up good amount of time to search and organize.
Demands from family and work often interfere with your cleanup plan.

Expect life’s interruptions

After I finished cleaning out my clothes, I discovered that my city was doing free electronic recycling and paper shredding that weekend. Since this only happens once or twice a year, I broke Marie‘s rule and skip ahead to documents and electronics that I’ve already set aside.

More space on my desk, more space to create

The paper I had shreaded are old drafts of my past and current work. I called my writer’s association and learned that I don’t need to keep every scrape of notes and drafts as I was told years ago. All I need to do is keep electronic versions of my books. If you want to be extra careful, print a hard copy of the latest in case your hard drive died.

Now have more space on my desk to work through the book category.

To Be KonMari Clean (Smaller Clothing Items)

Posted on 10/11/2015 by n2n

Don’t have many pictures here, the rest of the clothes subcategories are mostly small items too numerous to record. It was getting in the way of the KonMari cleaning process.

Socks/Underwears

donated all sports socks (worn only a few times)
donated new stockings that I removed the packaging to save room
downgraded old underware for carpet spot cleaning

Bags/Accessories

everything in this subcategory fit in one box, placed with the unmarked side out. Marie said any text or decoration on the box would add visual noise. Try it, it’s true.
donated all trinket jewelries. Though they are still cute, I don’t wear them anymore.
gave away most hair accessories, only kept the claw clips that I always use

Clothes for events

own 1 dress, I chose it because it would work for all events. If you care about having the same dress in all different event photos, then I don’t recommand it.

Shoes

donated all pumps excpet for one black pair that my feet love
Kept 5 paris of sandals, so I have a least a pair for my flat feet when I send the others out to be resoled. All the “inactive” sandels are packed into one box. To avoid seeing text (visual noise), I placed the label/item list under the box.
I’ve been living with 1 pair of running shoes (my everyday shoes) for a long time and have no need to get other kind of shoes

Other

kept two sets of beddings (need to clear these out so I can put things back into my closet) for rotation

Use what you have, keep what you’ve earned

As I’m posting this a month after the clothes cleanup, I have more tops and socks to go to the donation. When I was sorting, I thought I needed them but as I live with my “renewed collection” of clothing, I find myself finding ways to use what I already own and often there is no need to buy more.