unfrumped: For me, "tiny chunk tidying" is not a question of relapse - it's really all I can manage right now. Having a toddler is perhaps the categorical opposite to being in a tidy-friendly situation! Even Marie Kondo says that tidying your house over the course of 6 months counts as doing it all in one go. So I would not feel too bad about stretching it out over time. The point that I think Kondo really wants to make is that you've got to approach the tidying as an overall change to your life approach, not as, "today I'm going to tidy one drawer". So while I wish I could do it all in one fell swoop, I think it's more about your mindset while you are doing the tidying - and that, I can manage.

She did say that you can break your catagories down. I did makeup, nail polish, belts, and summer tops yesterday. Except for the belts, these things were pretty well edited and this didn't take long.

My takeaway so far is, making the keep, not keep decision fast. Even though I never really regret getting rid of something, I'm really indecisive about it.

Jennifer, I hear that! The perfect is the enemy of the good, or in the case of toddlers, the "whatever"!

I'm not worried about breaking any rules, but was interested in the dynamic that occurs with the more complete review.

As in, my project I never completed, but may try to do now--"Tops on the Bed"
was aimed at putting all tops, from dressy down to garden T shirts, all out in piles. It was pre-Kondo but the idea was that some form of clarity of style, numbers, colors, redundancies and versatility/overlap might emerge.

What I did: a complete review of the home, covered in 4 days. (At home each day, all day.) Now that I've experienced that shift in mindset, the sense of how space ought to feel, I can onesie-twosie items that stand out as not fitting the new mindset.

I think little discards are perfectly fine after the major purge. In fact, unless you want to let excess build up again, you have to deal with it as it arises.

So I have now been completely convinced to give the skirt away and move on with my life. Thanking it for the couple times I did wear it.
I think I will go section by section like I was before - I just can't hand the thought of all my clothes on my bed. But I can do all my shirts.

I've been doing the KonMari Method since early January. Here are my blog posts on the topic. I've been doing this process at my place and my boyfriend's, since I live and work at/among both places.

You ask a lot of great questions, and many of them, I already answered for my sister, who works a full-time job and has a dog, a cat, and an active toddler (and by 'active', I mean 'gets busy getting into something he was chased off of earlier, the moment he sees her occupied with something else').

I have a lot of utilitarian clothing for dancing and working out - and I treated them just the way I treated my regular wardrobe: if it didn't spark joy, I put it in the discard pile. At the end, I have found myself with a lot of dance and workout gear that does spark joy for me.

My sister did not find that to be the case, but kept utilitarian things that see a lot of wear, resolving to eventually replace things as they wear out, with things that do spark joy for her.

I think there are things that can be tweaked, and one of them is clothing storage. I keep all my stuff out, but the out-of-season stuff is hanging in a separate area of my closet. I also hang a lot more things than I think she recommends, because I can find it more easily, and enjoy it.

There are also things in my home that do not spark joy for me personally, but that I keep out of necessity for work. But getting rid of personal items that didn't spark joy, has opened up a lot of space in my condo and the BF's, and with that comes a great feeling of peace.

ETA: My sister is doing this piecemeal, in chunks. She felt very upset and conflicted that she couldn't manage it exactly as in the book, but I pointed out to her, Marie Kondo doesn't seem to have toddlers, or have to work around them.

And in the video interview she does with Wendy Goodman, she does seem to indicate that you can tackle one small bit at a time, if that's all you have time for.

I bought the e-version of the book for my iPhone and read it recently, and did a big closet purge. (Thanks LBD for your blog posts, they were really inspiring!) I have three dry-cleaning bags stuffed with clothes to take to the consignment store and another bag for Goodwill. Although I've been busy at work and the bags are sitting in my car, and now I'm getting twitchy and thinking about retrieving a few items. Orange loafers! I'm scared of purge regret, like the next time Angie posts some ensemble and I think "Shoot, I had that and gave it away! I could have used that!" But I do think my closet and drawers are much less stuffed now. I really needed to do it. I still have a big stack of sweaters and jeans on my closet floor--I need to figure out the best place to stash them.

I really want to keep doing this method throughout the rest of the house, but I do agree, she doesn't even talk about kids and the mountain of stuff that accompanies them. It is so difficult to sort through books and toys and stuff that they have outgrown. I just pulled out the little infant papasan seats so I could try to sell them or give them away on our local mom's board. Oh man, the kids were fighting over them and trying to sit in them--so comical to see my 7 year old sprawled out on her pink baby recliner! And it has a music button and when you hear the tunes, it just brings you right back to their baby days. Talk about tugging the heartstrings! I have a ton of their outgrown clothes too. I'm hoping to sort through them and save some for a quilt. Purging is so hard! I never seem to have enough time for it either, between work and the kids. Also, what do you do when your husband is as much of a packrat as you, or more? I can't just throw away his stuff, but there's too much stuff for it to look tidy unless he gets rid of stuff too, but he's as busy as I am. We are drowning in clutter! I am going to try to keep plugging away though! Someday, maybe in 20 years, my house will look like a magazine!

Yes there is the issue of partners and DHs who are packrats. I tend not to hang on to things unless they are important to me but DH keeps everything. I am amazed at what he keeps. Clothes from the 60s, his uncle's photos (he doesn't know who the people are), his notes from school (don't ask when he graduated) and on it goes.

yes - kids we won't even go into. My child is somewhat of a packrat around her toys.
Goldenpig - I don't ever want my house to look like a magazine I just want it to be cozy and homey feeling which for me is never ever gonna be magazine like - plus as long as I have a kid like you - toys, homework, backpacks, shoes, her gear are going to take up space and I don't mind or care.

My sister is struggling with her toddler's things - because everyone is constantly sending him gifts or bringing him stuff, and her hubby wants him to keep all of it. She is also a little frustrated that he has a lot of books and papers, but comments on her collection! I laughed at this, and I told her, just do what the book says, and worry about your own stuff first. Get that all done, and they will follow.

I also told her - as a sneaky sidetrack option - to put all of her little guy's toys and books into one area, and tell whoever is watching him not to pick up after him. See what he actually plays with, over a period of a few days. Then quietly box up the untouched stuff, and put it in the closet. See if it's missed. Then move it to a higher shelf inside a closet. See if it's missed.

And if it is not, quietly move it out of the house a few weeks later.

That is how I would deal with kids' stuff. For the adults in your life.. you have to let them arrive at it on their own time - possibly never - because if you get rid of their stuff, at best they will go out and buy more - but at worst you will lose your trust.

When I started this last month, the BF was skeptical, but now that he's seeing how nice it is to open a cabinet and know exactly where everything is, he is asking me to sort his clothes. I told him that I help him with that, but he has to be present and help - so he can choose how he wants his stuff organized, and so I don't toss anything he loves by mistake.

@Goldenpig - I got rid of bags of stuff, and I have not yet missed anything, because I am so happy to put on the stuff I did keep! If it didn't spark joy when you packed it up, get rid of it. If you dig it out, it will just get in the way of something you truly love.

I haven't read it yet, though I'm on the waiting list at the library. I think the concept of "joy" is a difficult one for me, since I rarely identify any emotion in my life as "joy", but certainly I have a lot of things that frustrate me rather than make me happy, so that's at least something to work with!

Frannieb, one thing I have done with items that don't work for me as clothing but which have a print that I love is scan them or take a good close-up photo of the print. Then I occasionally use those photos as computer wallpaper. I've done this with vintage scarves that I never actually wore, a funky caftan with dragon flies printed on it that my Mom wore all the time as a house coat when I was a kid, and various other items of clothing that I realized the only reason I was keeping them was because of the print.

As far as books go, I used to be in the "books are sacred" camp, but more and more I realize that a lot of books are really not worth the paper they are printed on. At the moment I am gearing up to move and I am mentally earmarking the things that will get purged when the time comes.

Most of the paperback novels will go because they are easily replaceable, either online or at the library. I'll keep anything academic, hard to find, or that I like to read again on occasion. I'm thinking that I will set up an account on GoodReads and use it to keep track of the books I've read and am letting go. Or I might do the same with BookCrossing and start leaving my unwanted books around town for others to find and (hopefully) enjoy.

Oh, kids' over- gifting drove me nuts! May change tune if I become a grandmother! Kids don't need near as much stuff as we think, little ones especially. Box it up and swap out an item once a week, or for rainy days.
John Rosemond had some good books on the subject, though he can at times sound a bit prim.
Also I recall our girls' Montessori
school. Each item was on a tray and you played with something and them put it back and chose something else. Sure, it's okay to create something with the blocks and the cars and whatnot, but we've also been " sold" on having so many toys and do many little parts that it's not possible for a child to organize and pick up that much- hence the parents a frazzled.

Goldenpig: to prevent "declutterer's remorse", I have found it useful to store items I plan to donate for a month or two (boxed or bagged of course) in a spare bedroom or garage. I got this idea from Lisa who did that DH challenge about a year ago. I recently got rid of a lot of extraneous kitchen pans and utensils, and they are currently in our garage in case we need one- if 6 months go by and I haven't had to access the stash, it's probably safe to donate. In addition, storing items out of sight seems to neutralize some of their mystique, so if I look back at them , it's easier to pass them on.

Mander, great idea about the wallpaper. I'm going to do that with a pair of pants.

Maddens idea is brilliant about wallpaper.

I liked some things about the Kondo book, and others were annoying -- it got a bit repetitive, and it only barely addresses my biggest decluttering weakness: sentimental family belongings inherited after parents pass away.

Nonetheless, I did find it helpful and it sparked a good solid round of cleanup in my home. Our linen closet is completely transformed, I took two carloads of donations (clothes and linens) to a nearby crisis shelter, a big box of books went to the library for donation, and I think I hauled my body weight in paper out of my office (I was a magazine hoarder for years). For the first time since we moved into this house eight years ago, all the built-in shelves in my office were cleared off, cleaned, and re-organized. Everything that's left now has more breathing room, and I actually know what is there now! I tackled our files, which go back the requisite 7 years for tax purposes, and then some! I shredded so much that I burnt out our old paper shredder and had to go buy a new one.

One thing I've found to be true of decluttering when it comes to kids (mostly through friends' experiences) is that once you set the example, it starts to rub off on your family. If kids see you keeping things neat and happily letting go of things you no longer need, they eventually learn that it's OK for them to do that too. It doesn't happen right away, but it starts them on the path. It also helps if it's a cooperative effort. A surefire way to make a child feel bad about letting go of things is to throw out their stuff without telling them -- this is how my mom became so fearful of losing control of her belongings as a child.

Mander, I love the idea of photographing nostalgic and beloved prints on fabrics and clothing to keep as a sort of digital scrapbook (I would probably do a screen saver rather than a desktop since I keep my desktop neutral for photography processing). I have some sentimental items that would be perfect candidates for that treatment -- thank you for the idea!

Oh, I meant to address the original questions! I keep seriously out-of-season items in a separate closet, zipped in a garment bag. That's also where I keep things like formal dresses that rarely get worn, and where I keep my holding zone for things I might be letting go of, but am not yet sure about. Which reminds me, my holding zone is getting full.

But I really don't want to look at wool sweaters in my closet when it's 95 degrees with 95% humidity. Just no. Nor do I want to be taunted with flimsy tank tops and dresses when there is snow on the ground. I like seasonal separation because we live in a climate that varies greatly. It occurs to me that we could easily have a calendar year in which we hit 0 degrees and 100 degrees, which just seems nuts. For those in more temperate climates, I can see keeping an entire wardrobe visible year-round.

I do the rolling technique on things like underwear, socks, and tank tops, which are all in drawers, and I have my running and cycling pants and shorts rolled in a basket in my closet. But it's not practical for me otherwise because we have nice built-in shelves in our closet now, and my tees, sweaters, jeans and workout wear are all stacked neatly on those shelves. From time to time, I take them out, shake them out and refold, but that's no big bother -- I just do it when I'm putting laundry away if things seem to be getting a little messy.

I don't mind things like my workout wear being visible in my closet -- I have tops folded on the lowest shelf, and like I mentioned, bottoms rolled in a basket on the floor just beneath. My running and cycling shoes are on the floor in the adjacent compartment. Honestly, my workout wear DOES give me joy. I celebrate being able to do these activities, and what they do for my physical and mental health. So, utilitarian as they may be, they contribute greatly to my happiness, so seeing them in my closet makes me happy.

Janet - yes you bring up a wonderful question about sentimental things. I will never get rid of the jacket my mom wore to my wedding or the first toy she gave my daughter because she died 6 months after she was born. Just ain't gonna happen no matter what the experts say.

Well I did my workout clothes today and guess what I found out - There are actually pants and tops that bring me joy and pants and tops I haven't worn in years and don't like wearing. I kept just enough to not have a laundry back up and am in love with how my drawer looks now.

Janet- I hear you on sentimental things. My MIL. was , maybe mot the biggest hoarder , but could NOT get rid of anything given or inherited and really wanted all of the kids to take it all. We did take a lot just to make her happy. Many items I do truly enjoy- vintage kitchen items, trays, linens. What's helping me now is that joy thing- if neither I nor DH have a memory associated with an item, and if I don't love it ( I'm the domestic and vintage person!) them out it goes . Also, I'm determined to use or display everything , or use hatband a benchmark for tossing. MIL had so much stuff in boxes and not in use.
But you have given NMS a terrific closet inspiration re: exercise wear.
I had already put a small basket in the closet for my morning excersise outfit for indoor workout and have been trying to re- focus on that ascsoon as I get up. Before, I had kept them in a drawer in the bedroom. Maybe my jeans and hook project( see Jeans post) is about shifting and creating the right balance. I need more space in this dressing area devoted to the good habits I want to keep up and celebrate , and not 100% devoted to more new clothes for work, but more space to see those and more space to encourage me to don my exercise wear ( this is especially in winter when it's chillier outside of the dressing area!)

Whoa, the phone made some crazy decisions on words, but maybe the gist came through anyway!

Sentimental items are hard - which is why Kondo says to wait on those, do other categories first. I have not yet reached the sentimental items category - but I have encountered and tackled a few that I noticed were musty, rusty, or otherwise in 'eeeeewwwwww' shape.

And in truth, some of these categories contain nostalgia items built in - especially books - for me.

I found books were so much harder than clothes to sort, because books have always been special to me. But I did get through them (I did three sorts before I put anything back on the shelves). I am surprised to find a little lift in my heart every time I turn the key in the lock, and walk into a condo that is lighter and has less stuff. My place has this positive energy it previously didn't have.

If you are on the fence about trying out this method, I would say, go for it. Why not? Try it out, and if you hate it, don't go any further. Set aside a day, and do the clothes. At worst, you spend your day working on this, and then end up keeping every single piece, and putting it back in your closet and drawers - but at least, you will know exactly what you have, and if something needs laundering or TLC, you can handle that now, instead of being surprised when you want to wear something.

At best, you wind up with some extra space, and a curated closet full of things you LOVE.

Whatever you opt for with your storage options - seasonal storage, rolling, hanging, etc. - your storage system isn't written in stone when you finish sorting. I'm still tweaking clothing categories - where things are hung, what drawer they are in, trying to optimize the ease with which I can grab stuff, dress, and go.

It's a process, but I have found it to be a worthwhile one so far.