Old Photos; M Goodwin vs M Kondo!

In that previous post where I wrote about Marie Kondo's book, I mentioned that one of the categories used by the author for tidying/decluttering was 'Komono' which means miscellaneous. And part of a chapter is devoted to Photos. 

As expected, Kondo iterates that you must look at each one of the photos you have and '...you will be surprised at how clearly you can tell the difference between those that touch your heart and those that don't.' p119 And of course only keep the ones that 'spark joy'. 

According to Kondo, 'The meaning of a photo lies in the excitement and joy you feel when taking it'. She continued on to say that in many cases, the prints developed afterward have already outlived their purpose. Hmmm...she would be in a state of constant apoplexy if she met me!!!

You see I have not only my own photos but I also treasure photos that were in my dad's drawer. Dad kept them in an old plywood strawberry box/punnet. In most cases I didn't have a clue who was in the photos, but I've hung on to them all these years since he died in 1967. 

With the advent of Facebook, I've made albums of old family photos of both my parents which can then be accessed by not only my generation, but the next one down.

The first screen shot is part of the Facebook album of my mum's family...my Aussie cousins had never seen some of the photos of our Nanna that I had...they were rapt. My children and my nieces and nephew had never seen most of them either.

My dad's old photos...

Thanks to having these photos in FB albums (I have some in my Box account too), I now know the identity of some of the people in these photos. Despite the photos being several decades old, some of my Aussie/Italian cousins have recognised faces...it was so exciting. 

And another exciting thing was that my collection of old photos meant that some of my cousins saw a photo of their great grandfather for the first time! And the same cousins identified a photo of a baby as their much loved uncle.  What a thrill for them and a thrill for me as I knew him as an adult. And even my cousin in FNQ who hasn't a Facebook account could access the albums via a share link I could send her. This cousin can speak and read, not only Italian, but also the Sicilian dialect of the region where my dad came from, so she could read the scans of the writing on the backs of photos.

Now back to Ms Kondo and her opinions. She claims that 'unexciting photos of scenery that you can't place belong in the garbage'. Well that could be true but may be she doesn't know about Facebook sites like Vintage Queensland and Old Brisbane Album where people post old photos of scenery. There seems to be always some reader who can pinpoint exactly where the photo was taken...the power of social media! And then those 'unexciting' photos of  scenery become very exciting! Well in my opinion anyway!!! Lol

Tomorrow I'm meeting up with a cousin I haven't seen since her wedding in 1963. With a bit of 'detective work' and googling I've found her again and we're going to talk family and look at photos. (Carmela kept all her parents photos too!) 

A few years ago DH bought me this little gadget and it's coming with me tomorrow...batteries have been changed so it's all systems go!

Another recent read...

The name Marie Kondo has been 'popping up' for a while now in some of the blogs that I follow. Marie's book, 'The Life-changing magic of tidying up' seems to have become very popular and I was curious. Not curious enough to buy a copy, but when the BCC library catalogue indicated that the book was now available, I placed a hold. I was #81 in the holds' queue, and it took a few months to get 'to the head of the line'. 

It's a tiny book compared to the other book I borrowed on the same day.

And it was a quick read. The person who translated the book from the original Japanese did an excellent job...the discourse isn't stilted in the slightest.

 But Kondo attributes 'things' with having feelings which to me was a bit quirky, but maybe saying 'thank you for your service' to a pair of shoes as you discard them helps assuage the guilt if you had paid a lot for them?? Lol

Now what has Kondo got to say about tidying/decluttering? I won't go into great details here; suffice to say Kondo has identified two reasons for cluttered houses. One is that we have too much stuff and secondly many of us don't put things away. Kondo's method is to divide possessions into her designated sections or categories, and, taking a category at a time, discard or keep. The criterion for keeping the item, is, if after you hold it, it sparks joy, the item can stay.  Kondo's method relies on discarding items first and only when all the discarding is done, start to organise the space. 

The discarding must be done in one fell swoop. 

Kondo suggests that clothing should be the first items in your 'tidying' project. Gather all items of clothing that you own into one place...the author suggested the floor...and then take each item, one at a time and if it doesn't spark joy...out it goes. Keep going until all the clothing has been examined and a decision made. And of course thank each item that you discard. 

Using this technique, Kondo then lists the other categories of your belongings...following this order, Books, Papers, Komono ( which translated sort of means miscellaneous) 

Kondo is quite disparaging about other methods of decluttering, especially any that allow you to declutter gradually...a little at a time. (I used the 30 days of decluttering a few years ago with some success, especially in organising what I kept). Kondo warns anyone who reads her book and doesn't follow it exactly...' Don't change the method to suit your personality' p 26-28) as you will fail. Oh dear...that counts me out! Lol

But...I did get inspired to declutter the linen cupboard...yeah not the correct order is it? 

The photo shows DH with the 4 large bags of sheets, pillowcases and towels that 'got the flick' and have gone in the local charity bin. Now the cupboard is manageable...there was so much crammed in there it was always difficult putting things away. We are now left with 2 pairs of sheets per bed in the house and that's enough I reckon. I also filled another bag with outfits that were bought for weddings etc and have sat unworn after the first outing,  in my wardrobe for up to 14 years...gone!! ( mother of the bride outfits bought in desperation as nothing suitable  had been found until just a few days before the wedding is a recipe for disaster!) 

And a heap of stuff has left my craft room for the same reason...not used and unlikely to be now...

Also...

I felt really good when all these kits worth a total of well over $500 went to Sunshine Linus! One lot of these quilt block kits were bought to help raise funds for Dr Catherine Hamelin's Fistula Hospital in Ethiopia. But I quite disliked the fabrics and the designs in the kits...

At the moment I am working on a particular cupboard in the kitchen...the one where everything gets 'dumped' when a quick tidy of the bench tops is needed! :-/

This book has enjoyed runaway success if you look at the sales but to me it's very simplistic and Kondo obviously is not a crafter! Lol. 

One comment she made that did resonate with me was when she discussed the problem of others who sabotage a person's efforts to declutter. These are family or friends who declutter by 'dumping items' on you. My best friend has done this to me for many years. But 2 years ago, I started saying no. Best thing I've ever done!