Here we have the next post in my KonMari series. You can read the introduction here.
“Komono” is the Japanese word for miscellany, so in terms of the KonMari method, it means everything else. This category is broken down into subcategories because there are just so many different groups in a typical home. It is a ton of stuff to go through, so I am breaking it down into two parts.
DVDs and CDs
Dvd case before
My husband and I haven’t had any CDs for a while now. After we got our iPods, we uploaded everything and got rid of them. Plus, with things like Pandora or YouTube, it’s so easy to listen to the music that you want to, so I feel like this is an easy fix if you do have a lot of CDs.
“Helping” me sort DVDs
We do have a TON of DVDs as my husband and I are big fans of film. Even though we have Netflix and Amazon Prime, most of the stuff that we have is unavailable on those services and must be paid for separately if we want to watch them. Plus, with Netflix always taking certain stuff down, so it’s worth it to keep them. But the boxes take up a lot of space and are not necessary to use the actual DVD. The information on the boxes are easily found found online anyway.
DVDs fit great in CD cases
The last time that we moved, we decided to try to minimize the space that the DVDs took up, so we got rid of all of the movie boxes and put the discs into CD holders. Mine is the plastic box and my husbands is the black case. But we left out blu rays, box sets and television series.
DVDs after
My husband still didn’t want me to get rid of the blu ray boxes (they are all his) or the television boxes that are also his, so I only filed away a few movies that had stayed in their boxes. I had a bunch of television series’ boxes that I could get rid of, and I only kept my two favorite series because they are well loved and bring me a ton of joy. I got rid of a full garbage bag worth of DVD boxes and now the bookcase that we use to store our movies (as well as some toys for the toddler to play with while downstairs) looks much more organized. Everything fits perfectly.
Skin Care Products
All of my skin care products
I am not very big on skin care products. I don’t have very many and my husband only has many 4 or 5 products. Having terrible acne when I was younger meant that I was always putting something on my face in hopes that it would help. Now, I prefer to use the most natural and least amount possible on my skin. After all, it’s the biggest organ and absorbs quite a bit of what you put on it into the body. So what I had left that I used regularly was all natural except for a few things.
The clear box contains my husband’s collection of samples and hotel products, which we of course, never use. Many people keep things like this for travel, but we would rather just bring our everyday products.
What I kept
So out went the box of travel size toiletries as well as a few products that we either full of chemicals or just stuff that I wasn’t crazy about. What I had left were the products that I used often. I did keep one lotion that is packed with artificial yuckiness but I kept it because it smells like my late grandmother.
What left
It felt nice to only keep the necessities and not have a bunch of bottle collecting dust.
Makeup
Makeup storage
Like skin care products, I don’t have a lot because I don’t like to wear makeup. To me, it’s just adding more chemicals and I’m a big believer in natural beauty and promoting self-confidence. Although, even three years ago, I would not have ever left the house with concealer or mascara on, but I think that my self consciousness about acne and scars cause this. There’s nothing wrong with wearing makeup at all, it’s just not for me personally.
Everyday makeup
I have my makeup in two places. A plastic drawer that keeps all of the more fancy stuff for special occasions or the larger kits. The blue bin keeps all of the everyday stuff like concealer, mascara, eyeliner, and face powder.
What I kept
It was pretty easy to go about organizing what I wanted to keep. By now, I knew immediately what I wanted to get rid of, mostly stuff that I never even used because it wasn’t my style and brought me no joy.
What left
There wasn’t very much in my pile that would be leaving, but I felt better that everything in my makeup collection was useful to me, even if I don’t wear makeup everyday. It’s fun to dress up every now and then.
Accessories
Hair accessories
I was thrilled when I realized that I had unknowingly used the KonMari method on my hair accessories. I reused boxes that I had around the house to hold all of the small stuff and had already gotten rid of the stuff I didn’t like. When I sifted through everything again, I was happy that almost all of it brought me joy. I like using hair accessories, and a girl can never have too many bobby pins or hair ties.
Be sure that everything that you keep is not broken and in working order, as I did discover a few hair clips that didn’t even work and a few hair ties that were too worn out to use. Also, I know many of us have clips an hair ties strewn about the house and our purses. Using the KonMari method of keeping like things all in one place is perfect for hair accessories. No more missing hair ties and buying even more to stock up with.
Valuables
At first, I was a bit confused about this category. Go through my passports and credit cards? But after I did this, I was glad that I did. My passport is set to expire this year! Had I not double checked, I would have forgotten until the last minute before we travel. Plus, I realized that I was stashing a few expired credit cards in the depths of my wallet. Those were shredded and properly disposed of. But the best discovery? Gift cards that I had forgotten I even had! When I checked the balance on them, I discarded those that were empty and discovered most of them had enough for a full product from wherever they belonged. Starbucks, here I come!
How to keep all of this discarding green:
-Recycle those DVD cases….but double check to make sure your local recycling facility will accept them. Earth911.com can point you in the right direction.
-It may seem like the best idea to pour the extra skin care products and makeup down the drain or flush them down the toilet and then recycle the container, but DO NOT do this. Those products are filled with chemicals and preservatives that pollute waterways and cause harm to local wildlife. Throw out the whole bottle/container with whatever is left inside. Some pollution may occur, but this is the lesser of two evils.
-Don’t buy products that contain harmful ingredients, this stops the vicious pollution cycle. Stick to ingredients that really are all natural. It’s better for your body and for the earth.
After this next phase in decluttering, I am finally feeling like I am making progress. It’s was nice to see that I had started moving in the right direction already with my use of boxes and minimal body care stash. But this phase was particularly easy for me personally simply because I didn’t have a lot in any of the subcategories to begin with. I know the second part of decluttering “komono” will yield the most results so I am really looking forward to it.
