I'm taking the day off apart from filling the semainier (the last piece of furniture I ever refinished back in the day) that Daughter had for many a year and which had no business living in my rural home. In the way of travelling furniture and bookcases and chairs in our family, Daughter had no use for it and before she donated it I said I had a wee wall for it as an open arrangement I had in my closet was NOT working out. So there we are. Or here I am. You will note the 7 drawers: (from where the word semainier got its name) a week's worth of clothes. I have been partially Kondo-ized a little so now I fold a la Marie. Apart from the appearance of the drawers which pleases me no end, I can find things instantly.
I was reading another May Sarton, as an older writer she can't be beaten.
I can accept my exhaustion after a couple of intense activity days when I read this:
In me "there were two distinct entities at war. There was a hortatory and impatient person who was irritated by her lethargic twin, that one who had to be prodded awake and commanded like a doddering ancient servant."
Exactly. Bloody marvelous. I'm off for a nap now.
Apparently I have already Kondo'd myself without ever reading any of Ms K's suggestions! Though I did hear about the one asking your socks about their feelings.
ReplyDeleteI love that piece of furniture and had never heard it called a semainier before. Makes sense.
My antique (?) dresser is twice as wide with half as many drawers, two of which are 1/4 the size of the other two. But it holds way more than a week's worth of clothes somehow. Maybe that's because I've actually "rolled" the clothes, out-Kondoing Kondo! LOL
-Kate
She does a kind of triple thing on the clothes. But more than anything it lets you see the excess and my donation bag left here last week and I have started another. I had no idea I had 4 black t-shirts for instance. I need one. And anything I haven't worn in a year leaves my life. It is immensely freeing.
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I have too many clothes too, on the "what if I need one someday" list. -Kate
DeleteI Kondoized some drawers a while back, managed to get 4 drawers-worth into 3, but now I am at risk of having the bottoms of those drawers fall out because there's too much in them. I think the point is to get rid of stuff but all I did was pack more into less space. I like her advice but sometimes actually following through on it is really hard. Nice semainier!
ReplyDeleteYeah I'm in a process of subtraction. I have enough jammies for 2 weeks which seems odd but I only do my laundry every second Sunday (communal laundry room) so I'm geared towards that with my sheets towels and clothing. I'm a mad one for comfy jammies as soon as I walk in the door or when I wear them all day when I have no plans, like today :D
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I had the closet in the old house remodeled, to make actual storage space. There was a dresser crammed into the closet. I had that end replaced with shelves, then put dollar store cloth boxes on the shelves. Each box held a kind of clothing. Jeans, slacks, summer tees, gardening tees, underwear, etc. When I moved, I picked up each box and put it, intact, on metal shelving in the new place. I have been downsized and Kondoized for the last umpteen years!
ReplyDeleteThe semainier is perfect in every way. Self refinished, used for years, passed down, past back. Yes!
I tried that thing with the closet and shelves and holders for over a year and it hasn't worked. I'm highly visual and need to see everything and was constantly emptying contents on the floor to pick through them.
DeleteI like the idea of your moving yours intact and reshelving. Well done!
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Many people follow Kondo's advice, which is good advice. I like your drawer of neatly folded underwear a lot.
ReplyDeleteThank you Gigi, I find looking at the colours so artistic and the organization does appeal to me.
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A woman after my own heart...a nap taker!
ReplyDeleteI love my naps Gigi, feel ripped off if I can't squeeze one in (most days!) but double up at times. Bliss. Today my afternoon nap was about Prince Charles correcting me for eating a sandwich before dinner and not dressing to match his grey morning suit. He wanted lavender.
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Was your sandwich ham? You must eat something dinner is too late to wait to eat.
DeleteYou had an affair with Prince Charles, how naughty.
You know I am teasing you about your dream , right?
DeleteA chest with seven drawers! I look for them here in Australia, but they're few and far between and too costly for me, so I make do with what I already have, but I really like the idea of one drawer per day with all the clothes you need for that day. I don't like the Kondo style of rolling everything, my things are folded and I think they look neater. I can still find everything and there is no clutter. I don't understand people who just throw things in drawers in one big mess.
ReplyDeleteThey are so hard to find River, in fact I haven't seen another one since I got that about 30 years ago.
DeleteKondo advocates the triple fold which makes sense, things stand up even when nothing supports them. Mine are all triple folded. Apart from bras and the socks which I tuck into each other.
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I'm not prone to lethargy. I'm the physically restless sort who has to be moving around doing something. I can only sit still for about half an hour max. But then I tend to go to bed around 9 pm these days, so I get plenty of sleep to recharge my batteries.
ReplyDeleteWow 9 pm Nick I am impressed. What time are you up? I tend to get up early even after 6 hours sleep and then have a nap if time allows in the afternoon.
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Ha! Oh DEAR, stressful dream.-Kate
ReplyDeleteThe one about Chuck the King Who Never Was? :D
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Yes. I wouldn't want to be King either. Nor scolded by Prince Charles for not courtseying. -Kate
DeleteWhat a handy piece of furniture, WWW! So well-named too.
ReplyDeleteI'm not into rolling clothing though. I was put off it for ever when, after paying a goodly sum for a suede jacket online, it arrived tightly rolled, in polythene, and full of creases which wouldn't come out no matter what remedy I tried. Eventually, after complaining bitterly, many times, I did get a discount. I suspect that rolling items for transportation is becoming the norm. :-/
No not rolling: a triple fold which is easier to manage. That is awful about your jacket. I'm glad you got the discount.
DeleteRolling for suitcase airline travelling is something I've always done as you can cram so much into a carry-on.
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Well, I usually wake at about 4.30 or 5 am, and then read and doze for short periods until I get up at 7 am.
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