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Kondo Koso!
16/3/08 19:46I picked up '片づけられない女のためのこんどこそ！片づける技術' mostly on the strength of its title -- Techniques for cleaning up, this time for sure, for women who can't clean up.' It's a friendly book in manga format by a freelance illustrator and reformed slob who decides to get her act together after her boyfriend - who has never seen her apartment - drops by unexpectedly for a drink of water, sees what her place looks like, and blows her off.
She advises:
(1) Treat your mess as the final boss of a video game. It's too scary to deal with right at the beginning. Create a 'home base' for yourself, just a desk or table and chair for your work space, and clean those off, and turn the table to face the wall so you're not staring at your mess while you're working.
(2) Attack the kitchen. Why? Because you're not dithering about all the stuff you could maybe throw away or maybe keep. The expired food or the moldy sponges definitely get thrown away.
(3) Put things you use every day close to your base. Not necessarily on top of your table, but perhaps on a bookshelf beside the table. This could include: your cell phone & charger, digital camera charger, checkbook, etc. Do not bring anything inside the house that you do not deal with immediately (putting your cell phone back on your desk, the groceries in the cupboards and fridge, the toilet paper in the bathroom, etc.)
(4) Throw away things you do not use. You are not permitted to say, "Well, I'll keep it just in case..." or "For now..." - if it was a bad decision to buy it, or it was a good decision but you've outgrown it or worn it out, make peace with the past and just get rid of it.
(5) Map out your room and how you are going to use each part of it - relaxation, sleep, work, clothing, eating, etc. Make sure you put things in that area that fit your intended use.
Maintenance: as soon as you see a stain or some clutter, clean it up. Every time, right away.
One can only guess at how much Ikeda exaggerates her own previous messiness, but it gives the book a very compassionate tone. You can think, "Well, at least I'm not this bad." And it seems as if the story of the book takes place over at least a couple of months, which is encouraging.
So, (1), making a base. I think I am actually going to have 2 bases, because I have enough stuff on my desk with my computer & peripherals, and I don't need my vitamins/Advil/lip balm/deodorant going there as well. So I'll do a second base on my dresser - not now, but later - and I've cleaned up my desk, leaving:
(1) computer and peripherals
(2) alarm clock
(3) Netflix DVDs, since I'll watch those on my computer
(4) pens
(5) receipts I need to keep to be reimbursed for
(6) a bill I need to deal with.
(Hmm. I should think about getting a medicine cabinet for the vitamins/Advil/lip balm/etc.)
(I should also think about establishing my bed as a base, since I can't seem to break the habit of reading in bed and letting my books pile up at the side.)
She advises:
(1) Treat your mess as the final boss of a video game. It's too scary to deal with right at the beginning. Create a 'home base' for yourself, just a desk or table and chair for your work space, and clean those off, and turn the table to face the wall so you're not staring at your mess while you're working.
(2) Attack the kitchen. Why? Because you're not dithering about all the stuff you could maybe throw away or maybe keep. The expired food or the moldy sponges definitely get thrown away.
(3) Put things you use every day close to your base. Not necessarily on top of your table, but perhaps on a bookshelf beside the table. This could include: your cell phone & charger, digital camera charger, checkbook, etc. Do not bring anything inside the house that you do not deal with immediately (putting your cell phone back on your desk, the groceries in the cupboards and fridge, the toilet paper in the bathroom, etc.)
(4) Throw away things you do not use. You are not permitted to say, "Well, I'll keep it just in case..." or "For now..." - if it was a bad decision to buy it, or it was a good decision but you've outgrown it or worn it out, make peace with the past and just get rid of it.
(5) Map out your room and how you are going to use each part of it - relaxation, sleep, work, clothing, eating, etc. Make sure you put things in that area that fit your intended use.
Maintenance: as soon as you see a stain or some clutter, clean it up. Every time, right away.
One can only guess at how much Ikeda exaggerates her own previous messiness, but it gives the book a very compassionate tone. You can think, "Well, at least I'm not this bad." And it seems as if the story of the book takes place over at least a couple of months, which is encouraging.
So, (1), making a base. I think I am actually going to have 2 bases, because I have enough stuff on my desk with my computer & peripherals, and I don't need my vitamins/Advil/lip balm/deodorant going there as well. So I'll do a second base on my dresser - not now, but later - and I've cleaned up my desk, leaving:
(1) computer and peripherals
(2) alarm clock
(3) Netflix DVDs, since I'll watch those on my computer
(4) pens
(5) receipts I need to keep to be reimbursed for
(6) a bill I need to deal with.
(Hmm. I should think about getting a medicine cabinet for the vitamins/Advil/lip balm/etc.)
(I should also think about establishing my bed as a base, since I can't seem to break the habit of reading in bed and letting my books pile up at the side.)