Kondo tidies up with TV hit.. but it’s not for me
New Netflix sensation Tidying Up With Marie Kondo has sent us into a decluttering frenzy.
Charity shops are inundated with donations as converts follow her advice.
If it doesn’t “spark joy” when you touch it, get rid, she says (this doesn’t apply to humansu – you’re stuck with them).
She Sh also has a clever way of folding clothes into rectangles that stand vertically, take up less room and become easy to browse through.
Genius. But also very time-consuming. And a bit dull.
I’m hanging on to my “junk” drawer, where untold joys lie hidden among dried-up Biros and dead batteries. If I can be bothered looking…
They’re nervous now and who can blame any one of them who won’t believe it till they have the cash in their hands?
But the stories of what this victory means are beginning to emerge.
I know there is a pensioner in Glasgow, a retired carer, who was facing eviction until last week when she was informed that the city council had finally agreed, in principle, to settle historic pay claims.
The payment she is due, just the promise that it is coming, is enough to keep her in her own home.
Another woman, a learning support worker, feels like her life will start anew now that a deal has been reached to pay out in 14,000 cases where women were routinely paid less than their male counterparts: “For me, it means I can quit my second job that sometimes sees me working seven days a week and takes me away from my kids. It means I can resume my studies and make a better life for me and my family. It means I get my life back.”
These are the real-life consequences, both of the underpayment in the first place and, at long last, of the righting of the wrong.
Glasgow Equal Pay Campaigners… stand up and take a bow.
There were many times – over 12 years – these women thought they would never win their battle. And, goodness knows, previous administrations at Glasgow City Council (let’s be honest here – they were all Labour administrations) did their best to make the fight as difficult as possible.
But win the women did. There are still a few hoops to jump through and there’s no confirmation of a payment timetable yet.
Disbelief and fear are causing stress and panic among those who are almost too afraid to believe it’s over.