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sourcherryyy's review against another edition
informative
inspiring
lighthearted
medium-paced
3.0
this was a fun little read :) i read this because my boyfriend is getting into decluttering so i wanted to prep for when we live together :) this was very informative and i even took notes on it :)
jenmat1197's review
challenging
informative
inspiring
lighthearted
medium-paced
4.0
Marie Kondo has always been into tidying. Even as a child, so worked hard to declutter her life and figure out the best ways to store her belongings. As she started to perfect her techniques, she shared with others and built a business helping people organize their homes.
This was an interesting book. I am a generally neat person living with 4 messy people, so I liked some of the suggestions she made and would like to try some of those in my household who tend to hold onto everything. Vertical storage is defiintely something I want to try with my husband's t-shirt collection. She had me until she got to books. Although - I don't buy even a lot of those. All my books "spark joy" because I only buy them for that reason. Otherwise I borrow!
I did hear that she has let go of some of her rigidity since having three kids. And I am sure a lot of people gave her grief about that. Honestly - we are all the same until kids come along. Try as we might, keeping up with organizing sometimes has to take a backseat to family joy.
ericaskytte's review
5.0
Such a good book! Really inspired me to go through all my stuff and really think about what items I want around me. Didn’t think all of her tips were practical but was still very inspiring and loved at how she teaches you to look at items in your home. Definitely would recommend even just to change perspective on how you view your belongings.
jgraydee's review
3.0
I read this book, agreeing with the organization ideas while at the same time wanting to throw the book against the wall. For the first point, I think the book deserves a 4-5 star rating; for the latter, the book barely deserves a 1 star rating. I took the middle road and have given the book 3 stars.
Did I learn or benefit from reading this book -- absolutely. As a person whose never found a great organization "system" for my home, I like that Kondo thinks they are overrated. I wholeheartedly embrace that a shoebox can be an ideal organizing tool... I've created a KonMari list on my smart phone. I will NOT be going through my entire house top to bottom, and my socks will stay twisted and balled in my drawers (this works for me), but, the book helped me identify areas in my home that need attention. It may be my stage of life (almost an empty nester), but I'm feeling empowered to ruthlessly donate/toss items in the home that don't "spark joy" for me anymore. Even gifts and purchases I regret; I have particular problems discarding items like that.
Some points to consider: this book is best for people living by themselves in a small dwelling. Although Kondo acknowledges how to live with other family members' clutter, her suggestion to pull ALL of your like-items (i.e. books, clothing, CDs, etc) and assess them in mass is ridiculous for a family. But for someone in a change of life style (i.e. moving from parents home to own home; divorce; etc), I think this could be a very useful book -- letting go of previous clothing, momentos etc. and paring down to make yourself ready for the next step of your life.
I do not like that Kondo refers more to throwing away items than to donating or selling them. She seems to gauge the success of a client's tidying by the number of garbage bags created. Wasteful and lazy. Also, her strategy only considers physical items -- how many of us keep contacts or web accounts that no longer "spark joy"? A few names come to my mind...
As for my 1-star rating? Kondo habitually personifies items in the home: "Clothes, like people, can relax more freely when in the company of others who are very familiar in type, and therefore organizing them by category helps them feel more comfortable and secure." (Page 78)
Are you kidding me?
She makes statements like this All Through The Book. Ugh...
Her concern for socks is ridiculous. She discusses the energy of clothing, books, the house in general. I don't give her a 1-star rating because I disagree with these thoughts (although, I do); I gave her a 1-star because I think this POV was more emphasized in the book than the organization tips. The ridiculous comments far out weigh the useful information; consider this a leisure book, not a how-to. In fairness, this book was originally written for a Japanese audience; what might be too over the top for my taste could be exactly what a Japanese reader would appreciate. A cultural difference.
Did I learn or benefit from reading this book -- absolutely. As a person whose never found a great organization "system" for my home, I like that Kondo thinks they are overrated. I wholeheartedly embrace that a shoebox can be an ideal organizing tool... I've created a KonMari list on my smart phone. I will NOT be going through my entire house top to bottom, and my socks will stay twisted and balled in my drawers (this works for me), but, the book helped me identify areas in my home that need attention. It may be my stage of life (almost an empty nester), but I'm feeling empowered to ruthlessly donate/toss items in the home that don't "spark joy" for me anymore. Even gifts and purchases I regret; I have particular problems discarding items like that.
Some points to consider: this book is best for people living by themselves in a small dwelling. Although Kondo acknowledges how to live with other family members' clutter, her suggestion to pull ALL of your like-items (i.e. books, clothing, CDs, etc) and assess them in mass is ridiculous for a family. But for someone in a change of life style (i.e. moving from parents home to own home; divorce; etc), I think this could be a very useful book -- letting go of previous clothing, momentos etc. and paring down to make yourself ready for the next step of your life.
I do not like that Kondo refers more to throwing away items than to donating or selling them. She seems to gauge the success of a client's tidying by the number of garbage bags created. Wasteful and lazy. Also, her strategy only considers physical items -- how many of us keep contacts or web accounts that no longer "spark joy"? A few names come to my mind...
As for my 1-star rating? Kondo habitually personifies items in the home: "Clothes, like people, can relax more freely when in the company of others who are very familiar in type, and therefore organizing them by category helps them feel more comfortable and secure." (Page 78)
Are you kidding me?
She makes statements like this All Through The Book. Ugh...
Her concern for socks is ridiculous. She discusses the energy of clothing, books, the house in general. I don't give her a 1-star rating because I disagree with these thoughts (although, I do); I gave her a 1-star because I think this POV was more emphasized in the book than the organization tips. The ridiculous comments far out weigh the useful information; consider this a leisure book, not a how-to. In fairness, this book was originally written for a Japanese audience; what might be too over the top for my taste could be exactly what a Japanese reader would appreciate. A cultural difference.