Scan barcode
A review by lillimoore
The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up by Marie Kondo
4.0
Anticipate a more extensive review once I’ve finished tidying lol!
It's been several years since minimalism came into the mainstream and Marie Kondo's book began flying off shelves all around the world. Her method of tidying and organizing homes, the KonMari method, truly got to the heart of why minimalism was beginning to take off in such a powerful way: we are lumbered down by the sheer volume of belongings we have, and the messiness and cramped feelings in our homes were beginning to be reflected by the messy, cramped feelings in our minds. I know I personally struggle enormously when my house is a mess and things are chaotically disorganized. I hate not knowing what or how much I have. I use cleaning and organizing as an excuse for procrastination, but the thought of confronting it all gets overwhelming and I end up doing neither cleaning, organizing, nor whatever it was I was procrastinating doing in the first place. For this reason, I have long been drawn to this book and to Marie Kondo's Netflix programming and other work, but haven't taken the time to read this entire book until now.
Kondo encourages her readers and followers to cultivate a relationship with their belongings and their homes as if they were alive. Many readers probably find her greeting of her house and thanking of her purse and shoes for the hard work they've done for her to be a bit kooky and over-the-top, but I believe within her culture, this makes sense. And there is no harm in thinking this way; being more thoughtful of how our items function and how we treat them allows us to be more mindful of our own selves and how we interact with the world around us, and stopping to consider these things helps us to avoid taking what we have in this life for granted.
The number one message Kondo is driving home in her book is that we should surround ourselves only with what sparks joy, and that the more decision-making we do about what those things are, the more intuitively we are able to surround ourselves with only those items that truly serve us as we strive towards the vision we hold for our lives. She instructs readers to sort through the items in their home by category, beginning with clothing followed in order by books, papers, komono (miscellaneous items) and finally sentimental items. This order is recommended because decision-making is easier with the items she suggests sorting through first and becomes more difficult as you progress through the categories. By the time you reach a more difficult category such as sentimental items, your decision-making abilities are honed, and identifying what truly sparks joy in your life becomes a passive skill.
I have yet to fully tidy my house, but first came across this book and her show several years back. Without necessarily meaning to, I have trained myself to shop this way and only buy things that truly spark joy, and I have gotten more diligent over time about discarding belongings that do not serve me in this way as I come across them. When I try something on and it just doesn't make me happy to wear that item, it immediately goes in a donation box. When I'm cooking and use a pan or utensil that is outworn and has outlived its purpose, in the box it goes. I haven't tidied my home all in one go, but I read this book after tidying my garage with these standards and feel confident that I'll be able to make this my goal for the remainder of the month. So keep an eye out for an updated review; I'll tell you what worked and didn't work for me! I'm also hoping to make a video about my process, so if I do end up doing that, I'll link that here as well!
While the criticisms of this book are entirely merited and this is not a system that works for everyone, I personally love Marie Kondo. If you were put off by this book and it was too out there for you, I highly recommend her Netflix shows so you can visualize just how effective this process can be for folks from all different walks of life! I think she’s such a sweet little neurotic weirdo and although I won’t be drying off my shampoo bottles after each use or emptying my purse every day, I appreciate her love and care for the items that serve us in our daily lives. I totally agree with the main sentiment of her work, which is that we live with such abundance that it becomes all too easy to lose sight of what is important and makes us happy. I’m hoping to spark much joy in my home with her tips!
It's been several years since minimalism came into the mainstream and Marie Kondo's book began flying off shelves all around the world. Her method of tidying and organizing homes, the KonMari method, truly got to the heart of why minimalism was beginning to take off in such a powerful way: we are lumbered down by the sheer volume of belongings we have, and the messiness and cramped feelings in our homes were beginning to be reflected by the messy, cramped feelings in our minds. I know I personally struggle enormously when my house is a mess and things are chaotically disorganized. I hate not knowing what or how much I have. I use cleaning and organizing as an excuse for procrastination, but the thought of confronting it all gets overwhelming and I end up doing neither cleaning, organizing, nor whatever it was I was procrastinating doing in the first place. For this reason, I have long been drawn to this book and to Marie Kondo's Netflix programming and other work, but haven't taken the time to read this entire book until now.
Kondo encourages her readers and followers to cultivate a relationship with their belongings and their homes as if they were alive. Many readers probably find her greeting of her house and thanking of her purse and shoes for the hard work they've done for her to be a bit kooky and over-the-top, but I believe within her culture, this makes sense. And there is no harm in thinking this way; being more thoughtful of how our items function and how we treat them allows us to be more mindful of our own selves and how we interact with the world around us, and stopping to consider these things helps us to avoid taking what we have in this life for granted.
The number one message Kondo is driving home in her book is that we should surround ourselves only with what sparks joy, and that the more decision-making we do about what those things are, the more intuitively we are able to surround ourselves with only those items that truly serve us as we strive towards the vision we hold for our lives. She instructs readers to sort through the items in their home by category, beginning with clothing followed in order by books, papers, komono (miscellaneous items) and finally sentimental items. This order is recommended because decision-making is easier with the items she suggests sorting through first and becomes more difficult as you progress through the categories. By the time you reach a more difficult category such as sentimental items, your decision-making abilities are honed, and identifying what truly sparks joy in your life becomes a passive skill.
I have yet to fully tidy my house, but first came across this book and her show several years back. Without necessarily meaning to, I have trained myself to shop this way and only buy things that truly spark joy, and I have gotten more diligent over time about discarding belongings that do not serve me in this way as I come across them. When I try something on and it just doesn't make me happy to wear that item, it immediately goes in a donation box. When I'm cooking and use a pan or utensil that is outworn and has outlived its purpose, in the box it goes. I haven't tidied my home all in one go, but I read this book after tidying my garage with these standards and feel confident that I'll be able to make this my goal for the remainder of the month. So keep an eye out for an updated review; I'll tell you what worked and didn't work for me! I'm also hoping to make a video about my process, so if I do end up doing that, I'll link that here as well!
While the criticisms of this book are entirely merited and this is not a system that works for everyone, I personally love Marie Kondo. If you were put off by this book and it was too out there for you, I highly recommend her Netflix shows so you can visualize just how effective this process can be for folks from all different walks of life! I think she’s such a sweet little neurotic weirdo and although I won’t be drying off my shampoo bottles after each use or emptying my purse every day, I appreciate her love and care for the items that serve us in our daily lives. I totally agree with the main sentiment of her work, which is that we live with such abundance that it becomes all too easy to lose sight of what is important and makes us happy. I’m hoping to spark much joy in my home with her tips!