The life-changing magic of tidying up

Having read one of Marie Kondo's books previously and having watched her series on Netflix a lot of the content mentioned in this book was not new. The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up focused on her history from a young child and how her passion has existed since a young age. What will be reassuring for many is the use of her own mistakes which can reassure you that an expert in the field of tiding makes mistakes and has since learnt from them. This could support people who may feel overwhelmed before, during or after the tiding process. The book is an easy listen and broken into 30 minute chapters at most making it easy to delve into. There are times during the book where I question her methods and I think that is perfectly fine. The overarching ideology is treating your belongings with respect and care. This is most likely why she suggests socks shouldn't be bundled (as it could stretch the elastic) or not leaving bags filled. Likewise our houses are often filled with items, but how many of them make us smile when we wear it or use it. This is where she refers to the 'does it spark joy' term. This helps us to appreciate what we have. As with any book there are elements you may wish to incorporate and disregard. What may reassure many is the fact that tiding up is not a daily chore but something that will become 'second nature' once a system has been organised. Finally I found it interesting that she mentioned how the health of her clients tended to improve after decluttering, sort of like a weight had been lifted. Perhaps once a declutter has started you look elsewhere on how to improve your lifestyle?

I found most of Kondo's tips helpful and easy to incorporate. I did find some of the pointers odd and hokey, like how she tended to personify inanimate objects, but most of her organization recommendations fit into how I already organized my home. Instead of forcing myself to incorporate everything she mentioned, I took what I felt was relevant to my house and family and did my best to tidy in a way that suited my style and needs. I was even able to get my seven-year-old son to tidy his room, which I never thought would happen; after watching me tidy throughout the house, he thought his room could use it -- and it certainly needed it.

There is also a great deal of repetition throughout this book, but I didn't find it tedious. I figured the consistent use of phrases and reiterations of particular tips was more a way to ensure the reader retained the information than a failure to edit out the filler.

If I can offer any advice, I'd recommend that other readers take away from the book what works for them rather than force themselves to incorporate something that seems silly or unnecessary to appease Kondo, who won't be checking in on them to determine whether their tidying session was successful anyway. There was a reason we picked up/listened to this book, so don't take it as gospel; throw out what doesn't speak to you and keep what does.

To truly cherish the things that are important to you, you must first discard those that have outlived their purpose. To throw away what you no longer need is neither wasteful nor shameful.

This was on my "wish I had time to read" list for a while and then I saw her Netflix show and then I finally read this. See my rating up there? I am definitely going to try her method to finally get rid of all the too-much-stuff I own.

It is a quick read and well worth looking at for anyone who has ever felt like they have too much stuff. I like her technique about getting together all your things by category in descending difficulty and then touching everything and seeing if the item "spark's joy".

The best sequence is this: clothes first, then books, papers, miscellaneous items (komono) and, lastly, sentimental items and keepsakes.

I also like how she imbues every item with its own purpose even when the purpose may have been to teach me that I didn't need it. This may come across weird to some, I guess, and it might put off some people. If the book doesn't explain well enough: watch a couple of episodes of the show.

If you missed your chance to read a particular book, even if it was recommended to you or is one you have been intending to read for ages, then this is your chance to let it go. You may have wanted to read it when you bought it, but if you haven’t read it by now, the book’s purpose was to teach you that you didn’t need it. There’s no need to finish reading books that you only got halfway through. Their purpose was to be read halfway. So get rid of all those unread books. It will be far better for you to read the book that really grabs you right now than one that you left to gather dust for years.


What the book lacks is the "where to get rid of all the stuff" because in Germany I cannot just throw 20-40 bags of unsorted items into the trash. Also, I would want to donate many of the things. I think some hints on how to organize that part would have been nice.

This is a really inspiring book. I would say the hardest thing about the book was trying to hold off on implementing the recommendations until I finished the whole book. It's repetitive in some sections, but not in an irritating way. She reinforces the concepts she's trying to convey by referencing them multiple times throughout the text.

Some of the Shinto practices that KonMari mentions threw me off at first until I realized what they were. When she talks about things having energy or life or greeting your objects, that's part of her religious belief, but it makes sense in a way, to take care of and value and appreciate your things. The more care you give to your belongings, the longer they'll last.

What did I get out of this book? It helped me to reevaluate the things that I surround myself with. It helped me to think about my apartment as a place for living rather than for storing. Do I really need these old knick knacks from 5 years ago? Do I even look at them? When did I see this pair of pants last? Should I hang onto this shirt because I spent money on it and haven't used it much, or get rid of it because it isn't something I enjoy wearing? Why should I wear something that doesn't make me happy to wear it?

KonMari made me think of what's really important to me and inspired me to turn my living space into a place that I really enjoy being in. I don't expect my screwdriver or every undershirt to spark joy, but as much as possible I want to have things that I really enjoy and use regularly.