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The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up: The Japanese Art of Decluttering and Organizing

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'The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up: The Japanese Art of Decluttering and Organizing' by Marie Kondo delves into the philosophy of tidying up by focusing on why we should declutter and how to create a living space that sparks joy. Kondo emphasizes the importance of surrounding oneself with items that make them happy and getting clutter under control. presents a unique approach to tidying, encouraging readers to work by categories rather than by rooms and to only keep possessions that truly bring joy.

Kondo's writing style combines practical advice with philosophical reflections on the relationship between individuals and their possessions. While some readers may find her methods unconventional, Kondo's emphasis on the emotional connection with belongings and the transformative power of decluttering resonates with many, offering a fresh perspective on organizing one's living space.

Writing/Prose:

The prose is engaging yet occasionally repetitive, filled with personal anecdotes that enhance her quirky perspective on tidying.

Plot/Storyline:

The narrative centers on the KonMari method, focusing on joy and organizing by categories. It includes personal stories and client experiences.

Setting:

The setting is conceptually centered around personal spaces, influencing readers with cultural insights from Japan.

Pacing:

While generally quick-paced, the frequent repetition of ideas can alter the reading speed for some.
When I tell people that my profession is teaching others how to tidy, I am usually met with looks of astonishment. “Can you actually make money doing that?” is their first question. This is almost alw...

Notes:

The book presents the KonMari Method, which emphasizes that belongings should only be kept if they spark joy.
Marie Kondo advocates for decluttering by category, rather than by room, starting typically with clothes.
Kondo suggests handling each item individually and thanking it for its service before discarding it if it doesn't spark joy.
She encourages people to imagine their ideal lives to help them decide which items are truly needed.
The book has a strong cultural influence, rooted in Japanese attitudes towards possessions and organization.
Some readers find the anthropomorphizing of objects in the book to be off-putting or bizarre.
Kondo asserts that maintaining a tidy home can lead to improvements in mental health and clarity.
Many readers reported feeling inspired to declutter their homes and lives after reading the book, finding it empowering.
Despite its popularity, the book received criticism for promoting minimalism to an extreme and for some impractical advice regarding sentimental items.
The book suggests giving away any unused items, even if they were expensive, to avoid hoarding unnecessary possessions.

From The Publisher:

#1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER

The book that sparked a revolution and inspired the hit Netflix series Tidying Up with Marie Kondo: the original guide to decluttering your home once and for all.

ONE OF THE MOST INFLUENTIAL BOOKS OF THE DECADE-CNN

Despite constant efforts to declutter your home, do papers still accumulate like snowdrifts and clothes pile up like a tangled mess of noodles?

Japanese cleaning consultant Marie Kondo takes tidying to a whole new level, promising that if you properly simplify and organize your home once, you'll never have to do it again. Most methods advocate a room-by-room or little-by-little approach, which doom you to pick away at your piles of stuff forever. The KonMari Method, with its revolutionary category-by-category system, leads to lasting results. In fact, none of Kondo's clients have lapsed (and she still has a three-month waiting list).

With detailed guidance for determining which items in your house "spark joy" (and which don't), this international bestseller will help you clear your clutter and enjoy the unique magic of a tidy home-and the calm, motivated mindset it can inspire.

Ratings (24)

Incredible (4)
Loved It (9)
Liked It (3)
It Was OK (7)
Did Not Like (1)

Reader Stats (38):

Read It (27)
Want To Read (9)
Not Interested (2)

4 comment(s)

Loved It
2 weeks

Educational book promoting the art of organizing your household by only keeping this that bring you joy.

 
It Was OK
1 month

This was fine. It accomplished its goal, which was to get me to get rid of stuff, but here really isn't anything earth shattering in here. I have to be honest, I'm not going to be re folding all of my clothes and storing them standing up because I don't believe that they have feelings. Same goes for the fact that I'm not going to be unpacking my purse/diaper bag every night to preserve its feelings. That's...insanity. But it did remind me that, if something isn't giving me joy, then it needs to go. It helped me to cull my book collection by half which was something at definitely needed to happen. I liked what she had to say about the fact that,mid you have a book on your shelf that you've had for awhile and that you haven't read, you're probably not going to and it's time to get rid of it. There's a lot of truth to that and, having an extensive public library at my disposal, there's no reason for me to have a gajillion books in my house that I have to store, dust, and organize. It helped me to get rid of closing that I'm no longer wearing and to not feel badly about getting rid of things that I had received as gifts and which I had previously been holding onto out of guilt.

But honestly, I've read so many books on organizing and getting rid of clutter that this was just another one with a lot of the same information in it. The woman who wrote seems well-intentioned and passionate but also has some pretty strange anthropomorphic ideas about he things in her house.

 
Incredible
3 months

I love this book! Seriously changed my life and my closet!

 
Loved It
6 months

Yes, a bit saccharine at times, and it probably could have been condensed into a shorter book, but the advice was helpful to me. As with any self-help book, take from it what's personally helpful and discard the rest. I read it shortly after graduating college, and it definitely helped me reevaluate my relationship with what I own, how I tidy and organize my apartment (her folding method is literally life-changing), and my approach to buying new things. Several years later and it's still stuck with me.

It's unfortunate that so many people criticize her method without actually reading and understanding her book.

 

About the Author:

Marie Kondo is a tidying expert, star of the Netflix series Tidying Up with Marie Kondo, #1 New York Times bestselling author, and founder of KonMari Media, Inc. Enchanted with organizing since her childhood, Marie began her tidying consultant business as a 19-year-old university…

 
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