Ok, so I know I am late to the party here- but I have just discovered this book and had to share my thoughts with you.
The Life Changing Magic Of Tidying By Marie Kondo
The promise that tidying is life changing is a bold title for this book but one that holds a lot of truth. If you are feeling unhappy or overcrowded, decluttering might be the best place to start to lift your mood.
Kondo’s method is different to that of other published declutterers as she promotes tackling things in your home in a specific order and all together, leaving sentimental items till last. For instance, if you have books in every room of you home- don’t just choose to sort the ones in your bedroom- sort them all. She encourages the reader to tackle things of similar ilk- if you will.
She also urges people to clear their homes all at once rather than doing it in dribs and drabs- again something that is not popular with other people in the same field. She sticks by her ‘once cleaned, never-messy again’ mantra- and it works.
The most interesting concept in the book is analysing the items in your home to establish if they bring you joy. It might sound odd to pick up something and ask yourself if it makes you joyful but when you think about it- it makes total sense. Why weigh yourself down with things that make you feel sad, guilty or burdened? If you surround yourself with things that make you feel joyous then this will help to elevate your mood.
What it also does is allow the space and the time to concentrate on other things- your career, your relationship, your hobbies and interests, you friends- whatever was put on the back burner because of overwhelming mess.
Another intriguing aspect of the book is thanking your things before you give them up. They may not be serving any purpose in your home right now- but they once did and Kondo suggests that you thank each and every piece. Again, a little unconventional but it helps with things that you have emotional attachments to. If an item in your possession did have feelings- it would much rather be owned by someone who uses it than someone who stuffs it away in a box doing nothing. Think about it- would you want to be confined to a tiny space for the rest of your life only to be looked every now and again? Didn’t think so.
I consider this book to be incredibly useful- even though my home isn’t overcrowded by any stretch- I was able to look at things I’ve hung into in a whole new light. They really didn’t do anything for me- I never used them, they took up space and made me feel bad every time that I looked a them. Why had I tortured myself by keeping them for so long? There is comfort however in knowing that I am not alone.
Now if my home gets a little messy it takes no time at all to reset things because everything has its place. I love opening my wardrobe and my drawers and seeing space. My stuff has room to breathe but everything I can see when I open up my storage areas are things I use and enjoy. Anything that doesn’t fit this description stands out like a sore thumb now and I quickly discard it.