Can Tidying Up Really Be Life-Changing?
After seeing a variety of posts and articles about The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up by Marie Kondo, I decided to see what all the fuss was about. It had been on the NYT Bestseller List for 24 weeks (30 as of this writing), but still, I was skeptical about how “life-changing” a book about getting organized could be.
Turns out the book is excellent.
Kondo’s approach to tidying up your space includes techniques that are both logical and emotional. She suggests that focusing on specific locations is a fatal mistake, because most people tend to store the same type of item in more than one place. Instead, she recommends tidying by category. For example, instead of deciding to clean by room or drawer, focus on clothes, then books, etc.
She believes one of the reasons most of us fail to tidy up effectively is that we focus on what we want to get rid of, not what we want to keep. She says the best way to choose what to keep and what to throw away is to take each item in your hands and ask: “Does this spark joy?” If it does, keep it. If not, dispose of it.
The bottom line is I am a believer! Melanie and I have been implementing Kondo’s process over the past couple of weeks and so far, we have produced 25+ bags of donations/trash. Not only is our physical space less cluttered, but I am noticing some other benefits as well – like more clarity and better decision making.
Rather than write a detailed review here, I decided the best way to get you into this book is to pass along a link to my notes. I still recommend reading the entire book, but this will give you most of the essentials.
