Anyone read "The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up?"

[jennilynn]

I read this book ("The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up") cover to cover this weekend and am super excited about getting started. It's a little hokey but she gives a nicely detailed order on what categories of items to start with (clothing, then books, miscellaneous stuff, papers and mementos.) I'm going to share it with my mom next--she's ready to tackle her home too. Anyone else read it? Thoughts?

[zukeypur]

The reviews look promising.

[jam224]

It's been on my Amazon Wish List since it came out last year. I like the author's concept: discard anything that doesn't "spark joy."

[aa2mama]

I am in the middle of reading it and love it so far! I love the concept of keeping only items that spark joy, and I imagine that it will be very freeing to let go of things that don't. I tend to be pretty minimalist when it comes to possessions, but I really struggle with piles of paperwork because I think I will need to refer back to them at some point. She has given me a new perspective on evaluating those piles.

I am conflicted about following her advice to store most clothes in drawers. I prefer to hang most of my clothes, and I'm pretty happy with my closet as it is. It's arranged by type and color, and it is a system that I have maintained for years and still like. I feel like my clothing drawers tend to be black holes. Granted, I expect to like the drawers much more once I have discarded the clothes I don't love and have folded the remaining items so I can see everything, but I'm not sure I will want to change the part that already works for me.

[essnce629]

Interesting! Found some more info about her book and method (KonMari Method) here:

http://www.theguardian.com/lifeandst...om-marie-kondo

http://www.luckyshops.com/article/ko...loset-cleaning

I think I'll try it!

[rlu]

I am conflicted about following her advice to store most clothes in drawers. I prefer to hang most of my clothes, and I'm pretty happy with my closet as it is. It's arranged by type and color, and it is a system that I have maintained for years and still like. I feel like my clothing drawers tend to be black holes. Granted, I expect to like the drawers much more once I have discarded the clothes I don't love and have folded the remaining items so I can see everything, but I'm not sure I will want to change the part that already works for me.

I haven't read this book so grain of salt, but why change what is working for you? When I read self-help books or blogs (orgjunkie is a fav) I take what is useful to me and leave the rest.

eta: wow, this book is popular, I'm 47 on the wait list!

eta: up to 20 on the wait list as of 3/31!

eta: finally able to pick up on 4/17. As I entered the library I saw three copies sitting on their "lucky day" (popular books that aren't reservable, check out for 1 week with 1 one-week renewal). figures. haven't started yet.

[jennilynn]

It's been on my Amazon Wish List since it came out last year. I like the author's concept: discard anything that doesn't "spark joy."

It had been on mine a while too and I finally bought it. So worth the $10! I don't know about magic, but her ideas are life changing for sure!

[brittone2]

I read it about a month ago and really enjoyed it. I purged about half of my closet not long after, and DH aggressively attacked his stuff too.

At first some of the ideas seem a little out there, but when reflected on them, I decided they were pretty brilliant. The idea of "does it spark joy?" really helps simplify those feelings that pop up when you purge: guilt, the feeling it might one day be useful, the emotions tied to gifts from others, the money spent, etc. "Does it spark joy," IMO is a simple way to just plow through some of those weird emotional things that can make it so challenging to purge.

Ditto the whole idea of thanking your items for service and so forth; it seems crazy at first, but I think there's something to what she's saying. I don't do that and never will, but I think it comes back to caring for what you have, respecting and cherishing your belongings enough to not overwork and abuse them So yeah, I don't thank my socks for their service, but she's onto something. When you have too much and can't care for it properly, I think it can make you feel not so great about yourself and it definitely makes your items wear out and look haggard.

The book is very simple at face value, but I found myself reflecting a bit on it in the weeks after I read it, and I got more out of it as time went on.

If more people read it, we should chat more about it!

eta: with respect to drawers, I still hang a large # of items, fold my sweaters as I always have, fold my jeans, and then my dresser has underthings, workout wear, tee shirts, and loungewear. That works fine for me. I had switched over to folding things and placing them vertically prior to reading her book (just picked that idea up from other sources and found it worked well for me), so that wasn't much of a change. I have tried to stop de-balling my socks :P That's how I grew up, so that's still my default sometimes

[Tenasparkl]

I ordered it yesterday from Amazon. I can't wait to start it!

[citymama]

On my list too!