Book - The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up

“The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up: The Japanese Art of Decluttering and Organizing” by Marie Kondo

"This best-selling guide to decluttering your home from Japanese cleaning consultant Marie Kondo takes readers step-by-step through her revolutionary KonMari Method for simplifying, organizing, and storing."   worldcat.org

********

I read this to see if it would help me with the downsizing process as we get ready to move. Our new place has one less bedroom and no private, separate garage in which to store anything (gated, shared, open garage) I’m still thinking about Kondo's ideas a few weeks after I finished the book.

Kondo’s main premise is to surround yourself with things that bring you “joy” and that things came into our lives and homes for a reason. She advocates that each item be touched so you can tell whether or not there’s a positive connection with it. I found her tips helpful up to a point, especially when going through our clothes. Most of her ideas make sense. I do draw the line when it comes to ascribing feelings to socks – I don’t know if my socks truly resent being folded and the tops pulled over to make a bundle. 

I think it’s stretching it to talk about “joy” connected with office supplies and things in our kitchen cabinets. But the premise does help me quickly connect with why I might be keeping items – is there an emotional connection, am I stockpiling for a friend or grandchild activity that realistically isn’t going to happen, did that sale item turn out to be something I didn’t really need, and so forth? 

I’m glad I followed her advice to start with clothes instead of books as I originally planned our weeding out process. It was somewhat “easy” to go through each piece of clothing and quickly think about the last time it was worn and how I felt when I wore it. It sounds strange but I think all of us would have to admit that certain clothes bring forth specific feelings. This process went much more quickly than I thought it would.

I’m thankful we dealt with many, many family mementoes last year. We have a “manageable” number now. I’m leaving them and the books until last. We gave away hundreds of books when we moved from North Street. We don’t have quite that many to give away this time but we do need to downsize even more – keeping only the best of the best. 

As we’re making space in closets and rooms, I’m reminded of how I felt when our North Street home started emptying out. There is a "freeing" and open feeling that comes with space and the absence of lots of stuff and clutter.

Some of Kondo’s ideas are a bit much for me – I don’t want to empty my purse every day. I don’t feel a need to thank my clothes every day. But I can and want to have a greater awareness of and appreciation for the things in my life – and make conscious decisions about which items should be part of our surroundings.