The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up: The Japanese Art of Decluttering and Organizing in Ultimate Popsugar Reading Challenge

Mar 08, 2018 ette rated it it was ok · review of another edition

Shelves: non-fiction

I read this knowing what I was getting into. I read a bunch of reviews on Goodreads. But still...
Some of the ideas are helpful.
But so much of the book is, well, very odd. Others have written much better (often hilariously) reviews than I could, so check out some of them 😁

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Oct 14, 2015 CrystalIsReading on StoryGraph rated it really liked it

Shelves: non-fiction, library-audio, audio, asian

When I first saw this book at the library, I knew I wanted it. But first I read some reviews, because that's how I do it. Reviews for this book are all over the place, loathing and/or scathing to ecstatic raving or solid recommendations. When reviews are so scattered, my curiousity is usually piqued, so now I had to read it.
I am really glad I picked this up. I often get distracted when attempting to listen to (non-biographical) nonfiction in the car, but this book held my attention the whole ti When I first saw this book at the library, I knew I wanted it. But first I read some reviews, because that's how I do it. Reviews for this book are all over the place, loathing and/or scathing to ecstatic raving or solid recommendations. When reviews are so scattered, my curiousity is usually piqued, so now I had to read it.
I am really glad I picked this up. I often get distracted when attempting to listen to (non-biographical) nonfiction in the car, but this book held my attention the whole time. I did stop the recording frequently during my drive to ponder steps and techniques the author was recommending/ explaning/ discussing and/or to ponder how best to enact such a step. But overall I was charmed by the eccentric organizing lady. I was not, as many American readers seem to be, put off by her strongly Japanese and Shinto world views. I didn't stress about her speaking to homes and pieces of clothing, mementos, etc. While I won't run out and acquire talismans to hang at a shrine--it's against my own particular religious beliefs, anyway--I don't find her tips any less practical because of her practices and beliefs. Does the author seem a tad bit eccentric? yes. She's lived a long and seemingly lonely life, focused mainly on tidying and organization. But that lifestyle seems to bring her joy, and who am I to criticize her for it? Especially since she seems able to help so many other people find peace by teaching them her methods.
In fact, I found Marie Kondo's method of tidying up, as described in her book, to truly be life-changing. I know that if I can follow through properly on her instructions, internalize the lesson on only retaining items that truly make me happy/ serve a purpose, and assign a specific place for all the remaining items to be in at all times, then I too can become neat and tidy. Not perfectly clean. I'll never manage that. But not surrounded by the clutter that threatens to choke so many of us. I've had success in one bathroom in our house so far--the organization has remained for several months now. I'd love to apply this to every area of my life, successfully, and become one less of those cluttered Americans owned by their possessions instead of the other way around.
The only caveat I had with this book was the author's constant refrain of throwing things in the garbage. Just because you don't want a box of books or a bag of clothing does not mean that they need to go into a landfill. Some items can be recycled. Most can be donated, to libraries or thrift stores or charities. No need to make your peace by cluttering the earth with more garbage that won't decompose for hundreds of years. So, if you would like, read this book, and learn from the Kon-Mari method. Just find a different way to dispose of items without being so wasteful (and without dumping it on your mom or younger sibling. If you've read this book, you know what I mean.)
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Nov 22, 2016 Stacy rated it really liked it

Oooooo I loved this book. It is right up my alley - the idea of "tidying up" your living space is fantastic. The author has a method for simplifying your life by getting rid of ANYTHING that does not bring you joy. Brilliant! You start with your clothes. I loved this. I got rid of 6 bags of clothes, coats, purses. Now when i look in my closet I only see things i really do love. It was cathartic getting rid of so much and i also implemented her folding system - which is so great. I recommend this ...more

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Jan 31, 2015 Megan rated it really liked it

Shelves: self-help

My boyfriend heard good things about this book, so decided to purchase a copy for himself. I picked it up and read it over the course of a few days. This is PERFECT for me because I keep downsizing apartments, but the thought of going through my stuff is so overwhelming. Marie Kondo's philosophy is that you need to go through all of your items of a specific category first and get rid of everything that doesn't bring you joy. I purged the clothes in my closet a few weeks before reading this book, ...more

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Jan 18, 2018 Kim rated it did not like it

Shelves: get-your-shit-together, audiobooks

God, this was awful. After listening to the audiobook, I am so sick of hearing the word "tidying." 90% of this book is just her talking about what a weird little OCD tidying-obsessed kid she was, as if that + her Japanese heritage = street cred for this method she named after herself. Also, it really irritates me that she advocates throwing out everything. Maybe it's a translation thing, but what ever happened to donating items? It's not a point of pride to generate 70 bags of trash from tidying ...more

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Jan 27, 2015 Jenna rated it really liked it

There was a little too much talk about the emotions of objects and the imaginary discussions I might have with them, but I did throw out 10 bags of junk and 20 lbs of paper. So four-stars based on the impact on my life. If there had been pictures it would have gotten five.

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Dec 30, 2015 Cassandra Moore rated it really liked it

I learned a lot from this book and have put much of it into practice. I will say I had to basically skip the whole thing on books though! When you have around 1500 books, the idea of narrowing it down to 20 is crazy talk and ripping pages out is just sacrilegious.

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