It was OK - a great motivational read, with some exercises that I didn't bother doing because I already don't own a smartphone and am long since past It was OK - a great motivational read, with some exercises that I didn't bother doing because I already don't own a smartphone and am long since past being tempted by social media notification pings. Still, I need my little bit of digital dopamine fixes every once in a while, and this is a good book for beginners to figure out what that means in a broader sense. I knocked off an entire star for just the fact that I wish Cook had included proper footnotes and citations for some of her quotes and sources... she cites a lot of references that I'm interested in looking into and the bibliography at the back isn't quite enough, and some of her assertions have no biblographical reference point at all....more
Great book. I've been approaching this way of living for a few years now, but this has really taken me to the next level, especially as I'm currently Great book. I've been approaching this way of living for a few years now, but this has really taken me to the next level, especially as I'm currently in the process of moving into my SO's and my first long-term apartment together.
I really don't understand half of the bad reviews on here. Seriously, you're mad because Kondo didn't tell you what to do with your medication or whatever? Or that she's "crazy" because she's animist?
Yes, living as though your inanimate possessions have feelings and a consciousness is called animism, folks, and it's alive and well in Japan, where the author comes from. If you're a westerner and expect all self-help books to cater to you thematically and culturally, get over yourself. The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up was written with a completely different audience in mind, and guess what, you're not part of that audience. Have a problem with animistic ways of doing and thinking about things? Go read all the thousands of other self-help books out there that don't do that.
I for one, am an animist and I GREATLY appreciated such a perspective on personal possessions and ownership. Every thing in our homes ought to be respected, and if you can't do that, then maybe you shouldn't be owning that thing.
To summarize, this book IS for people who:
- are animists or animist-leaning and want to develop a healthier relationship to the things they own - want to work towards minimalism in a non-judgmental way - like having rigid structures in place for cleaning and organizing
This book is NOT for people who:
- have no imagination - thinks everyone else in the world acts like a westerner or should - think foreign cultures are "crazy" - need to be micromanaged and can't make their own decisions about what should be gotten rid of - are not interested in minimalism - go through organization methods like diet fads...more
It was fine. I wasn't expecting it to talk about the institutional problems of waste, where government farm subsidies go, poverty... this is very cleaIt was fine. I wasn't expecting it to talk about the institutional problems of waste, where government farm subsidies go, poverty... this is very clearly a woman who lives in a bubble and doesn't understand that not everyone makes six figures or that half of America constitutes "food deserts".
Would have been nice, since becoming an actual activist is the only way to enact the changes that would bring this lifestyle closer to business as usual, but it much prefers monied feel-good-isms that let the corporations who have made being wasteful so fashionable know that you're still interested in being beholden to them. (Because being politically radical is gross and scary and doesn't make for good comfort blogging.)
Which is exactly what I was expecting.
Anyways, I found the endless bulleted lists to be very helpful and full of neat ideas. Learned to skip the chapter beginnings because they're full of weird rich-white-people-isms, moralizing, and ableism (good luck being ZW if you're diabetic or can't get out if bed some days let alone make 3 meals a day, 7 days a week).
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