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The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up
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March group read - The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up
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Rachel
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Mar 01, 2015 12:56AM
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I may have to buy this book, it's only 10.19 from Amazon. I'm still at hold position #76 out of 199!!! from my library.
I just discovered this book and am looking forward to reading it! Heaven knows I need it!
I had to buy it. The wait was too long at the library. Maybe it's due to the translation, but so far I'm finding it very strict, almost to the point of putting me off.
I just got the book today. Hope to start but am still reading 2 others. It sounds really good & I can use all the help I can get. :)
I don't think this woman had much of a childhood.
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You can say that again! It sounds like she spent her whole time tidying rather than playing.
I've read nearly half the book. I'm finding her manner a bit peculiar at times but some of what she says makes sense. I have already put some of her advice into action and sorted my clothes. I filled two bin bags with clothes for donating or throwing away. And my drawers have never looked so neat with everything folded so I can see it all. My 10 year old daughter is desperate for me to help her with her clothes now!
I'm thinking I might start on my books soon but that will be a massive job, much bigger than my clothes. At the moment I don't think I'm brave enough...
I think that Parkinson's Law doesn't just apply to work, but to "stuff" too. Parkinson's Law = "work expands so as to fill the time available for its completion".
In other words, my idea that my desk wouldn't be so cluttered if I had a bigger desk might be faulty thinking.
I haven't gotten the book yet so am just thinking out loud...
In other words, my idea that my desk wouldn't be so cluttered if I had a bigger desk might be faulty thinking.
I haven't gotten the book yet so am just thinking out loud...
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And maybe in ned to be pretty strict with myself, because whatever I'm doing right now isn't working Ing as well as id like!
I'm about halfway through, myself. I agree some ideas make sense to me, but some things I just don't see myself doing. I haven't actually started implementing any of the ideas yet. I'll start with clothes as suggested. I'm not sure books will be so much of a problem for me. I did a big cull recently. Cookbooks and knitting books are the ones I keep. Most of my fiction comes from the library. I just can't rationalize spending $30 on a book I'll finish in three days, and never read again.
I've moved several times now where I left almost everything behind. When I finally landed with a friend, she tried to give me lots of stuff. I mostly took clothes that didn't fit that well, and some yarn of course. I've purged most of the ill-fitting clothing.
Now I'm living in a very small house with a man who pretty much has it filled up on his own. I'm slowly having an effect on him, but the power to let go is mostly out of my hands.
I simply look at the little I have and purge what I haven't touched in a few years, but it really isn't much. Mostly I try to keep knitting so I can use up old yarn and buy new yarn for exciting projects. BUT there is always something lurking somewhere waiting for me to let go.
I was hoping for some inspiration and tricks for keeping the clutter from returning from this book. From reading the introduction, it seems she disagrees with what works best for me -- taking on small projects one at a time. I recently cleared off a shelf in my closet for some vegetable starts and a grow light -- the only place my cats can't reach them! I found a few articles of clothing I'd forgotten I had, including an old ugly bathing suit. It alerted me to how things can get buried, and how your opinion of what's worth saving keep on evolving.
Next is my small bottles, bars, and jars of personal care products. Since I rarely have guests, and traveling with them is iffy what with our deathly fear of lotions and creams in airports...no need to hold onto them.
But really...with no kids, two adults can easily keep a handle on clutter. My partner is more anal about this than I am, except in the clothing and houseplant depts. Here's hoping he keeps evolving too!
Now I'm living in a very small house with a man who pretty much has it filled up on his own. I'm slowly having an effect on him, but the power to let go is mostly out of my hands.
I simply look at the little I have and purge what I haven't touched in a few years, but it really isn't much. Mostly I try to keep knitting so I can use up old yarn and buy new yarn for exciting projects. BUT there is always something lurking somewhere waiting for me to let go.
I was hoping for some inspiration and tricks for keeping the clutter from returning from this book. From reading the introduction, it seems she disagrees with what works best for me -- taking on small projects one at a time. I recently cleared off a shelf in my closet for some vegetable starts and a grow light -- the only place my cats can't reach them! I found a few articles of clothing I'd forgotten I had, including an old ugly bathing suit. It alerted me to how things can get buried, and how your opinion of what's worth saving keep on evolving.
Next is my small bottles, bars, and jars of personal care products. Since I rarely have guests, and traveling with them is iffy what with our deathly fear of lotions and creams in airports...no need to hold onto them.
But really...with no kids, two adults can easily keep a handle on clutter. My partner is more anal about this than I am, except in the clothing and houseplant depts. Here's hoping he keeps evolving too!
Hi Kathryn -- Haven't gotten this book yet, and to be honest some of the feedback here is making me question rather I really want to take the effort or not. Your living situation sounds quite similar to mine and I appreciated your insights not only with the book but with how we evolve in our living situations and needs.
I'm beginning to think her method of touching everything to determine whether "it sparks joy" may not work for knitters. If I touch every skein of yarn, I'll never part with any of it.
Jennifer wrote: "I'm beginning to think her method of touching everything to determine whether "it sparks joy" may not work for knitters. If I touch every skein of yarn, I'll never part with any of it."excellent point! Although I do have some in the stash that no longer sparks joy, somethings evoke regret.....
Mod
Right before I had kids, both my parents died. They lived in separate households, and I had a townhouse - my sister didn't, so I absorbed much of their stuff. Then I moved into a larger house when I had my second - a two week old baby - and really wasn't getting enough sleep/help to find places for things - we had very little, and both my parents left me debt and books, so it was tough enough just getting things like appliances/bookshelves/appropriate rugs for the house, and I have NO experience decorating. I still haven't even window coverings on every window that work, so her concepts of 'envision what you want your life to be like' is actually nice for me - I just don't have time to do it right this second. I get that my life and my dream life don't quite align, but I have kids (one of whom is the most prolific artist ever) and while there's some good stuff in the book, take ANYTHING with a grain of salt.
I think her bottom line is "in order for it tow work, you need to be doing more than you're doing". And she's right.
Ha ha --- yeah touching everything won't work for me, if it feels good I keep it til it practically dissolves in my hands...
And I agree that, reading about her youth, I don't think she had a "normal" childhood, she seemed obsessive from the start. I was obsessive about reading, so much so that I disregarded knitting for years because of my preoccupation with books. By participating in this GR group I'm attempting to achieve balance.
I've just started reading this book and I wonder if she achieves equilibrium as she grows up, or is she still obsessive?
The line that gives me hope that there may be something in this book for me is "If you put your house in order properly, you'll be able to keep your room tidy, even if you're lazy or sloppy by nature."
For those of you "into" astrology, I'm a Pisces with Virgo rising. Which an astrologer friend interpreted to mean that I think I'm a Virgo but I'm really a Pisces deep inside. So I think that if I could only organize the world, it would be perfect; and then I backslide into "or whatever..."
And I agree that, reading about her youth, I don't think she had a "normal" childhood, she seemed obsessive from the start. I was obsessive about reading, so much so that I disregarded knitting for years because of my preoccupation with books. By participating in this GR group I'm attempting to achieve balance.
I've just started reading this book and I wonder if she achieves equilibrium as she grows up, or is she still obsessive?
The line that gives me hope that there may be something in this book for me is "If you put your house in order properly, you'll be able to keep your room tidy, even if you're lazy or sloppy by nature."
For those of you "into" astrology, I'm a Pisces with Virgo rising. Which an astrologer friend interpreted to mean that I think I'm a Virgo but I'm really a Pisces deep inside. So I think that if I could only organize the world, it would be perfect; and then I backslide into "or whatever..."
I'm glad I read this book. I can't do my own house in one day, even though it's small. I just don't have that kind of energy any more. But some of her tips are important, like sorting through/touching/questioning your emotional attachment to things in categories is important.
Case in point: we have personal care/first aid/health items in four places (medicine cabinet, shelves in bathroom, and in two containers in the pantry.) By pulling all these things together on my kitchen table, I was able to group things together and then replace them together in the most appropriate location. I did this on a day that my s.o. had a day off of work so he could go through the very small "questionable" pile and determine what he had to keep. Then he got a shelf and I got a shelf in the bathroom, all first aid supplies are in one container for quick access, and so forth. He now knows that he won't need to buy aspirin, deodorant, or dental floss (as an example) for quite some time, whereas before they were scattered and buried...
Also, I admit I didn't believe her, but yes, the very air feels different. I have other things I have to do (I'm a freelance writer and jobs are coming in) but I will continue as I can. And no, the areas I have cleaned and organized won't slip back into disarray. And already he has gone through some of his things as well. This makes me happy. Me nagging gently that he "had too many clothes" just made him feel justifiably irritated.
Both of us are finally realizing that losing things comes from clutter and having too much; so much that we can't remember where things are. Knowing that what we keep is important to one or both of us makes me feel more kindly towards my home.
Case in point: we have personal care/first aid/health items in four places (medicine cabinet, shelves in bathroom, and in two containers in the pantry.) By pulling all these things together on my kitchen table, I was able to group things together and then replace them together in the most appropriate location. I did this on a day that my s.o. had a day off of work so he could go through the very small "questionable" pile and determine what he had to keep. Then he got a shelf and I got a shelf in the bathroom, all first aid supplies are in one container for quick access, and so forth. He now knows that he won't need to buy aspirin, deodorant, or dental floss (as an example) for quite some time, whereas before they were scattered and buried...
Also, I admit I didn't believe her, but yes, the very air feels different. I have other things I have to do (I'm a freelance writer and jobs are coming in) but I will continue as I can. And no, the areas I have cleaned and organized won't slip back into disarray. And already he has gone through some of his things as well. This makes me happy. Me nagging gently that he "had too many clothes" just made him feel justifiably irritated.
Both of us are finally realizing that losing things comes from clutter and having too much; so much that we can't remember where things are. Knowing that what we keep is important to one or both of us makes me feel more kindly towards my home.
