Skip to main content

The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up

The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up - Marie Kondo



Synopsis
It's a self-help book about how to clean your home once and for all.


Review
This is a non-fiction, self-help book.  My mother was quite tidy; she always kept our house very neat and couldn't abide clutter. I recognized many of her habits while reading this book.

Basically, the method is such:

Tidy in one go.
Discard everything that doesn't "spark joy".
Organize everything in one place.
Put things back where they belong, and get rid of stuff things you accumulate daily.


It sounds very simple, and she goes through step-by-step telling you in which order to discard things (clothes first, always), tips for doing so, etc. She even talks about how to store things: Fold your clothes a certain way, don't stack things, etc.

What I liked best about this book was that there was an overarching emotional impact that physically cleaning your house has, and she addressed this throughout the book.  Throwing away things that don't give you joy is a way to let go of the past and deal with the future. That book you've been meaning to read but never got around to for years? That jacket you bought because it looked good and was on sale but you've never worn? That teddy bear someone gave you 10 years ago as a gift that sits in your closet? Let them go. They brought you joy in the moment when you received it, but it has served its purpose and now needs to go. She talks about how letting go of things means the energy of that joy will come back to you through something else. Cleaning and discarding sets you free, emotionally, mentally, spiritually, and physically.

I highlighted half this book. There were so many good things. Having moved around quite a bit in the last 10 years means most of my stuff can fit in a few suitcases. And yet I still feel like there's clutter. I realized that I do still hold on to things that don't bring me joy, even though I want them to. It gave me a new purpose in cleaning out my clothes, and it's a habit I hope to continue as I move and settle into new places throughout my life.


Rating
I give this book 5 stars.


Details
Genre: Non-Fiction, Self-Help.
Sex: None.
Violence: None.
Language: None.

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

I'm back!

I took a rather long hiatus, didn't I? Between work suddenly becoming very busy (I own my own business), a couple deaths in my family, and the holiday season, I haven't had the bandwidth to do much else. I have  been reading, and now I'm determined to keep up with my reviews again, especially for some eARCs that I still have. Anyway, look forward to some new posts, an updated Instagram, and more books!

Monthly Roundup - October 2016

Another month come and gone! I finished a total of eight books this month, bringing my total this year up to 80. I have two months to read 20 more books in order to reach my goal of 100 books this year! I think 10 a month is totally plausible ;) 1) Reawakened - Colleen Houck (3.5 stars) 2) Defy - Sara B. Larson (3 stars) 3) The Thousandth Floor - Katharine McGee (3 stars) 4) Like a River Glorious - Rae Carson (4 stars) 5) Fangirl - Rainbow Rowell (5 stars) 6) A Shadow Bright and Burning - Jessica Cluess (5 stars) 7) Replica - Lauren Oliver (3 stars) 8) The Female of the Species - Mindy McGinnis (5 stars) Save Save

Arcanum Unbounded

Arcanum Unbounded - Brandon Sanderson Synopsis A collection of Sanderson's "short" stories and novellas set in his Cosmere universe. Review It's no secret that Brandon Sanderson is one of my favorite authors. His writing is stupendous, his stories are incredible and his plot twists are mind-blowing. Rarely can I figure out exactly where the story is headed, but I am always exceptionally pleased when I get there! Sanderson isn't as known for his "short" stories. Probably because they aren't short. Two of them in this collection clock in around 40k words, which is approaching the line between a novella and a novel. A few of the stories ( The Emperor's Soul, Sixth of the Dusk, Shadows for Silence ) can be read with no knowledge of his other books, and would perhaps be a good introduction to his writing. Those ones you can get individually or are published in other anthologies. I myself had already read a few of the stories, but withi...