The Lifechanging Magic of Tidying Up the Japanese Art of Decluttering and Organizing

Book review : The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up

One-sentence summary of "The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up — The Japanese Art of Decluttering and Organizing" : The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Upwards is an introduction to the KonMari Method, a storage and tidying method that will transform your messy living areas into spaces of beauty, peace and inspiration.

By Marie Kondo, 2011, 270 pages

Original title : Jinsei Ga Tokimeku Katazuke No Maho

This is a guest chronicle written past Amanda Saurin from the blog Flirtation, Mode & Beauté

Book chronicle and summary of The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up:

The KonMari Method in 2 points:

Become rid of useless things
Organise your living space in one case and for all

Marie Kondo explains that living in an orderly space positively affects all the other aspects of our lives. An untidy room is the reflection of a mind that is in the same condition. A spectacular reorganisation of your interior can lead to dramatic changes in your lifestyle and your vision of life.

Feedback from some of Marie Kondo's onetime clients:

"Afterwards taking your course, I quit my task and launched my own business doing something I had dreamed of doing ever since I was a kid".

"I'yard delighted to report that since cleaning upwards my apartment, I've been able to really increase my sales".

"My husband I are getting along much better."

"I'k amazed to observe that just throwing things away has changed me and so much. I finally managed to lose 3 kilos"

Chapter 1: Why tin't I keep my house in order?

According to Marie Kondo, the art of tidying is not acquired naturally, and we need to be taught about storage methods. That is why it is perfectly normal that we practise not master the art of tidying. With the right approach, the rebound effect (the kind of yoyo result you see in dieting) volition never render and your living space will be permanently tidy.

How to keep when it comes to tidying your living space (abode, role, etc.):

Tidy properly and in one case and for all
Tidying everything in ane go should pb to a dramatic change in your state of mind. You lot accept to definitively forget any notion of throwing things away footling by fiddling, considering it is the best way to become a slave to tidying and to lose all motivation. Marie Kondo says that to tidy to perfection, y'all simply need to know what yous have to discard and where to tidy what you go along.
Sort by category, not past location
Instead of deciding to tidy this or that room today, the all-time thing is to set yourself the objective of tidying by category of items. For example: tidy every single item of vesture today, then every single book tomorrow, etc.

We have to face up two kinds of tidying in life:

Everyday tidying (putting something that you use over the course of a 24-hour interval back in its place)
Special tidying (tidying that you only perform one time, in 1 go)

Once the 24-hour interval of special tidying is over (and it happens very rarely), all you take left to practice is the daily tidying. This makes "perseverance" in matters of tidying unnecessary, given that the real tidying but happens one time.

Chapter 2: Terminate discarding outset

Stride one: Before discarding, you lot need to visualise your desired lifestyle. You lot have to imagine your dream interior downwardly to the smallest detail. For example, having a house that is every bit uncluttered as a hotel room, a articulate view of your favourite painting, etc.

Footstep ii: Inquire yourself why you want this kind of space.

To do this, ask yourself the post-obit question about each item you want in your interior:

Why do I want it? (due east.grand.: why practice I want a minimalist sleeping room?)

Through the answers to these questions, you should arrive at the conclusion that in the stop there is but one purpose when it comes to deciding what to throw away and what to continue: "to brand us happy"

Step 3: Take stock of your possessions

Step four: Cull what to discard and what to proceed. The best way to do this is to concord the object (or item of clothing) in your easily for a moment and enquire yourself whether it sparks joy (makes y'all happy). This is the path to finding yourself in an interior that makes you happy.

Chapter 3: How to tidy past category

To brand discarding and tidying easier, you should proceed category by category, in the following order:

one. Clothing

Assemble every detail of clothing you own in one place and rank them by sub-categories:

Tops
Bottoms
Clothes you hang up
Socks
Underwear
Handbags, etc.
Accessories
Wearing apparel for specific occasions (swimwear, hats, etc.)
Shoes

What not to practise:

Never downgrade dress you wearable outdoors to clothes you lot only wear at home (except for cotton t-shirts). Information technology is the perfect strategy to put off that moment when you get rid of clothes that no longer spark joy. Nosotros spend a lot of time at abode, and information technology is not because nobody sees us that we should turn a loungewear item of article of clothing into a second-class detail of clothing. In fact, information technology is precisely when nobody is looking that y'all should strengthen your self-paradigm by wearing indoor clothes that are comfortable and aesthetically pleasing. Loungewear clothes should be purchased in specialist shops or departments and delight you visually.

To better decide whether the item of clothing that you are holding in your hands brings y'all joy or non, ask yourself the following questions:

What place does it accept in my life?
When did I get it?
What importance did information technology take at the time?

ii. Books

The KonMari Method recommends laying out every single volume yous ain on the flooring with the cover facing upwardly.

If you have likewise many books, they should exist separated into 4 groups:

General reading: books you lot read to relax
Practical reading: reference books, cookbooks, etc.
Visual books: collections of photos, etc.
Magazines

The idea is to but keep the books that brand u.s.a. happy on our shelves.

Yous need to get rid of:

Books you have never read
Books yous barely started or stopped halfway through

Owning fewer books amplifies the impact of the information you read. When you come across a book, information technology is time to read it.

3. Papers

Marie Kondo advises us to throw away every single paper that does not fall into one of these categories:

In current use
Of limited usefulness in time
To proceed indefinitely
Warranties

Gather all the papers to be sorted in one place, and the same applies to papers that need to exist kept indefinitely. The papers to continue can then be separated into iii dissimilar storage piles. I file for papers that do non need to exist consulted very often (lease, contract of insurance, etc.), one file for the papers that we use more often and one file for warranties.

What not to do:

Hold onto documents distributed at seminars. Marie Kondo is convinced that if nosotros don't put everything that nosotros learn over the grade of such seminars into practice, it is precisely because nosotros hang onto this documentation.
Keep business relationship statements and empty chequebooks.
Continue user manuals (except for estimator or camera guides).

4. Miscellaneous objects (coins, small objects, gadgets, etc.)

Marie Kondo calls these various objects Komono. They are scary to sort, but if we do it in the right order, it becomes very easy.

How to sort miscellaneous objects:

CDs, DVDs
Skincare products
Brand-upward
Accessories
Valuable items (passport, bank card, etc.)
Household appliances (digital camera, electrical cords, anything that seems vaguely electric)
Household equipment (writing implements, knitting needles, etc.)
Other household supplies (medicines, detergents, tissues, etc.)
Cooking utensils, nutrient.
Others

The side by side step is to get rid of each of the useless objects on this list, and to keep and store those that bring u.s. joy (respecting the guild of the Komono sorting list).

Coins

It is not a good idea for coins to accumulate in various places around the home. They should all exist kept in your purse (not in a piggy bank) or deposited at the bank.

Throwing away things that we keep "just in case"

You know what these objects are — they tin exist identified instantly every bit intended for the bin without even asking yourself "Does this bring me joy?"

List of these objects:

Gifts
Storage boxes for mobile phones
Unidentified electrical cables
Spare buttons
Boxes for household appliances
Televisions and radios that do non piece of work
Sleeping infinite for friends who never come to stay
Samples of cosmetic products that you proceed for travel
The latest health products
Free publicity gadgets

v. Objects with deep sentimental value

Souvenirs

These are objects we find it hard to separate ourselves from, because we are afraid that nosotros might forget the precious moments associated with these souvenirs. In reality, we must tell ourselves that precious memories practise not fly abroad just because nosotros discard these tokens. We take to live in the nowadays moment, and there is no use in hanging onto memories of the past that nosotros would have forgotten without these objects. The pleasure and enthusiasm we feel in the nowadays moment are more important.

What not to exercise:

Give these objects that accept stiff sentimental value to your family as they will in turn go disorderly

Photos

Marie Kondo recommends gathering every single one of your photos in one place and merely keeping the ones that stir up emotions within you lot.

What non to exercise:

Keep photos that belonged to people who have died (for example, photos that belonged to your grandfather).

Nosotros should not be cherishing the memories, simply the person that nosotros have become thanks to these past experiences. Our interior is intended for the individual we are in the process of becoming and not for the person we were in the past.

One time you lot take added club to your interior and the volume of your possessions has decreased, y'all should be able to perceive the nature of your true values. Yous will know what is really important in your life. The possessions that we have as well many of, but which we cannot bring ourselves to split from are not the ones that we have the nearly care of — in fact it is quite the contrary. Past returning to a volume of possessions that we can reasonably manage, we re-energise our relationship with our things. Separating yourself from things that are of no utilize is non wasteful.

Follow your intuition and all will be well

Marie Kondo explains that the procedure for selecting objects is very personal. To avoid the rebound effect, you must create your own storage method using your own standards. That is why it is and then important to empathise your feelings about each one of your possessions.

The process of selecting objects that bring you joy allows yous to identify what you beloved and what you need. The possession that you are property in your hands triggers a number of emotions. These feelings are authentic. By basing yourself on this intuition, you tin can lead a more harmonious life and discover some dramatic changes over time. Marie Kondo goes so far as to say that information technology will exist every bit if your life will be touched past grace. Tidying your interior volition be the magic backside a happier and livelier life.

Chapter four: Storing your things to make your life shine

Designate a identify for each thing

Without predefined storage compartments for each object, it is very difficult to know where to store things after using them. The solution is therefore to have a specific identify to store each category of possessions. Every bit soon every bit you use an item or introduce a new detail into your living space, it must be stored in its rightful place. In this way your interior will remain orderly.

Discard first, store later

Tidying, even if you adopt the nearly efficient method, is of no apply unless you commencement get rid of everything that is superfluous (everything that does non spark joy). The rebound effect volition exist inevitable.

Storage: pursue ultimate simplicity

To keep a room tidy, the hole-and-corner is to search for the ultimate simplicity. Information technology is preferable to opt for the simplest storage method possible in guild to call up what possessions you have.

Don't besprinkle storage spaces

The dominion is to put all the items from the same category in the aforementioned identify and non to scatter storage spaces. If several people live in the aforementioned place, information technology is essential to define, insofar as possible, one location per person. Having your personal space is a source of happiness, and gives y'all the feeling that it belongs to you simply, making y'all desire to keep it tidy.

Forget about 'flow planning' and 'frequency of apply'

Storing co-ordinate to a flow program ways storing according to the manner in which the inhabitants move around a abode. All that this achieves is to scatter storage spaces around the entire house. The same applies to the frequency of apply of a given object. There is no bespeak in storing objects according to their frequency of use. It is much easier to store everything as merely as possible in relation to the living space, and that is that.

Never pile things, vertical storage is the key

The KonMari method recommends never stacking things. Stacking your possessions gives an impression of having endless storage space. Marie Kondo explains that vertical storage is essential, even for clothes. In fact, she has developed a vertical folding method that she says is extremely efficient. Vertical storage is also a form of respect for our possessions, because no object has to carry the weight of another on top of information technology.

No demand for commercial storage items

The only storage compartments we need are simple drawers and boxes, nothing special or sophisticated.

The best manner to store numberless is in another bag

The most efficient way to store your bags is to place them one within the other. Nevertheless, ideally you shouldn't store besides many bags inside 1 other bag, two is a expert compromise. Remember to permit the straps of the "host" to hang out then every bit not to forget the existence of the pocketbook being hosted.

Empty your handbag every day

Emptying your handbag allows you to throw away useless things that you accumulate over the course of the twenty-four hours (receipts, handkerchiefs, etc.) and to give information technology a "rest". An empty bag volition keep its shape for longer and bring us greater satisfaction on a daily basis. The best fashion to empty your handbag is to shop its contents vertically (apart from what yous are throwing away) in a drawer or a box (like a shoe box) placed in a nearby location to the bag in question.

Items that usurp flooring space belong in the closet

According to the KonMari method, it is much more efficient to put all our storage elements in our cupboard or wardrobe (even suitcases).

Keep things out of the bath and the kitchen sink

It is preferable not to leave annihilation on the side of the bath to avoid any slimy deposits under the products and to facilitate cleaning the bathtub. The aforementioned applies to the kitchen sink, the ideal beingness non to leave anything on information technology and to dry dishes every bit presently as they are done.

Decorate your closet with your secret delights

Sure elements that you similar and that yous practice not desire to display (posters, photos etc.) can be used to decorate the inside of your storage areas. Your storage spaces are your ain personal paradise.

Unpack and de-tag new clothes immediately

Unwrapping and taking the tags off clothes helps the clothes to move from the status of "shop products" to that of personal belongings.

Don't underestimate the "noise" of written information

Past removing the superfluous visual information (storage compartment labels, tags on new vesture, plastic advertising roofing on some detergents or deodorants, etc.) which is of no joy, we can manage to brand our interior much more peaceful and comfortable.

Appreciate your possessions and gain strong allies

Saying thank you to your personal property on a daily basis for the proficient services they return over the form of i day and assigning them a very specific place inside the home is beneficial to them. Handling your belongings with respect allows them to brandish greater vitality and therefore to concluding longer.

Chapter v: The magic of tidying dramatically transforms your life

Put your house in gild and discover what you lot really want to do

Marie Kondo states that her clients oftentimes tell her that since they tidied their living space, they have discovered what they really desire to do in life. Some showtime their own concern, others modify jobs and however others accept a greater interest in their profession. Her clients also feel more enthusiasm for their hobbies, their dwelling and their family life. Tidying makes u.s.a. more than aware of what we beloved and makes our daily life more than exciting.

The magic result of tidying dramatically transforms your life

Tidying changes life dramatically and this is true for everyone, 100%. That is what the KonMari Method calls "The magic of tidying up". The impact of the "magic of tidying up" is phenomenal and one of the magical effects of tidying is increased conviction in our power to have decisions.

In fact, tidying your living space ways that you take held several hundred or even several thousand objects in your hands and wondered whether they bring you joy and whether you want to keep or discard them. This procedure naturally enables u.s.a. to increment our capacity to take decisions and our self-confidence.

Gaining confidence in life through the magic of tidying

Marie Kondo here refers to her problems of the past and explains that a reassuring interior increases cocky-confidence. If we have confidence in our belongings, in the wearing apparel we article of clothing, in the people around us and in our environment, so there is a potent chance that we will feel more than cocky-confident. These things and these people are all special, valuable and incredibly love to our heart, they bring us joy, support the states and aid united states to believe in our capabilities.

An zipper to the past or feet about the future

The two existent reasons that go far difficult to separate yourself from an object are the following: delivery to the past or fearfulness of the hereafter.

If you can recognise your commitment to the past and your fears almost the future by observing your property in complete objectivity, you will be able to perceive what is truly important for you. By trusting in your decisions and taking action with enthusiasm and without being hampered by whatever dubiety, then you will be able to detect more than success.

Learning that you tin can do without

Discarding objects that provide no joy has no harmful side furnishings. That is why one time you take finished tidying up using the KonMari Method yous will not suffer because of it. This proves that earlier tidying you spent all your time surrounded by things that you did non demand.

Practise yous greet your house?

Greeting your habitation every fourth dimension that you enter it is an infallible manner of honing the capacity to know what objects are useful to you and in their rightful place. Think to systematically greet your house when you arrive with a simple "Hi, I'yard dorsum" or "Thanks for giving me a roof" out loud or in your head and y'all will feel that it responds to you. That way, yous will gradually exist able to know what part of your house wants to exist tidied and where it would like us to put things. The procedure of tidying is the opportunity to express our gratitude to our home for everything that information technology does for us.

Your possessions want to assistance you

Everything nosotros own, without exception, has i desire — to be of use to us. That is why, once it has gone, an object will go out the energy of its usefulness backside it. Freed from its physical form, it will evolve in our world in the form of energy, revealing to other objects that nosotros are a special person.

Your living infinite affects your body

Once we ain fewer things and nosotros "cleanse" our habitation, the aforementioned procedure of detoxification too takes place within the body. The chief reason that tidying up has a positive consequence on the torso is the satisfaction yous experience through the procedure. By observing her clients, Marie Kondo noticed that when they got rid of books and documents, their ideas became clearer and when they reduced their quantity of beauty products and tidied the space located around the sink and the bathtub, their complexion was clearer and their skin softer.

Is it true that tidying increases good fortune?

Organising your interior to be comfortable, dynamic and happy each solar day is good fortune. By tidying your home, you tin alive naturally. Choose things that give you lot pleasance and cherish what is really and truly precious to y'all. Nothing can bring you greater happiness than to act in a unproblematic and natural manner. If you lot desire to call that proficient fortune, and so putting order into your dwelling house would be a good way to do good from it.

How to identify what is truly precious

Marie Kondo explains in this part that there is no doubt whatsoever that her clients have a different reaction depending on whether or not they love the object that they are holding in their easily or whether they are unsure about their choice. When they agree an object that is a source of pleasance, the determination is ordinarily fabricated instantly and their eyes shine. On the other hand, if the object does not spark joy, their hands become nevertheless, their heads look upwards and their brow furrows. This is why the author tin can succeed in identifying at a glance which objects bring joy to her clients or non.

Beingness surrounded past things that spark joy makes yous happy

If the object yous want to keep is nonsensical and makes you almost aback of it, but it brings you lot real joy, then you lot must continue it. If you are able to say with certainty "I really beloved it!" no thing what others may say and if you are proud to own it, and then you lot shouldn't worry about what other people call up.

Your real life begins later putting your house in guild

Tidying should non be a daily task: nosotros are not supposed to spend our entire lives on it. Tidying should be done thoroughly and quickly, in one go. The only task that you will have to perform at the cease of each solar day is to choose what to keep and what to discard and to love the things that you lot make up one's mind to continue. Let's spend our time on the things that give us pleasance, on our mission in life. Marie Kondo is convinced that tidying your domicile volition assist yous to find the mission that speaks to your centre. That is why life volition but actually begin once your house is in order.

Conclusions nearly The Life-changing Magic of Tidying Up:

The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Upwards presents storage methods in a new way. Tidying up becomes an fine art that tin transform our lives dramatically. Tidy and discard in 1 go to but keep objects that bring u.s. joy and make united states happy, because later on we will exist surrounded just by the things that brand united states of america happy. The magic of tidying up besides allows the states to increase our controlling ability and self-confidence and offers a clearer vision of what we really want from life in one case all the superfluous things have been removed from our living space. A new life is bachelor to us once our house is in order.

I myself have applied the KonMari Method, although maybe not as radically as the book recommends, but I can assure you that this tidying has already transformed my life. I feel I am in a better state of mind, the time I spend at dwelling house is even more enjoyable, I no longer have allergies and curiously, I feel fifty-fifty more productive and passionate about my work. And, I have fifty-fifty made savings, because I no longer buy things without a valid reason and I am very conscientious almost what comes into my home. The pick process is ruthless, but the things that volition be lucky enough to take their place alongside the things that are already present in my interior will take earned their place.

The American entrepreneur Tim Ferriss, writer of Tools of Giants explores the theme of decluttering in his bestseller The four-Hr Workweek and in fact, he has even made it one of the pillars of his life balancing method.

Book critique of The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up

You lot tin can sense that Marie Kondo'south doctrine is firm, but non unkind. Readers of her volume on The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up will feel that they take been taken firmly by the mitt, only never judged on their weaknesses. I am convinced that if the precepts of the volume are properly applied by the reader, life will improve in a much more significant way than you could ever take imagined at the kickoff.

Strong Points :

A fast and enjoyable read
The benefits of each action that you tin put into identify are explained
Curt, interesting and sometimes amusing stories illustrate some passages

Weak Point :

The exercises to apply (particularly for the "clothes" role) lack illustrations

The five principles of the KonMari Method:

Only keep the things that bring joy to your life.
Only declutter one kind of object at a time instead of tidying the various spaces within your home.
Understand that "someday" means "never".
As you de-clutter, pick upwardly each item individually.
Treat the items that remain with respect.

My rating :

Have y'all read "The Life-Irresolute Magic of Tidying Upwardly"? How exercise you charge per unit information technology?

Read more reviews on Amazon almost "The Life-Irresolute Magic of Tidying Up"

Buy on Amazon "The Life-Irresolute Magic of Tidying Up"

wozniakakes1997.blogspot.com

Source: https://olivierrolanden.medium.com/book-review-the-life-changing-magic-of-tidying-up-the-japanese-art-of-decluttering-and-a784d38c904