mrears0_0's review against another edition
informative
slow-paced
1.25
unfortunately this did not spark joy
morganbrabender's review against another edition
5.0
Super excited to implement Marie Kondo's practices in my new home!! I listened to this audiobook at the perfect time, as I'm super aware of everything I own after moving out. I can't wait to declutter and discard and minimalize my collection of things.
readhikerepeat's review against another edition
4.0
When it comes to cleaning, I think I hate it as much as the average person with an aversion to it. It pains me to vacuum and mopping is pretty much unheard of (luckily my husband doesn’t feel the same way). But when it comes to organizing and tidying, I love it. I can spend hours reorganizing my bookshelves and my closet and was that child who actually wanted to organize the pots and pans. This is surprising considering I create a lot of clutter, but maybe that’s why it’s always so satisfying to declutter.
While I don’t tidy up as often as I’d like, I always thought I was pretty good at it and knew its benefits. Turns out I was wrong. Not only do I tidy the “wrong” way, I wasn’t receiving the longterm benefits. Thanks to The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up: The Japanese Art of Decluttering and Organizing by Marie Kondō, I have seen the error of my ways and have taken steps to rectify it. The result is a house that has (so far) remained tidy, which makes coming home a lot more relaxing and frees up my nights and weekends for more reading because I don’t have any catching up to do. You know that phrase Happy Wife, Happy Life? It’s kind of like that, only it’s Clean House, Happy Me.
Before reading this book, I thought that how you tidy up was a matter of personal preference. This is true, to an extent, but what this book taught me is that there are ways to be more efficient at it. For example, you can stack almost double the amount of clothes than you can hang them side-by-side. This flies in the face of everything I told myself when, a few months ago, I decided to hang all of my clothes, but it turns out it’s true. My closet now has just as much stuff, but a lot more room. This is partially because I donated a lot after listening to The Happiness Project by Gretchen Rubin, which I also recommend reading, but there was a significant improvement.
For the full review, visit The Book Wheel.
While I don’t tidy up as often as I’d like, I always thought I was pretty good at it and knew its benefits. Turns out I was wrong. Not only do I tidy the “wrong” way, I wasn’t receiving the longterm benefits. Thanks to The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up: The Japanese Art of Decluttering and Organizing by Marie Kondō, I have seen the error of my ways and have taken steps to rectify it. The result is a house that has (so far) remained tidy, which makes coming home a lot more relaxing and frees up my nights and weekends for more reading because I don’t have any catching up to do. You know that phrase Happy Wife, Happy Life? It’s kind of like that, only it’s Clean House, Happy Me.
Before reading this book, I thought that how you tidy up was a matter of personal preference. This is true, to an extent, but what this book taught me is that there are ways to be more efficient at it. For example, you can stack almost double the amount of clothes than you can hang them side-by-side. This flies in the face of everything I told myself when, a few months ago, I decided to hang all of my clothes, but it turns out it’s true. My closet now has just as much stuff, but a lot more room. This is partially because I donated a lot after listening to The Happiness Project by Gretchen Rubin, which I also recommend reading, but there was a significant improvement.
For the full review, visit The Book Wheel.
bethreadswhat's review against another edition
4.0
I’ve been wanting to read this for awhile and I finally got around to it. I love reading the concept of being simple and minimalistic in mindfulness of clutter. Everything has a purpose.
smadams's review against another edition
4.0
I've been on this journey of unlearning a lot of stuff I learned as a child. My parents were wonderful, but no matter how great, society has a way of slipping under your skin like a rusty knife. I've re-learned how to eat, how to see my body as a woman, how to exercise, and had to find my place in the world.
Marie Kondo's book helped me to figure out a path forward for all the junk I have in my life. She gave me a new way to look at stuff, to really look at stuff.
On its surface her message is simple: only keep the stuff that gives you joy. Isn't that why we buy lots of stuff in the first place? In search of happiness? So, when your stuff fulfills that mission, why keep it around?
We live in a house full of my husband's grandparents stuff. His family really really doesn't want to clean... when they do they seem really depressed. They keep everything "just in case." I haven't touched too much, but there is a lot of STUFF here. This book gave me a path forward to cleaning and... for the first time... I think I'm willing to tackle it all.
For that it gets four stars. Heck, I considered giving it five. But there's one thing missing from the book: A chapter on ideas for getting rid of stuff sustainably. The thought of throwing 30 bags of stuff into the trash makes me cringe. This is perhaps outside the scope of this book, and unfair of me to ask, but it would've made it perfect in my opinion.
Marie Kondo's book helped me to figure out a path forward for all the junk I have in my life. She gave me a new way to look at stuff, to really look at stuff.
On its surface her message is simple: only keep the stuff that gives you joy. Isn't that why we buy lots of stuff in the first place? In search of happiness? So, when your stuff fulfills that mission, why keep it around?
We live in a house full of my husband's grandparents stuff. His family really really doesn't want to clean... when they do they seem really depressed. They keep everything "just in case." I haven't touched too much, but there is a lot of STUFF here. This book gave me a path forward to cleaning and... for the first time... I think I'm willing to tackle it all.
For that it gets four stars. Heck, I considered giving it five. But there's one thing missing from the book: A chapter on ideas for getting rid of stuff sustainably. The thought of throwing 30 bags of stuff into the trash makes me cringe. This is perhaps outside the scope of this book, and unfair of me to ask, but it would've made it perfect in my opinion.
isabellarobinson7's review against another edition
2.0
Rating: 2 stars
I am messy. There is no way to sugar coat that. My bedroom is a pig sty, as my Mum is so fond of saying, and the first chapter of Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up had me really excited and got my hopes up that I could maintain some sort of tidiness. Unfortunately, this was not the case. But I do not place the blame on Marie Kondō and her book, more my strictly literal interpretation of it.
I was quite confused by the amount of feeling Kondō had towards her items. As far as I know, socks do not protest to being balled up and folded in on themselves, nor did they need a rest after a days hard work. I also find it hard to believe that you can "ask your house" and if will actually reply to find out whether you should keep something or not.
Now I am going to attack the core of the KonMari method: choosing to keep something because it sparks joy. I have a problem with this because of the complete ambiguity of the word joy. I understand the appeal this system brings to people, because of its simplicity, level of applicability and ease in application, but I find it hard to grasp how it could be effective for me personally. At its core, "joy" merely means a feeling of pleasure and happiness, but in what way? What kind of joy warrants the keeping of something? It is probably a pedantic qualm about something so utterly simple, and I really should not over think the most basic of principles and needlessly complicate the uncomplicated.
Again, and I can't stress this enough, I am sure Marie Kondō is a life saver for some people, but for whatever reason not for me. Apparently, I am doomed to a life of untidiness. Sigh.
I am messy. There is no way to sugar coat that. My bedroom is a pig sty, as my Mum is so fond of saying, and the first chapter of Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up had me really excited and got my hopes up that I could maintain some sort of tidiness. Unfortunately, this was not the case. But I do not place the blame on Marie Kondō and her book, more my strictly literal interpretation of it.
I was quite confused by the amount of feeling Kondō had towards her items. As far as I know, socks do not protest to being balled up and folded in on themselves, nor did they need a rest after a days hard work. I also find it hard to believe that you can "ask your house" and if will actually reply to find out whether you should keep something or not.
Now I am going to attack the core of the KonMari method: choosing to keep something because it sparks joy. I have a problem with this because of the complete ambiguity of the word joy. I understand the appeal this system brings to people, because of its simplicity, level of applicability and ease in application, but I find it hard to grasp how it could be effective for me personally. At its core, "joy" merely means a feeling of pleasure and happiness, but in what way? What kind of joy warrants the keeping of something? It is probably a pedantic qualm about something so utterly simple, and I really should not over think the most basic of principles and needlessly complicate the uncomplicated.
Again, and I can't stress this enough, I am sure Marie Kondō is a life saver for some people, but for whatever reason not for me. Apparently, I am doomed to a life of untidiness. Sigh.
maryana2009's review against another edition
5.0
Connects with the audience, impacts lives and gives people a story to loose in. Fantastic book! I loved the book!
caryambler's review against another edition
4.0
My socks are still angry, I can't get my shirts folded right and I still haven't thanked my items for serving me... but I did clear out a bunch of stuff I'd been needlessly holding on to. Proved to be a great motivator.
annieb123's review against another edition
4.0
Absolutely full of 'woo'. Thank your items for giving their all for you and release them to continue their journey. Don't roll your socks together because they can't relax if they're stressed out by being knotted together in your drawers. Etc.
That being said, this is a fascinating book which gives a wonderful glimpse into Japanese culture. What could possibly define us more than the way we live and the spaces in which we live?
I can't say that I really came away with concrete advice for improving the clutter in my life, but i nevertheless enjoyed reading this book quite a lot. I appreciated the quiet (dare i say zen) and calm tone of the writing. I didn't appreciate the basic idea that the ultimate cure for clutter is throwing everything you own away (beside the necessities).
Woo/zen/fluffy pop psychology ...but fascinating nonetheless.
That being said, this is a fascinating book which gives a wonderful glimpse into Japanese culture. What could possibly define us more than the way we live and the spaces in which we live?
I can't say that I really came away with concrete advice for improving the clutter in my life, but i nevertheless enjoyed reading this book quite a lot. I appreciated the quiet (dare i say zen) and calm tone of the writing. I didn't appreciate the basic idea that the ultimate cure for clutter is throwing everything you own away (beside the necessities).
Woo/zen/fluffy pop psychology ...but fascinating nonetheless.