You may recognize the cover of this book, as it seems to be everywhere lately. There is a pretty hefty promise right there on the cover! Life-changing! Could tidying up truly change your life?
My Mom read this book first and raved about it. She couldn’t stop talking about it so I finally gave it a go! Now I’m the one who can’t stop talking about it!
Marie Kondo is a professional organizer. She goes into woman’s houses and teaches them how to live an organized and clutter-free life. Now it could be said about me that I tend to…um..hold on to things (#hoarder), but this book totally changed my thinking! Marie has a fairly simple concept. She has you pick up each item in your house and simply ask yourself “does this spark joy?” If an item sparks joy keep it, if it doesn’t don’t give it a second thought! Pitch it! What I like about her method is that it doesn’t feel like a lot of pressure or like she is holding you to some standard of perfection that is unattainable. After cleaning out my room, office, and closet with this method I have found that I truly am happier with the fewer items I possess, rather than having more items. I think this ties hand in hand with the Fear of Missing Out (FOMO). When you buy an item are you buying it because it sparks joy? Or are you buying it because you are afraid you won’t find anything you like better, or you will wish you had it someday (FOMO)? I will give you a heads up now that some of Marie’s methods feel..well..extreme. I’m not gonna lie, things get a little weird (at least to me), but aside from that her method truly is genius! I managed rid of 6 (very large) trash bags of things/clothes that I didn’t need! I thought that I would miss some of the things that I got rid of, but they haven’t even crossed my mind. It doesn’t feel like I have less, just that I’m more content with what I do have. Looking at a closet in the morning that is a collection of only my favorite things makes it much easier to pick out an outfit! Since following her method, I have found that I naturally have integrated this “spark joy” method into several areas of my life. Decisions are know often based on asking “does this spark joy?” I know that we cannot have a life filled with only joy, that pain and suffering exist, and that sometimes we have to do things that don’t necessarily spark joy, but for the decisions that are a little more lighthearted I’ve really loved using this tactic. I would go as far to say that this method truly is life changing!
For actually reorganizing, the book has way more tips than what I mentioned in this blog post, so if you are interested in using her system I would definitely read the book for yourself! Check it out here!
Now you tell me…
Have you read this book? If so what are your thoughts?
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