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#BookReview The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying by Marie Kondo #TuesdayBookBlog #MarieKondo #SelfHelp

shelleywilson72

Book Review

Title: The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying

Author: Marie Kondo

Category: Self-Help/Household

My Rating: 5 Star

marie kondo

My Review:

Browsing for something to watch on Netflix I came across Marie Kondo’s The Art of Tidying show. Having decided that this was the year I would start sorting my home I thought I’d give it a watch.

I’d seen Marie Kondo memes springing up all over social media, and although some of them poked fun, I wanted to see what the fuss was about for myself. The show is fabulous and I binge-watched it over two nights becoming hooked on all things de-cluttering! I ordered her book The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying before the credits rolled at the end of episode one.

As I’m a personal development blogger, I decided to use the lessons I’d learned from the book (and show) and see if I could Marie Kondo my home using her #KonMari method while blogging about the process and results. Marie’s method involves tidying your entire house in one go by category. I’m already a dedicated fan of de-cluttering. However, I always seem to attract more ‘stuff’ no matter how many times I have a clear out. Marie’s method has changed the way I think about tidying. You’ll be able to follow my progress throughout February over on Motivate Me.

Marie Kondo is a Japanese organising consultant and best selling author. She was listed as one of the world’s most influential people by Time Magazine in 2015, and yet I’ve only just discovered her.

The book explains Marie’s journey into being an organising consultant and how her childhood passions shaped her choices. Nobody can deny that the author is utterly dedicated to her career and clients. As a fan and fellow writer of self-help, I could resonate with the chapters on resetting your life and working to suit your personality.

Marie shares plenty of insight into why you might attract clutter and how to recognise when you need to tidy. Unlike the show which is simplified into lessons, the book gives more depth about discarding, tidying by category, storing, and finally how using her method can impact your life in a positive way – physically, mentally, and emotionally.

I chose to order the paperback, and I’m so glad I did as I have written notes in the margin, stuck post-it notes at important sections, and highlighted my favourite paragraphs.

I can’t count how many times people have complained to me that they don’t have enough room but I have yet to see a house that lacked sufficient storage. The real problem is that we have far more than we need or want.

So true!

The show is easy to follow, but the book gives you the depth you need to understand why this method works and what it can do for you. In short, there are a series of lessons that you must follow (tidying by category).

  • Lesson 1 is clothes.
  • Lesson 2 is books.
  • Lesson 3 is papers.
  • Lesson 4 is komono (miscellaneous stuff)
  • Lesson 5 is sentimental.

I’m about to start lesson 3, and I’m driven by my success with the first two lessons. Using the book to guide me I have, so far, got rid of sixteen bags of clothes and linen (my clothes as well as the kids’ stuff) and over 100 books.

If you want to read how I managed it then pop over to my personal development page starting February 1st to read my progress reports.

The book is a joy to read and easy to follow. I must also give a mention to Cathy Hirano who translated Marie’s book from Japanese into English as she’s done a fabulous job.

The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying will delight any self-help fan, but it will also help guide the most reluctant of us to sort out your clutter and reap the benefits. It certainly ‘sparked joy’ for me.

Published by shelleywilson72

Hello, I'm Shelley, an English multi-genre author. I write young adult/middle-grade supernatural and fantasy fiction and motivational adult self-help. I'm a proud mum of three and live in the West Midlands, UK. I love travelling in my VW camper, reading about Tudor and Viking history, and obsessing over to-do lists!

25 thoughts on “#BookReview The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying by Marie Kondo #TuesdayBookBlog #MarieKondo #SelfHelp”

  3. I’ve been aware of it for a couple of years, but haven’t dared to read it. I don’t want to be made to feel even guiltier than I already do about the number of books I own. I got rid of 250 books last year and it barely made a dent.

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    1. I was amazed at how easy I found the book decluttering! I’ve still got over 300 left but they all mean something to me. I’ve experienced some strong emotions doing this but guilt wasn’t one (surprisingly). I’d definitely recommend you give it a read.

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  6. I must buy the book. My son is a devotee of her show, not that he actually puts any of it into practice in his own life. However, when he agreed to help me sort out the attic he was forever quoting her and when I dithered over keeping something he’d ask if it filled me with joy. Very often it didn’t and the object would go into the charity shop box. We also got rid of about 20 bags of rubbish but the attic is still overflowing because we stopped when son ripped open his scalp on a rusty nail in a beam! He’s fine now but was delighted when the nurse suggested he stay out of the attic! Maybe we’ll continue at Easter and int he meantime I shall read the book.

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    1. Oh no! Glad he’s okay (perhaps buy him a cycle helmet for round two!) 😁 The book is great. I keep quoting Marie too and the kids just roll their eyes. My son (20) drew the line at thanking his clothes before putting them in a charity bag – at least he was decluttering! It’s all about the small wins lol

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  9. I’ve tried to watch this series on Netflix… it doesn’t sound so silly when he describe the point of her philosophy! Maybe I’ll give it another go 🙂

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