Book review: The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up by Marie Kondo (KonMari method)

One of my most favourite videos to watch on YouTube are organization videos, in which people share their tips on cleaning and organizing their rooms, closets, cupboards, etc. I find it both soothing and inspiring. Inspiring to reorganize my own stuff. While browsing YT and IG for such inspiration, I came across several posts that mentioned "KonMari". I couldn’t figure out what it meant, until I googled it and learned about Marie Kondo and her books.

I purchased this book, started to read it, and couldn’t put it down.

It tells you things that you were most probably told million of times by your mother - I surely was - put things in their own places; get rid of things that are not used or are broken/torn, etc. Marie puts it all together in one book, which also tells her own cleaning and organizational journey.

I really enjoyed the book as it provides a much needed perspective on decluttering. Looking at every item and deciding if it sparks joy is, in my opinion, the best way of decluttering. The hardest part is getting read of memorabilia and books. I admit, that I was flying through the book until I hit the chapter on books and had to put it down. Books is something that I find incredibly difficult to part with. As well as photographs and old greeting cards. Clothes are easy. I don’t have much attachment to clothes, as I have to books.

I was inspired to get rid of a lot of things and to reorganize things that I own after reading this book. I did not, however, follow the instruction to take out all of your things in a certain category and go through them at once. I did it in small batches, and I still have a lot of stuff. But this is work in progress.

I find this book extremely easy to read. You need to take into account, though, that some things in it reflect the Japanese culture or reality of their incredibly limited living space. Not everything might be applicable to your culture or your lifestyle. It is a small book, easy to digest in one go, if you are so willing. However, I found some points repetitive and Marie’s behaviour towards certain things almost obsessive. It is fun to read, but might be a bit too much for some people. At some point, I started to doubt my own cleaning habits.

I still recommend this book to everyone (I bought a copy for my mom and she loved it!), but be ready to start getting rid of your belongings after the first chapter. It had that effect on me, although I doubt that I would ever be able to achieve the same level of decluttering and tidiness as Marie Kondo recommends in her book.

Personal rating: 3.5 stars

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