The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up

Marie Kondo’s book the Life Changing Magic of Tidying Up has taken the world by storm – since it was first published it has sold more than 2 million copies worldwide. 

Known as the KonMari method, her book is based on the principle that by organising your home and getting rid of things you don’t need or use you can in turn change your life.

It might seem like a tall order, but the success of the book speaks volumes; people all over the world are responding to the idea that they are weighted down by clutter in their homes, and that too much ‘stuff’ creates tension and stress in the mind.

Curious to learn more? Here’s what the Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up has to teach us…

Get tidied once and for all

The book’s author Marie Kondo recommends a large scale one-time organisational event where you go through the whole house and get things organised from top to bottom. If you’re tidying a little every day, you’ll be tidying forever. Instead, it’s better to set aside a day or weekend to get through one massive de-cluttering session.

Tidy by category, not room  

Instead of going room by room, the book advises that we should tackle clutter by category in the following order: clothing, books, paper, miscellany and then things with sentimental value. The logic here is that it’s easiest to go through your clothing first and quickly decide what to keep and what is no longer serving you. Once it comes time to sort through the more complicated sentimental items, you’ll be warmed up and ready to go.

Keep only what “sparks joy”

The most important tip from the book is to keep only the items that “spark joy” – but what does this mean? The author recommends holding items in your hand for a moment to see if they bring you joy – if they don’t, it’s time to thank them for their service and discard or donate them. For many of us, the idea that an item would spark a feeling of joy is ridiculous, but the idea behind it is worthwhile. The book says to only keep items that serve a purpose and make you happy – if not, why are you keeping it?

Respect your belongings

Once your big de-clutter is done ideally what’s left behind is a home full of items you love and treat with respect. The book urges us to treat our items as if they have feelings and use them with pride and respect – instead of crumpling clothing in the back of the wardrobe, they should be neatly and proudly arranged on hangers or folded properly in drawers.

Think you might like to discover the Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up? You can buy it online or in any good bookstore.

What do you think – is this a revolutionary system or just a load of hype? Let us know your thoughts on clutter and tidying up in the comments below!