"The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up" by Marie Kondo

I had read so much about "The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up: The Japanese Art of Decluttering and Organizing" by Marie Kondo in several magazines.  I picked this up much earlier this year as I wanted help getting my house organized.  I was hoping that this would be the book that would completely change my mindset and my life.

I didn't get as much out of this book as I would have liked.  There were a few things that I did like about her tips.  I did like how Kondo talked about letting go of the sentimental value of things that are cluttering up your life.  She also talked about not stocking up on too many things since they take up valuable space.  This is hard for me since I like to coupon and get items on sale and/or free when I can.  Kondo also wants you to ask yourself if an item brings you joy when you are deciding whether or not to keep it.  This helped me recently when I was moving and wanted to purge some of my decor items, clothing, and housewives that I didn't want to pack and move.

I would recommend this book to someone who is wanting to break away from the psychological part of clutter an decluttering.  If you are looking for someone to tell you how to organize your stuff, there are several other books out there that are better than this one.

Overview from Barnes and Noble:

This #1 New York Times best-selling guide to decluttering your home from Japanese cleaning consultant Marie Kondo takes readers step-by-step through her revolutionary KonMari Method for simplifying, organizing, and storing.

Despite constant efforts to declutter your home, do papers still accumulate like snowdrifts and clothes pile up like a tangled mess of noodles?

Japanese cleaning consultant Marie Kondo takes tidying to a whole new level, promising that if you properly simplify and organize your home once, you’ll never have to do it again. Most methods advocate a room-by-room or little-by-little approach, which doom you to pick away at your piles of stuff forever. The KonMari Method, with its revolutionary category-by-category system, leads to lasting results. In fact, none of Kondo’s clients have lapsed (and she still has a three-month waiting list). 

With detailed guidance for determining which items in your house “spark joy” (and which don’t), this international bestseller featuring Tokyo’s newest lifestyle phenomenon will help you clear your clutter and enjoy the unique magic of a tidy home—and the calm, motivated mindset it can inspire.