The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying

Overall, I found “The Magic of Tidying Up” by Marie Kondo to be a nice year-end book to remimd myself to keep things tidy, which has been an issue in a year of floods. However, everything in the basement was tidied up for me, so perhaps I may count that as progress in Kondo land.

I find Marie Kondo's tone hilariously bossy and perfect for someone who does what she does. However, she doeesn't provide a suggestion to stop bringing unneeded items into the home, which is part of the problem. It's all well and good to get rid of things, but it doesn't stop one from piling up a bunch of stuff!

Her definition of rebound is hilarious! I suppose the word “rebound” isn't used to describe jumping into a new relationship with a person right after another one ends, but that could also be a translation issue.

Below are random thoughts I had while listening to the audiobook.

Clothes – Marie Kondo's advice is well-taken on this topic. As someone who has far too many clothes, I do plan to go through my closet soon to get rid of some garments that I haven't worn and will not wear. Taking care of ones garments is also a good idea – clothes are one of the first things that people notice about you and it helps to fold garments that can be and to arrange them properly for easy access.

Books – I am conflicted about her advice. It is true that book fiends like to collect books and have a hard time letting them go. Many of the books I have are those that I have read at least once and would like to read again or may loan out to a friend or family member. In fact, I started getting almost all of my books from the library about 7 years ago, so I rarely buy a book other than the handful for my Great Books book club (the club is through the library, but they can't always get enough copies for our group discussions).

Papers – Infrequently and more frequently used papers. That's it for categorization! Perhaps, her advice works if you do not work from home, have your own business, or own property. I, for example, do all three and must keep documents. Imagine the auditors' horror if I said the papers did not spark joy and simply discarded all of my documentation! It is interesting that someone who seems to have OCD does not appreciate proper organization for items that must be kept. In the US, a used checkbook can be useful for year-end taxes, so it is not necessarily a good idea to discard them as soon as you fill one up. Similalarly, paycheck stubs may be needed if you plan to refinance your mortgage.

General approach to items – It is a good idea to think about items with similar purposes that are located in more than one place in the house, review them together, and then discard items which do not spark joy. She's not necessarily advocating that we discard a second pair of scissors and that we keep all scissors in one place. Perhaps, if one lives in a very small apartment or house, it is a good idea to limit the number of duplicte items. However, I think it is worthwhile to have a pair of scissors in a home office and separate pair that is used to open food packages to avoid contamination (each pair has a different type of blade).

Keepsakes – getting rid of all letters and keepsakes would horrify my Czech grandmother, who did a great deal of research on our family tree and put together binders with letters written by ancestors and stories about their lives. In fact, if she knew that every important card and letter I received were lost in a flood this summer (including letters that my mother wrote to my grandmother about me when I was a baby), she would find that sadder than the tremendous financial burden. I have really enjoyed reading letters that my English grandmothers kept, incliuding a teenage diary about my English grandmother's life during WWII, meeting my grandfather, and her trip to the US.

How to handle stockpiles? It is true that only certain items need any sort of stockpile either because they can only be purchased in multiples or because and item is used regularly, such as toilet paper or paper towels.

Designating a spot for each item is a good idea because it requires that you think about how each item is really used and where it is used. However, putting all shelving into closets is not necessarily workable. It is a good idea to keep a room clean, but displaying certain keepsakes and regularly viewing them may be what sparks joy in a person, even if that person is not Marie Kondo.

Deciding where to store things based on where they are used is a good idea – putting all items in one place may not be the most efficient and may end up creating more clutter, especially if the available storage is small. It is true that all storage cannot be within arm's reach, which one of Marie Kondos' client prefers.

Store things in bags, such as purses. This is not a bad idea, although the idea of a bunch of straps hangning out so I'll know what's in each bag sounds unappealing. Also, I have 3 cats, and 2 of them really like getting into any open bags and 1 of them opens closet doors. 2 of the cats also think dangling straps are a toy.

HAHA Confronting our posessions!! It's all about facing inadequacies and faults! Tidying makes the people more accountable and able to make decisions.

Thanking posessions for their service to you may sound nutty to Western/non-Native American ears, but it is a good way to create closure for those posessions and to better appreciate what each item does for you, as opposed to stuff that sits in a pile. Thanking the house for sheltering you is not silly; when you put more value on something, you are more likely to tend to it properly.