Overview of "the life-changing magic of tidying-up"

So I just finished reading the life-changing magic of tidying up by Marie Kondo and I felt inspired to write up an overview of it before I forget and lose it all. It was such an amazing book that I read it in 3 days! For someone who has a hard time getting through a book, I have to say it was very easy to read and kept my interest the whole time. I usually lose interest in a book 10% of the way in, and power through another 10% then it just sits in my kindle app wasting away. Perhaps she can write a book about digital book tidying up as well! Hehe.

So the general gist of the book and biggest take away for me was to start valuing my possessions and really focus on only keeping possessions that only give me joy. I think in America we have a bit of a complex when it comes to collecting material objects. Marie Kondo brings perspective to help people get out of the object collecting rut that we so often get into.

One thing she talks a lot about is treating your possessions with the same respect as you would your friends. She also brings in a spiritual perspective on this. She mentions Shinto Shrines a lot and I can tell she's deeply influenced by the idea of living in harmony with your environment. For example. there are rituals she does in her practice to bring positive energies into the house and put more meaning behind the objects you have in your home. I probably should be mentioning this last, but to me it was very interesting and probably the base of why this book is so different from any other book. Note: although she recommends communicating to your house and possessions, she also says that it's perfectly fine to communicate mentally and not verbally. Which is good for those of us that don't want to seem crazy!

1. When you enter a home it should be greeted: "Hi home, I'm here".
2. When you sort through items they should be brought out of their current spot and all put together in a new spot to sort. Moving the objects "awakens" them.
3. Once they are all gathered, clap and move your hands on and around them to bring energy back into them. Most likely they've been sitting around collecting dust and need to be revived. You can see an example of this in this clip from her show below.
4. When you are done sorting through objects and are ready to discard the objects you don't want to keep, thank them for serving their purpose for you and being useful to you.

Marie Kondo helps a woman sort through her books

I think opening your mind up to the idea that objects can hold on to energy from their owner, will definitely help your home have a positive vibe. Personally I can't picture myself talking to my home or the objects in it, but I can visualize touching and moving objects around to bring them back to life. In fact I already do this every time I dust them, or even better, every time I use them! And I have to admit my house feels more alive and has a more lived-in positive vibe when I do this.

In general the idea is that objects support you in your life. They do tasks and are useful for you. If you treat the objects with the same respect that you would treat friends you can grow your support system around you and even if you're short on friends and loved ones you can still feel loved and supported at home by your environment. That idea is mind blowing I know! It seems so crazy - treating objects like people and talking to them! But when you think about it, why not? If it will bring you more joy in life why not give it a try? What's worse - talking to your possessions and making sure they give you joy, or having so many objects in your home (that you don't even care about) that you are constantly stressed and feel like you're endlessly trying to keep the house clean?

Now on to the good stuff - how to tidy up. Here are some of the main points from the book on how to tidy up. I plan on starting this with my house soon so I'll keep you posted on how it goes.

1. Tidy as a marathon not a little every day. (ie: one category a day). It should be a special event.
2. Be prepared to spend 6 months tidying. Once done thoroughly, there won't be much maintenance and what maintenance there is will be easy and just a part of your everyday.
3. Sort by category not by location.
4. The order of the Categories should be: Clothes, Books, Papers, Miscellaneous, Momentos.
5. Bring all the objects from a category out from where they are all in one place to start sorting.
6. One at a time, hold each object and ask yourself "Does this bring me joy?" If yes, put it in the keep pile, if no, put it in the discard pile. Make sure the object really brings you joy. If you have to think about it too long and you don't gleam with excitement having it in your hands, discard it.
7. Don't put anything away until you've finished discarding that category.
8. Once you are finished discarding, thank the objects for having served their purpose.
9. When putting items away, clothes should be stored in a drawer (or box) upright. See how they should be folded in the video below. Also keep things stored together by category instead of scattered throughout the house which may cause doubles.
10. Use closets and other features of the home as they were intended to be used. Large closets can be thought of as tiny rooms and can hold bookshelves and small storage furniture.

Marie Kondo: Basic Folding Method

Marie Kondo Folds a Perfect Underwear Drawer

That's the book in a nutshell, and I'm super excited to start trying it on my own house. I have to say that she goes into a lot more detail about how to figure out if something brings you joy or not and how to really find yourself through tidying up, so please read the book if you're serious about doing it. I actually got excited to start a couple chapters in, and thought, meh, I know enough to start now, but decided instead to complete the book first and I'm so glad I did. There are so many little tidbits of information that I've skipped that really should be read in her book, so please read it!