The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up by Marie Kondō
My rating: 1 of 5 stars
I picked this book to read as many of my book-loving friends seem to be very enthusiastic about both the content and the difference it has made to their lives. I approached it with an open mind however after ploughing through it I couldn’t wait to close the book.
While in general it offers some common-sense advice overall I found the book somewhat condescending, if well meant. There is a lot about Marie Kondo’s own journey of realisation regarding the art of tidying; perhaps slightly too much although some of it in context does paint a picture of how she arrived where she has.
There is little here that you won’t find browsing decluttering on Pinterest and the like, other than instructions on folding everything in a very specific way (sorry folks, I’m a hanger and proud) so I suppose for many the appeal is Marie Kondo herself. She is a tidying celeb, an alternative House Doctor and on paper is something of a Marmite personality; some will love her, some will shove her to the back of the cupboard for years and eventually throw her away after just not being able to get their head around her particular taste.
Spoiler:
To be honest the turning point for me was where Marie spoke of hiding family member’s personal items because she felt they weren’t important enough to be stored and then throwing them out and even lying about it. She’d have lasted ten minutes amongst my siblings and I growing up!
I’m not saying don’t read this book, I’m saying it was most definitely not for me. I can declutter effectively without it and don’t necessarily need to touch something to know if it brings me joy.
Back to the library with this one.
