Have you read the #1 New
York Times best seller, The Life-Changing
Magic of Tidying Up? This little gem by Marie Kondo arrived on the
organizing scene about two years ago. The organizing community was abuzz with
chatter of the new and somewhat drastic measures proposed by the Japanese organizing
guru.
At the start of this year, three different clients asked me
about this book in the space of four days. Since I’d had the book on my shelf
since last September, I finally cracked it open to see what the hubbub was
about. I struggled through the first few chapters. My gut reaction was that
many of Kondo’s philosophies were identical to what we see in the North
American organizing model. True, her language was different; and reading the message
in black and white, it seemed a bit more forceful. My interpretation of the
tone made it all very off-putting; in my training there is great emphasis put
on the importance of empathizing with the client and recognizing what has
happened to bring the client to a point of needing help with their clutter. It’s
a touchy-feely approach.
But I did smile while reading the first few pages. My understanding of the KonMari method was that clients were told to empty out a space
completely and only bring back what they wanted in the space. I had visions of dumpsters being filled and
people’s hidden treasures being lost forever. Not so. When Kondo suggests that people
shouldn’t waste time changing habits and doing a little bit of organizing at a
time, she is not suggesting that the truck back up and prepare for hauling away
a huge load. What she is suggesting is
that you make a concentrated effort and focus on your tidying, (as she calls
it), for a period of about six months. Six months. That’s a decent amount of
time and I feel it is within the realm of completely achievable and acceptable. As Kondo explains, six months over the course
of a lifetime is not a lot of time – especially when you consider how much you stand
to gain from the exercise of tidying up.
There were also two things that I found very impactful. The first,
Kondo asks clients if the possessions they are contemplating spark joy. My firth thought was, “What a lot of hooey. This is exactly
like me asking a client how they feel about their stuff: Is it useful? Do you
still love it? Is it easily replaceable?” But upon further reflection, I had to
admit I was wrong. And it wasn’t until I looked at my own clothes that it hit
me. That simple turn of phrase has made a huge difference in how I look at my
own things. The second impactful idea I took from this book is that we keep a
lot of our stuff, just because. Ridiculous, right? But so true.
Looking at my own stuff with this new perspective, I’ve
discovered that I too have things in my life that don’t spark joy and are
taking up space just because – and I’m
somewhat of a minimalist!! In the last
day, I’ve emptied out 50% of what was in by bathroom cupboards and eliminated a
couple pairs of pants that I really hate. And I’m just getting started!!
In conclusion, I didn’t love this book. I don’t agree with
everything the author says. But it has resonated with many readers, as Kondo
has a three-month waiting list of people who want to get organized using her
method. And it did motivate me. In the end, that’s really what it’s about, isn’t
it?
