Spark Joy: The Japanese Art of Decluttering and Organising: An Illustrated Master Class by Marie Kondō
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
This is actually a very interesting and (potentially) useful little book. I’m definitely going to need to actually do a full de-clutter and tidy of my flat. And stop hoarding so much stuff!
The primary idea is to instead of “tidying” room by room, which usually ends up in the clutter just shifting from one place to another, that you should actually tackle your tidying category by category and dispose of items that do not “bring you joy”. Thereby reducing the actual amount of stuff that you then have to tidy away. Then there are the rules on how to keep, store, and use what you have chosen to keep. Including how to store all of your clothing so that it looks like a showroom and be easily accessible, such that you don’t disturb other items when removing and replacing items you use. Sounds great. So I had better make a start to see if it actually works in real life! I’m pretty sure, however, that it will take several months to get through all my belongings. I own a lot of extraneous stuff.
I agree on most of the reasons for throwing things away (or in my case sorting out what to sell on eBay!), but for some of the specific sentimental items (like diaries for example) these, in my opinion, should really be kept in some way. Much of the world’s history is documented through personal accounts of life in various time periods, so if they had just chucked all their personal journals and documents, then we wouldn’t have half of the information on the past as we currently do…
So, potentially a life-changing book. Maybe after I’ve put it into practice, I could review the rating and up it to 5 stars! That is, if it does what it says on the tin. If it doesn’t.. I’ll leave it as is.
Click the image to buy a copy on Amazon.co.uk:
Crown Jules Presents 