The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up: The Japanese Art of Decluttering and Organizing by Marie KondōMy rating: 2 of 5 stars
This is a great book of half truths. As one of my wife's previous book club reads, I saw it and thought "why not?" I was in between books and didn't have one on deck.
The truth half of the book- don't hang on to stuff that doesn't make you happy. Don't waste your life accumulating stuff. When organizing, focus on reducing volume before creating or buying storage solutions. Everything should have its place, and there are two reasons things are messy: you don't know where they go, or you aren't very good at putting them there.
The false half of the book: (These are my statements, or responses to themes in the book that I did not agree with.) Things are things, they aren't alive. They don't have feelings, and they don't talk to you. They may elicit emotion, but that comes from you, not the thing. Happiness doesn't come from having nothing. It is OK to stock up on something if it makes you happy and is not a sign that you are a hoarder. For example, I believe that being prepared for a natural disaster is a good thing. Some modest stores of food, clothing, and other supplies brings me peace. I do not have a fallout shelter with a 5 year supply of MREs and guns however, nor is my day-to-day life filled with anxiety over the potential for disaster.
In the end, this book was OK. It had too many contradictions for me, with the chief one being that the author promoted living in a way that brought you joy, but then portrayed her ideals and lifestyle as the true way to experience joy. If have some extra time and you are interested in tidying up something in your life, sure read this one. But I would take it as something to think about, not a prescription or process to follow.
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