The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up: The Japanese Art of Decluttering and Organizing (Magic Cleaning #1) by Marie Kondō

The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up: The Japanese Art of Decluttering and Organizing by Marie Kondō

My Rating: ★★★

After reading Marie Kondō’s manga based around tidying, I decided to pick up this book. While the manga mainly covers how to get tidy with the KonMari method, this book goes past how and dives into the why. What I like about this book is that Kondō goes step by step and dives into the details of how and why each step works. It’s also interesting to read how she developed her method and why she believes it works.

While I enjoyed this book, I think I would’ve liked it better before I read the manga because I already learned the method and how it works. I wasn’t necessarily excited to read about the why and how she developed each step of her method. A lot of the reasons behind her method are a bit odd to me. If I didn’t already see and experience how the KonMari method works, I think I would be put off after reading about how Kondō arrived at each step she teaches clients and anyone who reads her books or watches her show.

That said, Kondō gave me a lot to think about. There’s a method behind the madness. Whether or not I agree with everything she says, I do think that her method works. I particularly like that she teaches everyone to clean by category over space. It truly takes much of the stress out of it. I also like her folding and storage instructions. Although, it would be great if there was a graph demonstrating her clothing folding methods for those who need a visual over written instructions.
All in all, I like this book, but I would recommend her other book, “The Life-Changing Manga of Tidying Up: A Magical Story,” over this one. I think it teaches and demonstrates the KonMari method much better.