A couple of months ago I noticed The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up popping up on several of my friend’s social media profiles along with pictures of bags upon bags of things they were discarding. I was impressed by their transformations, and to see how excited they were about the process. I became more curious about how this book could be so “life-changing” and had to check it out for myself! I decided I had to share this book with you because for me, it helped make the task of tidying seem easy, simple, and even something to enjoy. I know, right?!
This guide to decluttering your home from Japanese cleaning consultant Marie Kondo takes readers step-by-step through her revolutionary KonMari Method for simplifying, organizing, and storing. Despite constant efforts to declutter your home, do papers still accumulate like snowdrifts and clothes pile up like a tangled mess of noodles?
Japanese cleaning consultant Marie Kondo takes tidying to a whole new level, promising that if you properly simplify and organize your home once, you’ll never have to do it again. Most methods advocate a room-by-room or little-by-little approach, which doom you to pick away at your piles of stuff forever. The KonMari Method, with its revolutionary category-by-category system, leads to lasting results. In fact, none of Kondo’s clients have lapsed (and she still has a three-month waiting list).
With detailed guidance for determining which items in your house “spark joy” (and which don’t), this book featuring Tokyo’s newest lifestyle phenomenon will help you clear your clutter and enjoy the unique magic of a tidy home—and the calm, motivated mindset it can inspire.
I consider myself a fairly neat person, however I will fully admit that my closets, some drawers, and out of sight places are… a DISASTER. I’m embarrassed by even the thought of anyone seeing inside my closets! Periodically I clean them out – removing all items, sorting what to keep or discard, and cleaning the space before everything finds a home again. Embarrassingly, it’s been years since I’ve done this so it’s been in the back of my mind for a while that this task is way overdue. So after seeing about 6 different friends talking about this book I took the plunge and downloaded the audiobook.
I love that the intent behind the KonMari Method of tidying is not to decide what to discard, but rather to choose to keep the things that spark joy. Once you complete the KonMari process of putting your space in order, you’ve created an environment that truly reflects you as a person, and brings you happiness! Who doesn’t want that?! This book completely changed the way I look at my possessions, my house, and things I consider to purchase… and that’s what made this book so life-changing for me.
I was so motivated by this author, that I couldn’t wait to get started and immediately started pulling clothes out of my closet, drawers, and seasonal storage to start the process! (I was so excited, that I forgot to take ‘before’ pictures.) I ended up with FOUR 13-gallon bags of clothes and shoes to donate, plus a couple of stacks of clothes and some dresses that I set aside to drop off at a local consignment shop! I had clothes that I forgot I even had… *hangs head in shame*
I’m so happy with the results, and can see myself sticking with this for the long haul! I love having ALL my clothes within view so I can see exactly what I have. No more seasonal storage for me!
One of my now beautifully organized drawers!
Using shoe boxes to organize!
Marie Kondo discourages buying organizational tools, and instead recommends re-purposing shoe boxes and other boxes/containers you already have. I loved this because it speaks to my green, environmentally-friendly heart! AND, shoeboxes worked perfectly! My camisoles and tank tops are shown folded and stored in the shoeboxes above. I can see all of them at once, no more having to dig one out from a bunch of others on one hanger (does anyone else do that?!)!
OK, so at first it was easy, but then I felt stuck… my logical brain had a hard time letting go of functional items, even if I didn’t really like them and hardly – if ever – wore them. When I realized I was struggling, it occurred to me there may be an essential oil for this purpose. (Yes, stick with me for a moment!)
I’ve been slowly exploring the use of essential oils for releasing emotions, and reading Releasing Emotional Patterns with Essential Oils by Carolyn L. Mein, D.C.. I won’t go into specifics (but maybe I’ll post a review and how-to post about this later!) but here is an overview:
“Emotions are stored at a cellular level in specific organs within the body. They must be cleared at this level in order to be released. Essential oils access these stuck emotions at their deepest level, by accessing the limbic portion of the brain, which is the seat of emotions. This is not a new technique – it was employed by the ancient Egyptians. “Releasing Patterns With Essential Oils” is a practical, step-by-step guide providing a natural remedy for emotional cleansing.” – Releasing Emotional Patterns with Essential Oils
Once I identified the emotions – letting go, and loss – I was able to look up corresponding essential oils and mantras to release them to reach the other side of those emotions. I applied the essential oils 5-10 minutes apart since they do different things, and then reapplied both an hour or so later when I felt like I was getting stuck again.
- Sage for letting go. The other side of letting go is happiness, so you say “let go and let live” while applying it over the bladder.
- Present Time for loss. The other side of loss is gain, so you say “I allow myself to give and receive” while applying it over the jaw bone or TMJ point.
The book has several charts where you can look up either the emotion, essential oil, or the alarm point (where to apply), so for that reason I recommend the paperback over the ebook.
As crazy as this all may sound, it really works! If you’d like more details, watch this video my friend Lindsey made that explains how to use the book:
Pretty amazing, right?!
The author of The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up says that it can take about 6-months to put your life in order using the KonMari Method. I’m still working through the categories (books are harder for me than clothes!) and I’m not sure I can finish in that time frame. This book has me thinking about remodeling our house! Seriously, this has changed my view about more than just household items. I want to update our home to reflect who my husband and I are as people. We moved into our house years ago and our walls still have paint color we would have never chosen ourselves. Many pieces of our furniture were inherited, and though we have appreciated them, they don’t spark joy in us. I’m no longer emotionally tied to these items, I much rather live amongst things that bring us happiness and peace. So, yeah… it’s going to take some time, but I can’t WAIT to finish!
Have you gone through this process – the KonMari Method or something similar? I’d love to hear your thoughts in the comments!
Hi, I'm Jen! I help people ditch toxins for a healthier body, home, and planet. 
