Book Review – Lessons from Marie Kondo

I must, admit that I’m a Marie Kondo fan. A minimalist living in a family that has hobbies – LOTS of them. A minimalist at heart, with hobbies that create clutter.

One who has spent time tidying and organizing hobby stuff. And the one who knows what it feels like when hobbies take over the home and combine with high dust levels that are so common in Mumbai and Navi Mumbai, to create an endless supply of chores.

It used to be this way, until I got desperate and went to the internet for tidying solutions and found the KonMari method on Netflix. Much has changed, and my efforts at organizing my kitchen, and my own hobby clutter seem to have infected the family.

I found The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying by Marie Kondo on Amazon and felt I just had to read it because the Netflix show helped me so much.

I know that minimal living opens up living space in unexpected ways as we have experienced this as a family. And I have, because of the time I’ve spent with tidying and organizing over the years, learned many of the lessons she talks on in this book.

Marie Kondo talks about the impact of tidying and ideas that keep spaces clutter free and remove the need for heavy daily tidying and cleaning. Reading it helped me as it was like meeting a like-minded soul even though I’m not yet as organized as the author appears to be, and might never get there.

Still, I really wish I’d found this book earlier. There’s an aloneness to living minimal when the rest of one’s family embraces comfortable clutter, and maximum living. And a desperation that accompanies that journey when dust levels go crazy.

A desperation that gets urgent when cupboards with hobby stuff are bursting and hobbies start to take over floor space, making daily cleaning a HUGE chore. And when one is the only family member who is capable of tidying and organizing storage. Because no one else has this life-skill because they often aren’t taught to young children, so efforts at organizing often create more clutter.

I’d recommend this book to anyone who really wants to reduce chores, clutter and time spent on cleaning or putting stuff away. This isn’t, in my opinion, a book for someone who is comfortable with clutter or for anyone who is a hoarder. It is however, a book for those who live with hoarding and clutter, and are looking for ways to live minimal and clear their own space.

Marie Kondo is completely right – tidying and organization changes the atmosphere within a home. Creates mental space because the daily workflow isn’t clogged with working around unused stuff that’s lying around. And it opens up doors in very surprising and unexpected ways.

Many families that once embraced maximum living now want to change but just don’t know how. The KonMarie website offers online courses for those who want to tidy, and also for those who’d like to be consultants. I don’t know much about this line of work but would think it’s a definite career opportunity.

An update.

I read here that Marie Kondo herself finds minimalism is an unattainable goal as her family has grown. Quite unsurprising as families have people with different personalities – some minimalist, some who embrace maximum living, and some who are in-between. This doesn’t disappoint me as tidying and organization are just a way to create space in life and minimize time spent on chores and are not, on their own, a goal. Comfortable clutter works for me and Marie Kondos tips really help me keep clutter comfortable.

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PS: I am not an affiliate of any website and do not gain by sharing these links.

I’m just a relaxed housekeeper who spends less time on chores and has time to play the piano every day. Home organization and home workflow organization have brought me much happiness, and I like to spread ideas that helped me. In hope that they’ll help someone else.