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| Rating:4/5 Pages: 207 |
Last month I decided to read Marie Kondo's "The Life Changing Magic Of Tidying" with the intention to then carry out the "KonMari" method on my clothes, books, papers etc. I'd seen two of my favourite YouTubers, Jen from "OrganisedJen" and Gillian from "GillianAtHome", talk about this book and their experience with applying it to their lives. Well it looked really effective and I was in a complete spring cleaning mode when I bought the book.
Marie Kondo is a Japanese woman who specialises in organising and decluttering your life.
In this post I will not only be sharing my thoughts on the book but my entire experience with reorganising my stuff! In this post I will link 3 videos that are on my YouTube channel, the first being the book review and the other two being the whole process of sorting out my clothes and books.
So join this journey with me as I uncover the secrets on tidying your life.
This book is only 207 pages long and therefore I was able to read it within one afternoon/evening. I would encourage you if you can to do the same as it makes for a very fluid read and I was then able to start organising the next day.
At the start of the book I did feel like Marie was really hyping up the book to be some life changing event that is the cure to all you messy problems and for me this came across slightly pretentious as she's saying how she never get's repeat customers and she so quickly gets booked up for work. Because of this you expect the book to dramatically change your thought process on organising and anticipate getting rid of a lot of stuff.
One thing I've learnt is that you put in what you get out, if you go in half assed then your not going to get the best results then if you 100% follow Marie's rules.
Marie says that the one thing we're not taught at school or generally in life is how to tidy yet we're just expected to do it as children. I found this an interesting point as being organised can have a huge effect on how we live. One thing I relate to Marie on is that we both like to get rid of a lot at once rather than little amounts in stages, this is something Marie feels is key to a tidying success.
Another point Marie makes is about the use of storage solutions and how they prevent us from actually getting rid of stuff we don't need. She says "Putting things away creates the illusion that the clutter problem has been solved. " " This is why tidying must start with discarding." I must say I have been a victim to this,
Marie has created the "KonMari" method which is her process for organising and discarding. She starts of by telling us to tidy by category and not location. By this she means don't tidy room to room but for example take all your clothes from each room and bring them together to one space to then sort out. By doing this it helps to see everything that you have and often brings a shock factor to it.
Naturally before I clean my room I always tidy it first by putting clothes away and putting anything back to its rightful place, I also discard things if I no longer need them. This usually helps to clear surfaces and give a more minimal feel (even if thats not what your going for). By naturally doing this it really set me up for a KonMari experience.
Marie says this process should be quite quick and should take about 6 months! I'm sorry but that is not quick! For me I did it in a day and maybe because of that my outcome from the process isn't as drastic. The KonMari method is set up in stages that have been well thought out by Marie. The order she has chosen to sort things out is based on what she feels it the easiest to let go of first and then the hardest last. This is what she suggests:
Clothes - Books - Papers - Miscellaneous - Sentimental
I did stick with this order however I havn't yet tackled sentimental items as I know this will take the longest. I found that each category brought up hurdles as I will later talk about but I did find Books easier to sort out than clothes.
If you take one thing from this book it to always ask yourself "Does this spark joy?" This is a phrase that Marie really emphasises and I agree is extremely helpful especially when sorting through clothes. When you hold up a top or a pair of shoes you should get that tingly feeling or want to wear that item everyday if you could, that to me is what that phrase means. This is something I since apply now when I'm out buying clothes.
Another game changing point Marie makes is to change the way you fold your clothes. Again if you take anything away from this book this is one of those points. For me I struggle for space despite some might saying I have a lot. But I just wasn't using my dresser to its fullest. Well the KonMari way of folding has really helped and you can see this in the picture below. Before I stacked all my T-shirts and jumpers however now I fold them into rectangles and store vertically and am now able to see everything I own. I will point out that it can be a little difficult to put T-shirts back in once the method is in place and if the width of the draw in filled they tend to slide down.
One thing I didn't agree on with Marie and that was her opinion of what you should wear around the house. She says you should dress up and wear feminine clothes even if your not setting foot outside. Well I say wear what you want! I'll let you into a little secret, as i'm writing this I'm currently in sweats and a Jersey Boys t-shirt, no shame there.
Overall I liked the book and gave it 4/5 on Goodreads, after reading it I was really excited to start clearing and I'll share that experience with you now.
To see my book review on YouTube click below.
Clothes
Overall I found sorting out my clothes fairly easy however despite getting rid of a lot I expected to be able to get rid of more. I feel I probably kept more than I should of especially if it was something I was undecided on and I just kept it rather than getting rid of it.
Like I said the folding method has given me a tone more space however it can be difficult at times to put your clothes back in place after washing them. As the day went on I did pluck a few pieces off of my to get rid of pile and cheekily put them back in my wardrobe, again I shouldn't of done this and once somethings in the pile it should stay there. But hey no ones going to shoot me over it!
Overall I found basics, hoodies, cardies and tops easy to sort through however jeans and shorts brought up issues. For me jeans last a while therefore I have some pairs that I once used to love but my style has since changed and I don't wear as much. I had to make the decision to let go on some brighter coloured jeans despite once really loving them. Shorts also were an issue as I'm not currently wearing them due to the weather and therefore havn't worn any in months, I think I only got rid of 1 pair out of 10... oops.
Marie also has an order to which clothes you sort out first however I didn't really stick to this and just went with what I felt like.
Shoes were quite an Issue as I have quite a few pairs of Dr.Martens which to me are an investment and I don't want to currently get rid of them as my shoes styles change.
One thing I continuously try to do with my wardrobe which
Marie mentions to do is to keep certain items together for example all dresses together all trousers together etc. This really helps to know exactly where things are and make dressing quicker in the mornings.
To see the process in full check out my video below.
Books
Going into this section I thought it would be very hard as I love collecting books however it was the complete opposite! I found it quite easy to get rid of a lot of books and think I could even get rid of more. I had a lot of books that I knew I wouldn't read again and were just keeping for the sake of adding to my collection. I got rid of a few that were on my TBR shelf as the moment of wanting to read that book had long passed. In this section I also sorted through coffee table books and photography books which you can see in the video below.
I still need to tackle magazines and personal items however for now I'm happy with the progress I have made.
Be sure to check out the videos linked to see the entire process and I will also leave a video below in which I vlogged my process.
Thanks for getting this far! Sophie xx
Marie Kondo is a Japanese woman who specialises in organising and decluttering your life.
In this post I will not only be sharing my thoughts on the book but my entire experience with reorganising my stuff! In this post I will link 3 videos that are on my YouTube channel, the first being the book review and the other two being the whole process of sorting out my clothes and books.
So join this journey with me as I uncover the secrets on tidying your life.
This book is only 207 pages long and therefore I was able to read it within one afternoon/evening. I would encourage you if you can to do the same as it makes for a very fluid read and I was then able to start organising the next day.
At the start of the book I did feel like Marie was really hyping up the book to be some life changing event that is the cure to all you messy problems and for me this came across slightly pretentious as she's saying how she never get's repeat customers and she so quickly gets booked up for work. Because of this you expect the book to dramatically change your thought process on organising and anticipate getting rid of a lot of stuff.
One thing I've learnt is that you put in what you get out, if you go in half assed then your not going to get the best results then if you 100% follow Marie's rules.
Marie says that the one thing we're not taught at school or generally in life is how to tidy yet we're just expected to do it as children. I found this an interesting point as being organised can have a huge effect on how we live. One thing I relate to Marie on is that we both like to get rid of a lot at once rather than little amounts in stages, this is something Marie feels is key to a tidying success.
Another point Marie makes is about the use of storage solutions and how they prevent us from actually getting rid of stuff we don't need. She says "Putting things away creates the illusion that the clutter problem has been solved. " " This is why tidying must start with discarding." I must say I have been a victim to this,
Marie has created the "KonMari" method which is her process for organising and discarding. She starts of by telling us to tidy by category and not location. By this she means don't tidy room to room but for example take all your clothes from each room and bring them together to one space to then sort out. By doing this it helps to see everything that you have and often brings a shock factor to it.
Naturally before I clean my room I always tidy it first by putting clothes away and putting anything back to its rightful place, I also discard things if I no longer need them. This usually helps to clear surfaces and give a more minimal feel (even if thats not what your going for). By naturally doing this it really set me up for a KonMari experience.
Marie says this process should be quite quick and should take about 6 months! I'm sorry but that is not quick! For me I did it in a day and maybe because of that my outcome from the process isn't as drastic. The KonMari method is set up in stages that have been well thought out by Marie. The order she has chosen to sort things out is based on what she feels it the easiest to let go of first and then the hardest last. This is what she suggests:
Clothes - Books - Papers - Miscellaneous - Sentimental
I did stick with this order however I havn't yet tackled sentimental items as I know this will take the longest. I found that each category brought up hurdles as I will later talk about but I did find Books easier to sort out than clothes.
If you take one thing from this book it to always ask yourself "Does this spark joy?" This is a phrase that Marie really emphasises and I agree is extremely helpful especially when sorting through clothes. When you hold up a top or a pair of shoes you should get that tingly feeling or want to wear that item everyday if you could, that to me is what that phrase means. This is something I since apply now when I'm out buying clothes.
Another game changing point Marie makes is to change the way you fold your clothes. Again if you take anything away from this book this is one of those points. For me I struggle for space despite some might saying I have a lot. But I just wasn't using my dresser to its fullest. Well the KonMari way of folding has really helped and you can see this in the picture below. Before I stacked all my T-shirts and jumpers however now I fold them into rectangles and store vertically and am now able to see everything I own. I will point out that it can be a little difficult to put T-shirts back in once the method is in place and if the width of the draw in filled they tend to slide down.
One thing I didn't agree on with Marie and that was her opinion of what you should wear around the house. She says you should dress up and wear feminine clothes even if your not setting foot outside. Well I say wear what you want! I'll let you into a little secret, as i'm writing this I'm currently in sweats and a Jersey Boys t-shirt, no shame there.
Overall I liked the book and gave it 4/5 on Goodreads, after reading it I was really excited to start clearing and I'll share that experience with you now.
To see my book review on YouTube click below.
Clothes
Overall I found sorting out my clothes fairly easy however despite getting rid of a lot I expected to be able to get rid of more. I feel I probably kept more than I should of especially if it was something I was undecided on and I just kept it rather than getting rid of it.
Like I said the folding method has given me a tone more space however it can be difficult at times to put your clothes back in place after washing them. As the day went on I did pluck a few pieces off of my to get rid of pile and cheekily put them back in my wardrobe, again I shouldn't of done this and once somethings in the pile it should stay there. But hey no ones going to shoot me over it!Overall I found basics, hoodies, cardies and tops easy to sort through however jeans and shorts brought up issues. For me jeans last a while therefore I have some pairs that I once used to love but my style has since changed and I don't wear as much. I had to make the decision to let go on some brighter coloured jeans despite once really loving them. Shorts also were an issue as I'm not currently wearing them due to the weather and therefore havn't worn any in months, I think I only got rid of 1 pair out of 10... oops.
Marie also has an order to which clothes you sort out first however I didn't really stick to this and just went with what I felt like.
Shoes were quite an Issue as I have quite a few pairs of Dr.Martens which to me are an investment and I don't want to currently get rid of them as my shoes styles change.
One thing I continuously try to do with my wardrobe which
Marie mentions to do is to keep certain items together for example all dresses together all trousers together etc. This really helps to know exactly where things are and make dressing quicker in the mornings.
To see the process in full check out my video below.
Books
Going into this section I thought it would be very hard as I love collecting books however it was the complete opposite! I found it quite easy to get rid of a lot of books and think I could even get rid of more. I had a lot of books that I knew I wouldn't read again and were just keeping for the sake of adding to my collection. I got rid of a few that were on my TBR shelf as the moment of wanting to read that book had long passed. In this section I also sorted through coffee table books and photography books which you can see in the video below.
I still need to tackle magazines and personal items however for now I'm happy with the progress I have made.
Be sure to check out the videos linked to see the entire process and I will also leave a video below in which I vlogged my process.
Thanks for getting this far! Sophie xx
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