Some years ago I got across Marie Kondô's rise to fame through the Internet. I thought all a little bit silly, but the other day at the library there was her book, calling to me, and, well, after seeing that it was quite short, I decided to check what all this 'new age tidying' was about.
And what is all about? Well... It is an interesting read, and it has a couple of nice ideas, but it is far from being anything great or ground-breaking. Basically, Kondô's method goes around a couple of basic points: have things that you enjoy having, and don't have things just for the sake of having them. If you do so, your life will change for the best. So, if you have a book for twenty years without reading it, you'll probably never read it, so throw it away (or sell it/give it, whatever). It is all good enough, but, at the same time, it is a little bit simplistic in her approach. For example, going back to the books, she says to throw away books that have been there for a couple of years without reading: their job was to be bought, and it's been done. Well, of course, a book should be read. But sometimes I bought something and got to read it five, ten years later. And I love the author (hello, David Gemmell) or the topic ("The Iliad"), but I just needed to find the right moment to read it. Of course, this is different from having a piece of clothing in your wardrobe for fifteen years without using it, but sometimes it's difficult to put a time limit for something. She is completely right, though, with some cases of people just having for the sake of having (like having 100 pens that never come to be used, the ink drying); of course, this is without taking into account other psychological reasons behind having the 100 pens in the first place. Maybe, basically, her approach can be too simplistic, sometimes. But, again, it is true that just having what is necessary and is enjoyed is way better than becoming a slave of random pamphlets and discarded socks. I also found interesting her very Shinto approach to things. I am not very Shinto myself, but I understand, again, the need to give a purpose to the things, even if they don't have a soul (I found hilarious, though, the 'placebo' idea that they will make you thinner or have better skin if you 'release' them, though, Kondô-sama).
So, basically, get rid of things before you clean your place. Having fewer things will make you freer. Hmm... Where have I heard this before?
The best: the ideas about just having what you want/need; the ideas about the importance of using what you have and enjoying it; it is short, like really short
The worst: in the translation, she comes as a very 'proud' (and sometimes annoying) person (I should check the Japanese version); the comments about being feminine being the same as having 'cute' clothes (uh, like, really?); the image of someone throwing away 200 bags of things
Further reading: I don't know many books about tidying... ok, none. So I will recommend, "A Manual for Cleaning Women" by Lucia Berlin. It may have little to do with the book at hand but it is a good book and it has 'cleaning' on the title.
5.5/10
(English translation by Cathy Hirano)
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