The Next Book You Have to Read: The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up

If you’ve already heard of Marie Kondo’s The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up, then you probably don’t think I’m crazy. Otherwise, I imagine you’re wondering why the heck you should spend your time reading a book about “tidying up.”  Either way, I PROMISE you will absolutely love this book.  While it is certainly 100% about cleaning up, it somehow manages to also be a truly inspirational book that promises to transform your life (i.e. by tidying up your home you will ultimately tidy up your problems).

The author’s method for tidying (the KonMari Method) is about as simple as you can get – Step 1: Throw things out. Step 2: Find a home for what you keep.  It’s not brain surgery and we all know this is what we’re supposed to do, but through the entire book she actually manages to tell you exactly how to get this done.  Every single hesitation or roadblock you’ve ever hit (or didn’t even realize you were hitting) she addresses – what to do with gifts you don’t use, how to store clothes that don’t fit, how to let go of old mementos that you’ve forgotten you even have.

I was literally blushing through sections of the book as she recalled helping clients who had piles of “mystery cords”, empty boxes that were saved in case they needed to be used again, and the woman who stored her socks “rolled up like potatoes” (SPOILER ALERT: that’s not how you’re supposed to store them).

What is most amazing about this book is that she basically guarantees that if you follow through with all of her steps, you will never, ever, ever go back to a messy home again.  And even better, by tidying up your home, you will be tidying up your mind. You’ll start to solve problems that you had otherwise ignored and gain clarity to your priorities.  When you declutter your home, you declutter your mind.

The key to her brilliant madness?  Only surround yourself with things that bring you true joy.  When you walk into your home, everything you see should make you smile.  When you look into your closet (that will no longer be overstuffed), you will smile at everything you see. Every page of this book helps you get to this point.

I don’t know how she did it, but this book was actually a page turner. It was so eye-opening (despite the fact that every point she makes feels like it should be so unbelievably obvious) that I would have to say this falls into the top 2 most life-transforming books for me – falling only behind The 4-Hour Workweek.

If it isn’t obvious already, I highly recommend you read this.  And then of course, come back and tell me what you thought!

If you’re looking for some other suggestions on what to read (or watch 😉 ) I’ve got an ever-growing collection on my What to Watch and Read Pinterest Board:

Follow Nikki @ MBAsahm’s board What to Watch and Read on Pinterest.