Life-Changing Cleaning Wizardry: Mind-Hacking Tips to Live a Clutter-Free Life
Japanese organizing consultant Mari Kondo launched the worldwide clutter craze with her pocket book Life-Changing Cleaning Magic . After reading the book, it’s easy to see why. This book can change your perception of your property.
This is part of the Lifehacker book review series . Not all life hacks can be described on a blog, so we decided to look at some of our favorite life changing books to dive deeper into the most important topics in life.
Over the years, I’ve read countless books and articles on how to get rid of the clutter, get organized, and live a more minimal lifestyle. All of them helped in some way, but just as emergency diets do not lead to long-term weight loss, these guidelines only led to short times of getting rid of the clutter for me. The life-changing magic of cleaning is a different kind of self-help book. While the book provides practical advice on tidying up your home and storing things properly, it is more about the philosophy of owning things. (In fact, it is the # 1 bestseller on Amazon in the Zen philosophy book category.)
Who is this book for?
If you’ve ever struggled to part with a memento or gift, if you’re tired of having the things you own, or if you’ve ever thought about hiring a personal organizer, this book might be for you. I say “could” because Kondo’s “KonMari” method is extreme at times, and while her lyrics are charming and funny, the advice is sometimes quite ridiculous. (For example, “thank your socks as you roll up and put them away,” or “think of your bras as showers.”) You will likely find that this book nudges you from “wanting to clean up” to active cleaning as a way to a more serene home.
What do you get
The life-changing magic of cleaning explains why it is so difficult for us to keep our home cluttered and how to get rid of things by category. It will even give you an idea of how your life will change after the cleaning marathon. Does the title sound too promising? Yeah. But just as David Allen’s book and method , How To Do Whatever It Needs, has changed the productivity of many people, so Life-Changing Magic of Cleaning up provides both a strategy and a way to think about the things we own. Specifically, this is what you’ll find in the chapters:
- Why can’t I keep my house in order? You will find out that Kondo has been crazy about cleaning since she was five. More importantly, you will find that it is better to clean up in one fell swoop than tidy up a little and then come back. “Clean up a little day and you’ll clean up forever,” explains Kondo. It takes a full cleaning session to change your mindset, not sorting and storing things halfway through. (Continuing the GTD analogy, this is similar to the first massive brain dump and paper dampening session that Allen describes in his book.)
- Finish throwing it away first. This is the cornerstone of the KonMari Method. Do a complete cleanse of everything you have, evaluating each based on whether it brings you joy or not. She explains how you have a relationship with every item you own, but if you no longer need some of them in your life, you can thank them for their service and get rid of them without feeling guilty. However, instead of thinking first: “What should I get rid of?”, You will think: “Why should I keep this?”
- Cleaning by category works like magic. Rather than cleaning one room at a time, Kondo tells us to sort through the clutter by category, in the following order: clothes, books, papers, miscellaneous, and then items of sentimental value. You put all your clothes on the floor and sort them, all the books you have in one place, sort them and go through all the komono (things that you keep “just because,” like small tools or accessories or those electronic cables that you can no longer identify).
- Store your belongings to make your life shine. This section is all about keeping things that you respectfully keep in the best possible way, so that you can see and appreciate them. Lifehacker readers will probably be familiar with the advice to “file” their clothes . The condo also offers other suggestions such as storing bags inside the bags, decorating the back of the closet, and storing bath and kitchen items outside the bath and kitchen sink area (to avoid dirt build-up).
- Cleaning magic changes your life dramatically. The goal is to be surrounded by only what you love (or need) and be inspired by your possessions, not stress over it. This section discusses the importance and benefits of letting go.
One trick you won’t succeed
The only thing that you hopefully get out of this book is a desire to get rid of the things that don’t make you happy. I’ve long wished for a less cluttered and better organized home, but that also ran counter to my desire for security to keep what I might need “just in case.” I also have my share of sentimental and inspirational purchases, such as knitting supplies for a time I might someday do knitting. Reading the book “The Cleaning Magic That Changes Your Life” is like consulting a psychologist who specializes in detoxifying your clutter and by the end of the session will convince you that you really need fewer things.
Most important trick: Ask yourself, “Does this cause joy?” for everything that surrounds you. Otherwise, you can donate, sell, or otherwise dispose of it. Naturally, there are some things that are not fun, but you still have to keep them, like tax returns , and she also refers to them in the book. As an example of her practical advice on used checkbooks:
You are not going to look at them again, and even if you do, it will not increase the amount of money in the bank, so really get rid of it.
Perhaps the most important section is advice on gifts received and other sentimental things – the things we find most difficult to part with. The book will help you to relieve guilt over the gift by emphasizing that the purpose of the gift – to be received – is the giver’s way of expressing their feelings to you. This goal is fulfilled, you can part with it without guilt.
Our opinion
The Life-Changing Magic of Cleaning is a charming and unique book on a popular topic. All of the organizing books have the same theme: keeping only what’s worth, but Kondo sharpens every object you can hold onto with sharper lenses, from clothes and cooking utensils to photographs and other souvenirs. It can help you become ruthless in cleansing your possessions so that you are surrounded by only what you love.
However, this is not for everyone, and some of the tips may seem unrealistic, wasteful and / or downright insane to you. For example, as an English scholar and avid reader, I am especially horrified by her advice to get rid of all of her books, except for a couple dozen or so that are in your personal Hall of Fame. Her premise: Even with books that give you pleasure and you might want to read them again, you will most likely never reread them, so get rid of them. The same, I think, goes for her advice: Get rid of guest sheets and pillows if you only have guests at home once or twice a year, throw away any unidentified electronic cables and get rid of all electronics boxes .
The KonMari method is also an extreme makeover: you have to do the whole house at once. For some, it’s possible, but in my multi-person house with several floors of rooms to cover, it’s just not realistic unless the crew of some TV show cleaning up is willing to come and help us clean up. (If you are listening, HGTV, write me!)
However, this book is not so much about how to organize or clean up your belongings (although it does offer guidance on both), but how to learn how to get rid of them. Clearly this has become a cult classic of sorts, because it really shows how we would be happier with fewer things. Realizing this with an unusual personal organizer next to you (so to speak) makes a big difference in your life.
Life-Changing Tidying Magic: The Japanese art of disassembling and organizing is available for about $ 10 on Kindle and hardcover, and also in Audible audiobook format. The next book, Spark Joy: An Illustrated Workshop on the Art of Organizing and Cleaning , is due out January 5, 2016 and offers more step-by-step instructions for cleaning various categories of things in your home. …