I read a strange little book – little at about 100 pages, strange because it’s a self-help book. That’s not the usual choice for this blog.

The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up, by Marie Kondo, caught my eye first because I thought the word “tidying” was a funny choice – too cute. The book is translated from Japanese (by Cathy Hirano), so that may explain the choice.

The title looked like typical self-help hyperbole otherwise. But there was a long waiting list at my library. It’s a New York Times Best Seller, and has four and a half stars on Amazon with over 5,000 reviews. What could it be?

Best Parts

For me, the best parts of the book have little to do with its tidying mission.

I found several interesting bits of Japanese culture to enjoy. I don’t know how universal these scraps are – Kondo takes a fairly spiritual approach and most of her clients (she tidies for a living) seem to be single women. One client said tidying was “far more effective than feng-shui or power stones and other spiritual goods” for her life.

I’d be nonplussed if Kondo “greeted” my house on a consultation. She will “kneel formally on the floor… address the house in my mind… Then I bow.” She says this is based on the etiquette of entering a Shinto shrine and shows respect for her client. See what I mean about Japanese culture?

There are other tidbits:

• Japanese people believe a clean home brings good luck
• Dobutsu uranai is a popular form of Japanese astrology, and there is also “zoological fortune-telling.” (The whole world’s culture doesn’t descend from ancient Greece!)
• Herbal tea is popular.
• A typical young-adult apartment may be a “seven-mat room (seven tatami mats take up about ten by thirteen feet of floor space) with a built-in closet and three sets of shelves.”
• Koromogae occurs in June – the annual switch to summer clothing. It “originated in China and was introduced to Japan as a court custom during the Heian period (794-1185 AD).” In the late nineteenth century it spread to schools and businesses, and later to homes. October goes the other way.
• “The recent trend in Japan” is to attend early morning seminars and keep materials handed out by the lecturer as a “badge of honor.”

I also found small reminders of my own family and myself. Hey – I fold my socks that way (in “potato-like lumps”). My mother did that. I’ve tried this. Sometimes “right” and sometimes “wrong,” I enjoyed the memories.

I won’t burden you with my memories – read the book and enjoy your own. As Kondo says, “order is dependent on extremely personal values.”

KonMari System

You may be curious what her system is – it’s simple. Continue reading →