Folding Paper & Spilling Ink

I was one of those people who made fun of this book when it came out. I watched it fly off shelves and take over the cultural dialogue, and I thought it was silly. Why all this hubbub about cleaning up your house? C'mon people, this isn't revolutionary - just clean your damn house. Well, here I am a couple years later, and...I was so wrong. This book, and I genuinely from the bottom of my heart mean this, changed my damn life. I'm only halfway through completing my home, but I've already noticed seismic shifts in my thinking and mood.

KonMari isn't about cleaning. Not really. This is about examining your relationships with objects, and how the way you interact with the things in your life reflects other deeper patterns. I've learned so much about myself through this process. It has been deeply illuminating, and rewarding. And hey, at the end of the process you have a tidy space that makes you more happy. I haven't felt this light in decades.

Not everything in this book resonated with me, but the process speaks for itself. There are some details that work for me and some that don't. (I'm never going to be the type of person that empties their entire purse every day when they get home, or thanks a toothbrush before throwing it away.) Kondo's Shinto influence is strong throughout this book and may turn some people off. But, and I can't stress this enough, there is something to be learned in examining how we interact with our possessions. So yeah, I get why people make fun of this, but I encourage them to try it all the same.