The Life-Changing Magic of Reading Marie Kondo’s Book
MOST of you have heard of it, but if you haven’t, please read The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up.
You know how you feel stuck sometimes with a feeling that something is off? When all you want to do when you come home is to take a huge, deep, belly-filling breath and sink into your favorite chair but you look around and feel as though you have seen this episode of “your life” a billion times and there is nothing more to get from it?
You aren’t fully comfortable at home like you used to be; there is always something to clean or put away; you feel claustrophobic as if added space will give you a solution to hide all the stuff that is out and about all around your home; the to-do list in your head is HUGE; you don’t have time for yourself anymore and going for coffee with a friend would be like meeting her for the first time because it’s been so long and blah, blah, blah. To make matters worse, your friend’s home pops into your mind that literally looks like a “model” home without ONE SINGLE THING out of place. I mean, you’ve never seen a pencil or paper on the counter, a shoe by the front door, a book out of place on the bookshelf, or an article of clothing hanging over a chair. You know what I mean? You must have a friend who lives like that! I am not talking stuffy; I’m talking organized and light. The kind of home where you walk in and you instantly look up in a mental bubble, with your mouth slightly open and your eyes a little squinty, maybe a slight smile coming from your lips, and you sense all of your thoughts, ideas, and to-do’s being filed away in your mind inside of a mid-century modern filing cabinet, with colorful folders and fancy labels in alphabetical order. Tell me you know what I’m talking about?! I know you do.
But then you think “Well work is great. My kids are great. My single life is fun. My wife/husband are amazing. My family is healthy. My gardening project is going well. My new car is awesome. What the heck is my problem then??”
Your Problem
I’ll tell you. YOU HAVE TOO MUCH STUFF. You most likely have things stuffed away in drawers or closets that are emitting a joyless energy, you know what I mean? Would you want to be shoved in the back of a closet with loads of weight on you? And I am not only talking about too many clothes, I’m talking about STUFF:
- You save every receipt, invitation, coupon, or anything else that is paper because you think you are going to refer to it at some point soon.
- You buy 87 packs of batteries and paper towels because they were on sale.
- You can’t stop buying vases because you love fresh flowers but when there aren’t fresh flowers inside them, you keep them out as decorations on your shelves.
- Every room in the house needs a tv? That means a remote control is DEFINITELY in the bathroom.
- You love looking at all the cool books on your bookshelf that inspire you. But you haven’t read 3/4 of them and the ones you read, you most likely will never read again and at some point will forget them.
- You keep shoes from 2003 because you paid $475 for them and they might be vintage soon so you will be able to sell them in a few more years for way more than you paid for. Mmmm, ok?
- You stare at your drumsticks and an old snare drum in your office from 20 years ago and remember the days you were a drummer in your basement band.
- You love looking through old cookbooks and magazines but when you do, it’s been so long that you can’t find the reason why you saved it in the first place!!!
- You MIGHT need a cord or cable for something. NO. YOU. WON’T.
- You might take up knitting again so you save the 23 balls of yarn your aunt dumped on you when she was ready to get her life together and clean out the house.
- You just may make some popcorn in the old popcorn maker you got in 1983 not realizing that making it in a pan is the same exact thing. (I do this almost daily btw)
- You save old sheets and towels because you may have an entire village come stay over one weekend. You never know right?
- You might wear that t-shirt you got at a charity event when you work out or clean your house.
- You might go camping so you can use all of the toiletries you take from every hotel you go to.
- You may find a use for lidless containers, a broken mug you don’t want anyone to see, rubber bands, or an empty alcohol bottle with a cool design, but for the love of the Universe can you forget about starting your own bakery and get rid of the 23 cupcake trays, 6 bundt pans, and 175 Christmas cookie molds you bought? OR just start the bakery!!!!
Let’s Get Into the Life-Changing Stuff
When I decided to read the book, I was living in a studio with a large walk-in closet, so you can imagine what was happening inside of it. I also was ready for a change in life, in general, and the idea of getting rid of “things” that didn’t serve a purpose to me or memories that kept me living in the past sounded like the right medicine. Who doesn’t want a little magic in their life? The great thing about it is that, while I was reading the book, I wasn’t just thinking about clearing out tangible things. It felt almost like I was taking on a full body cleanse.
From the Second You Start
Make It A Special Event
If your intention is to clean out stuff and have a garage sale to make money, then that’s fine, but it sounds dreadful. If your intention is to cleanse your spirit then it will be the me time you are looking for. Don’t think of it as “Oh man, I have to clean out my stuff on Friday and I can’t go to that movie I really wanted to see.” Think of it as “Forget the movies, I’m going to start to clear out energies in my home and mind that are bringing me down so I can lighten up and live to my fullest!” So start with that and then you will feel the magic start to happen. It creeps in like a sudden thought and you literally feel lighter, you breath better, you want to drink more water and make a salad! Even if you do one section of the book at a time and not the entire routine, which I totally recommend, you instantly feel more organized and you wake up the next morning ready to take on the day.
No Music or Distractions
I know, I know, it’s a hard one! But if you think about it, it can be like a meditation. Without distractions, you can be super present, listen to your internal dialogue when you are holding an object, and evaluate the things in your life. You will have the consciousness to really assess how the objects make you feel to make the right decision about keeping them or parting ways. Which brings us to the next thing to remember…
Our Judgement
Our judgment is intuitive and rational. Subconsciously, we know EXACTLY what to do. In this case, you truly know deep down if the object is ready to move on, but your logic assesses the meaning of why you bought it, or when, or with who! This isn’t some groundbreaking news, I get it. We all know about intuition and rational thinking. The thing is, we forget! So, reading this great idea again really reminded me to work on bringing this into my daily life.
Your Space Affects Your Body
Do you ever meet someone and you can just imagine what their home looks like by their physical movement, energy, and ailments? Think about it, when your home is filled with things like old photographs and gifts of past heartbreaks, hand-me-down furniture from your great-aunt who was mean and bitter, clothes that you once fit into and believe you will again if you just lose that last 10 pounds, or a quilting pattern that you’ve been hanging on to for years and you just can’t muster up the energy to make it, it leaves you in an energy-sucking funkadelic pit hole. The energy of all of those things does not balance your current internal energy and you are left, well, without energy! And what does a body without energy look like? Shorter, slumpier, with slouchy shoulders covering up its heart and dragging its feet. Why?
Let me break this down:
Old photographs and gifts of past heartbreaks. What purpose are they serving to accept keeping you in a past depression or a judgment of “what ifs?” Those things hold an energy of that period.
Hand-me-down furniture from your great-aunt who was mean and bitter. Don’t you think that furniture sucked in a little of that bitterness? You may have changed the fabric, but it’s in the stuffing!
Clothes that you once fit into and believe you will again if you just lose that last 10 pounds. This is anxiety at it’s finest. You stare at these clothes that you think you will fit into but you haven’t done one darn thing in a year to actually be able to fit into them. (Not that you can’t! But a year?) And you keep talking about it while repeatedly asking why you can’t get the energy to work out, and then BOOM- you feel anxious and guilty. Yikes!
A quilting pattern that you’ve been hanging on to for years and you just can’t muster up the energy to make it. Anxiety. You spent all that money on quilting supplies and it’s such a waste that you haven’t done it yet and you wanted to prove that you can do it and you can’t find the time and blah blah blah… You proved that you don’t want to do it. There, you made a decision! Now go do something you actually want to do.
“Get rid of anything that doesn’t touch your heart, there is no simpler way to contentment.”
The book really got me thinking to fill my space with objects that hold positivity and bring me joy. If you think about it, it’s simple: Surround yourself with things that spark joy and they will bring you a feeling of happiness. My happy things keep me focused on what I am doing today, so I can get to where I want to go tomorrow, and the next day, and the next day.
Going a step further, what about the people we surround ourselves with every day? What about that friend we’ve known since childhood, who doesn’t spark any kind of joy in us when he is around? Take a second and think about why this person is still lingering around. Take a second and think if this person, any person, touches your heart. A person in your life should add value to it, you know what I mean?
You Start to Respect Your Clothes
Your clothes are made out of fabrics that are living, breathing energies. (Ok some can argue that synthetic fabrics aren’t breathing at all. I hear ya) So your little socks are rolled up and stretched into a ball in a smashed up ball pit and whoever is on the bottom, well, he isn’t breathing easily. Once you organize your closet and clothes with her folding system you begin to see them all in front of you. You don’t forget about any of them and they are always fresh and ready to go when you want them to be. You also begin to put your clothes away at night before you go to bed so they can have a restful night sleep as well. It really is magical.
When It’s All Over. Now What?
When it’s all said and done; when everything is either gone or put away properly; you sleep. And I mean S.L.E.E.P. It’s as if you are sleeping, for the first time, in an organized paradise. In the morning you wake up and you don’t even need coffee. You stand with your hands on your hips just looking around your place, opening drawers, checking cabinets. hanging out in your closet while thinking, “Where am I?” The magic has taken over!
And what if in a week it all goes back to crap? Well, Marie Kondo has had a 100% success rate. Probably because she helps to change your overall mentality towards life, not just an object. So every move you make after this, your subconscious kicks in and you make the right decisions. Magic is a fun word, but it’s really just your presence and the acknowledgment of your emotions, energies, vibes, whatever you want to call it, towards things that take over. And just like that…it’s life-changing.
Go ahead, enjoy your sleep. You’re welcome.
