San Diego Pals discussion

Another book that caught my eye while wandering through the bookstore.

I always go through phases of uncluttering a given room in the house, then seeing it get cluttered up again over the subsequent weeks. I've never put any deep thought into why that happens, or sought to solve it. But as as soon as I saw this title I knew there was something I could learn. I sat down and read this book in a couple of hours, and I must say, the techniques Marie Kondo puts forth sound scary (throw away your stuff!), but effective.

Really what it comes down to is 1) throw away everything that doesn't bring you joy; 2) place all that remains in the place it belongs.

The author has been a tidying consultant in Japan for a number of years, and has become well known internationally as well. This book was translated from Japanese and offers a quick and easy read. The author's observations of clutter and her clients' messes seemed to describe my own home at times: "There are several spots within the house where papers tend to pile up like snowdrifts." Yes, that's true! And some of her advice seemed so unexpectedly relevant it made me laugh, such as "...if you haven't read it by now, the book's purpose was to teach you that you didn't need it."

One thing I liked about this book is a bit of insight into Japanese households. Here's an interesting excerpt:

"Japanese traditional clothing, kimono and yukata, were always folded into rectangles to fit perfectly into drawers designed to their uniform dimensions. I don't think there is any other culture in the world where storage units and clothing were matched so precisely."

The author carries with her a concern for the happiness of the things around her, which is a bit strange, but I think I get it. It comes down to positive energy for the observer. She also had a couple strange ideas like being tidy can make you healthier or more fit – more positive energy, I guess.

My only real critique is some parts of the book are sales-pitchy. Such as 'no-one that has followed my program has ever rebounded to clutter again'. Really...no one? Why make such silly un-provable statements?

Overall a recommended read. Be careful, this could alter your household drastically!