Longtime readers will recall how I use specific criteria to determine my next read. However, every once in a while I do end up reading a book that does not fully meet any of those criteria. I suppose good rules are defined by their exceptions...
Marie Kondo's The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up, a book I finished in the middle of September, is the most recent example of such a book. Despite not meeting any of my usual criteria, I felt a strange kind of pressure to read it. Eventually, I gave in and picked up a copy (1).
I thought this book was very good. Without question, it was effective- as soon as I finished reading the final sentence, I immediately felt compelled to BEGIN TIDYING.
But what to tidy? It took me a couple of days to realize that the book itself was the ideal place to start. I tend to already do this, anyway, through my note taking process, so it was not a very difficult idea to try out. I was also emboldened by the unofficial blessing of the author herself- Kondo suggests that those who own books bearing only information consider tearing out the relevant pages and tossing aside the rest.
I ended up 'tidying' the book in two ways.
First, I tried to state what the underlying principle was for her tidying method. Second, I applied that principle to 'tidy' the book.
I. The main principle of tidying
Kondo's main principle for tidying is a simple two-step process:
1) Discard everything you do not needII. The life-changing magic of tidying up applied to The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up
2) Decide where everything that remains should be stored
Let's restate the principles in the context of the project:
1) Discard every unnecessary syllableHere is the result- a 213 page book in 99 words:
2) Rearrange the remaining into a (relatively) coherent piece of writing
"One reason so many of us never succeed at tidying is because we have too much stuff...If you consider the rent or mortgage you pay, turning your space into a storage shed...costs you...discarding must come first...look at each item...and decide whether or not to keep it and where to put it...If it (sparks joy), keep it. If not, dispose of it...Clutter is caused by a failure to return things to where they belong. Therefore, storage should reduce the effort needed to put things away, not the effort needed to get them out"
At some point, everyone is exposed to the problem of accumulation. It might not necessarily involve the place where you live. It could be your work space, your email inbox, your blog posts, or your wallet that needs tidying. Because such a problem seems so inevitable, I think it is very valuable to at least understand the main principle from this book
On the other hand, one danger of summarizing is the possibility of obscuring a complex idea. In the case of my summary for this book, I know the strong call to action is lost (again, when I finished reading I immediately sought to BEGIN TIDYING). And my guess is that any reader of my summary will not feel compelled to take up tidying for themselves.
In other words, the power of this book to motivate is obscured by the summary's focus on the know-how of tidying. The summary assumes you cannot tidy because you do not know how. It fails to address the case of someone who cannot tidy because they do not feel like it.
As Kondo points out time and again, for many clutter is a symptom of a deeper lying problem with motivation. Once properly motivated, people are generally able to complete the act of tidying (though perhaps not as skillfully as Kondo). If you are intrigued by the possibility of reading this book AND currently find it difficult to motivate yourself to start the daunting task of tidying, I would very much label this required reading.
For the rest of us, perhaps simply applying the principle above will suffice for now.
Thanks as always for reading. Please check in again on Wednesday for my next post.
Tim
Footnotes / imagined complaints
1. There must be a reason you read it, though...
I came up with a few reasons for why I did eventually read it. None of these stand on its own but, as a group, provided enough justification for me to pick it up back in August.
a) It came up ALL THE TIME
When I say this, I include the two blogs I read for book recommendations (neither gave it a sterling review) and an unusually high number of friends, family, and acquaintances who read it or asked if I read it. I suppose it seemed like the type of book I would read, I guess (and since I did, I guess everyone was right.)
b) What does the title mean?
I was curious about two elements in the title. First, I do not know anyone who I would describe as tidy. There always seems to be some element of untidiness to everyone. So, I thought it might be interesting to hear what an expert would consider 'tidy'. Apparently, it just means someone who only has what they need.
Second, I wanted to know if the word 'Japanese' in the subtitle was necessary. The short answer- no. There is nothing Japanese about this method.
c) Books like this tend to be underrated
If this book clocked in at 4.2 or higher on Goodreads, I probably would have read it earlier. It came in at 3.8 and therefore I initially skipped it.
It took me a couple of months to realize that most books written by people who are focused on one thing all the time (anyone reflecting on a time-consuming career like being a doctor or athlete, books by parents about parenting, memoirs about travel/illness/creativity/addicition, etc) tend to be really good if you, as a reader, are interested in the subject matter. Once I made this realization, I lowered my rating threshold accordingly.
