The art that was never taught

Okay, I will admit, this is a strange book to read. This is a strange book for me to read. When I told my wife I was reading this book she looked at me with a facial expression that could probably be summarized as "Why in the world are you reading that?". But trust me, if you ever feel frustrated that your office or bedroom isn't ever organized and you're constantly trying to shift things around to get them out of your way, this is the book for you.

So up-front I have to give a disclaimer, Marie Kondo, is obsessed with cleaning and organizing. It is noticable and throughout the entire book. She started on her journey when she was 5 years old. You must forgive and overlook her obsession with cleaning and you psuedo-religious ideas that your objects somehow have a life or consciousness of their own. You will also need to overlook the fact that many of her client stories involve people with clinical hoarding issues. That said, don't let those obstacles stand in your way!

Marie explains near the beginning of the book that every parent tells their child to clean their room, but few parents actually sit down and teach their child how to clean their room. That is because most of their parents didn't learn either. Most everyone is self-taught when it comes to cleaning and tidying. We are just kind of left to fend for ourselves and figure out a system that "works for us". To help us, Marie outlines what she calls the KonMari Method (named after her). The idea is that you do 2 things: discard and organize.

You go through types of objects, not rooms. For example: work on all your clothes, than your books, then your electronics, etc. For each group of objects (such as clothes) you first engage in Stage 1: Discarding. You decide what to discard by picking up each single item and asking if having the item around, wearing the item or using the item brings you joy or happiness. If it does, you keep the item. If it doesn't, you discard the item (goodwill, trash, etc). In Stage 2, you've completed getting rid of all that doesn't bring you joy in one area, such as clothes. Now you have an empty closet and you can organize your closet with your remaining clothes. She has interesting and useful organizational tips for each different area of our lives.

For me, I think the approach of dealing with areas and the filter for discarding were the two most insightful areas for me. If you are ever frustrated with your ability to stay organized or to have a clean house, I highly recommend reading this book.