The Pursuit of Ultimate Simplicity

I am definitely not thought of as a messy person by my friends or disorganized by any means and this thought is the complete opposite to people in my immediate family. That's why I decided to read The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up in the first place. Though Kondo states in her book, The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up, to simply throw away things that don't bring you joy or to store things vertically, it's simply a recommendation and things don't have to be that way. She even goes as far to state explicitly, to not keep things that do not bring you joy, including this book, and says she'd rather you discard it if it doesn't bring you any joy (Kondo 90). Different methods of storage and organization work for different people with different motivations to keep their house or workspace neat and tidy. For me personally, only a few methods have really worked for me and have even spread through my house. My mom, for instance, has started to fold and store her shirts the same way that I did without me noticing it and my sister has started to empty her bag every day like I've been doing. 

Some of the methods that didn't work at all. The books got out of order when my sister and dad were trying to read some of them since we are a family that reads books out of nostalgia once in a while and we've only gotten more books in the few months that I've tried to organize things. There are still also tons of papers in my laptop case and a few aimlessly floating around my desk. This book has definitely changed my opinion of organization and not in the way I expected. I expected to be neater and more organized with my own life by the end of this trial but that is not how things ended. I found that I've come to a realization of which parts of my life are untidy and a new found urge to improve things in different areas of my life, not only in my organization of items but in my health and social life as well. Kondo tells us, "Pour your time and passion into what brings you the most joy, your mission in life. I am convinced that putting your house in order will help you find the mission that speaks to your heart. Life truly begins after you have put your house in order.” (Kondo 204). This definitely applied to me and I've felt more relaxed and not as cluttered in my head all the time with the list of things I've had to do.

I've kept every space I've been organizing as simple as bunched in categories for now and it definitely makes putting things back much easier. I'm sure my space will change within time.

This book really encouraged me to try out different methods of organization. I was never someone that was able to keep up and use a planner but I've gotten one and I've written in it quite a lot. When I was younger, I never thought anyone would ever need a file cabinet at their house but now I've been thinking of trying to find a file box to keep stray papers in and saving up for a new desk. Kondo was correct when she explained how ultimate storage solutions simply lead us to hoard more and become more cluttered in our house. This lead to that same feeling about life (Kondo 149). Reading this book made me think more about how I want my work space to look and what type of life I want to live. I've realized that my desk area effects a lot on how well I do my school work. For instance, I'm sometimes too distracted to successfully accomplish anything in a timely manner because I'd be too busy trying to think of a way my desk can look better or reorganizing my pens. Kondo advises me, "Rather than buying something to make do for now, wait until you have completed the entire process and then take your time looking for storage items you really like" (Kondo 150). To be a person who is able to get work done and to feel comfortable and refreshed constantly is the type of person I want to be and this book helped me realize that I am generally wanting more out of myself and things that have happened.

From these past few months of adjusting to a mindset that is adhering to decluttering and trying to find a way for everything to be simpler and more minimalist in every aspect, my results are a life that is able to make more bold purchases of things I love and make a lot of use of such as an agenda which I've invested in or a new set of pens to use because I have nothing that is 'emotionless excess' which makes what I have become everything I would ever need. The surplus of things I had and my mom that loves to watch HGTV and their organization methods changed when I understood Kondo's ending message, "Tidying is just a tool, not the final destination. The true goal should be to establish the lifestyle you want most once your house has been put in order” (Kondo 21). I finished reading the book and I really enjoy and treat organization and tidying as a special event and a mini 'fresh start' to try different methods and essentially different views on what type I want to live.

Will you test out Marie Kondo's methods of decluttering and how well do you think it'll work for you?

Kondō, Marie. The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up: The Japanese Art of Decluttering and Organizing. Trans. Cathy Hirano. N.p.: Ten Speed, 2014. Print.