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Style and beauty

Marie Kondo Is It Just Me...

46 replies

ZaraW · 13/02/2016 12:33

To be underwhelmed by her concept? I've always lived in small spaces and it doesn't take that much effort to get organised, as a book lover her views on books is a bit ridiculous. She could have said what she needed to in 50 pages or less and yet she's just bought another book out. Even bloggers with shopping addictions are raving about it to then totally ignore her advice and carry on with the excessive consumerism. This was a gift so don't feel guilty donating it and there was no joy in it for me......

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NewLife4Me · 13/02/2016 12:41

I suppose it's whatever floats your boat and you can't blame her coining it in whilst her methods are a newish fad. It will be something else soon.

I do like her folding techniques and maybe I'd have come up with similar had I thought about it for ages

LovelyFriend · 13/02/2016 12:55

Not everyone has to agree or like or get everything. First mean it's not relevant or valid.

FrustratedFrugal · 13/02/2016 13:30

I think she is slightly nuts. However, most of the people I know have way too much stuff in their apartments, because they have a hard time of letting go of things. She helps people with that. You could get the basic idea in a page or two, so the book is too long, and I wouldn't buy the second book. But I found her main idea really helpful.

ZaraW · 13/02/2016 13:48

Maybe it's just me I've never met a child that was obsessed with tidying from such a young age and her willingness to discard books or put them away where they can't be seen is just weird I have hundreds of books that are well ordered which are often read by family and friends. Also her gung ho approach to getting rid of stuff without donating to charity is wasteful.

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LovelyFriend · 13/02/2016 14:25

clearly she is pleasantly bonkers. But there is def great advice in her madness and she has turned her obsession and the things she has learned into a movement that resonates with many people.

Everyone I know who s using her method is donating their outgoings to charity shops, animal shelters etc not just throwing stuff in the bin

mercifulTehlu · 13/02/2016 14:41

I think that one of the things I like about her slightly bonkers attitude to tidiness and decluttering is its un-housewifeliness iyswim. It's the concept of organising your home so that you have a smooth and relaxing routine and get joy out of your surroundings, rather than a kind of 'bustle round and scrub your toilets so that people don't make you feel like a slattern' kind of attitude. It resonates with me because I tend to think that if you are going to have to spend quite a lot of time tidying and cleaning your house for the rest of your life, it's better to find a way of actually embracing and enjoying it (sort of).

sulee · 13/02/2016 16:10

I bought her book from Sainsbos as it was half price, out of curiosity I suppose as my home is relatively tidy compared to some, I am quite a happy soul and like a place to be homely. I thought it was a load of old cobblers; each to her/his own. Anyway, it's hopefully sparking joy in someone in my local charity shop.

YaySirNaySir · 13/02/2016 16:33

I'm all for decluttering and then not replacing it all with more shite because that apeals to me and I don't like wasting money.
However the folding thing- just No.
I hang most of my clothes except underwear, nightwear, jumpers and jeans and who has the time or inclination to fold socks? Not me.

Floggingmolly · 13/02/2016 16:35

What's her view on books? Is this the one that advocates tidying your handbag every time you come in the door?

ZaraW · 13/02/2016 17:31

Yes tidying your handbag and emptying contents EVERY day, saying hello to your house as you enter, as far as I remember she has 30 books and thinks they should not be on display. She encourages people to dispose of books that haven't been read. That's never going to happen in our house we love books and reading lists just get longer. No way I could just live with 30. Even though she doesn't do it now she would rip out pages she liked and throw the rest of the book out. I do wonder how she would cope if she had a husband, children and pets to take care of.

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CeeceeBloomingdale · 13/02/2016 17:39

She has a husband and a child!

I haven't read her, I can tidy up without instructions. Maybe I don't get it

CutYourHairAndGetAJob · 13/02/2016 17:43

Some of her ideas are bonkers - handbag emptying for example. But her basic concept that you should choose what to keep rather than choosing what to throw away, and only keeping things which 'spark joy' (which can have very different meanings depending on whether the item in question is a pair of shoes or a toilet brush!), is helpful to me and lots of other people.

ZaraW · 13/02/2016 17:44

Was she married and had a child when she wrote her first book? Admittedly I skimmed read it as I found it all a bit tedious.

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CutYourHairAndGetAJob · 13/02/2016 17:45

Does she really have a child ceecee? Her book doesn't mention children's toys at all (a major source of clutter for most families) so I assumed she didn't.

RudeElf · 13/02/2016 17:46

Surely its like any other hobby? Either its for you or it isnt. You dont have to like it any more than you like chess or playing guitar or zumba.

ZaraW · 13/02/2016 17:49

OK baby born July last year so will be interesting to see how she adapts to family life.

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ZaraW · 13/02/2016 17:55

But it's not really a hobby though surely? None of my friends and family enjoy tidying it's just something we do. It's more of a system.

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RudeElf · 13/02/2016 17:59

Of course its a hobby! Who on earth thinks its necessary to spend that much time organising?

NewLife4Me · 13/02/2016 18:04

It isn't a hobby though unless you spend ages doing it and do it for fun.
It takes less time than tidying other ways for me and I'm getting quite organised now.
I spend far less time than I used to when I just faffed about.
Now, I do have time for my hobbies.

RudeElf · 13/02/2016 18:08

Well i consider it a hobby.

gingercat02 · 13/02/2016 18:08

I have never read her books but I do vertical folding and empty handbags before I put them away (I just assumed that everyone did). Stuff like having no books or clothes that don't "fill you with joy" just bollocks!

mercifulTehlu · 13/02/2016 18:46

It's not a hobby, because the idea is that you do Kondo your house ONCE, and then find it easier to keep tidy because you've got rid of a whole load of crap you didn't need and found sensible and permanent places to keep everything else.

The whole point is that it's supposed to make you spend LESS time tidying in the long run, not make a hobby out of it.

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RudeElf · 13/02/2016 18:53

I think its a hobby.

RudeElf · 13/02/2016 18:54

A faddy one.

TheVeryThing · 13/02/2016 18:57

It's more of a project than a hobby.

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