The Art of Home is a beautifully crafted and insightful book that strikes the perfect balance between sophistication and everyday comfort. As someone who loves interior design but finds many design books either too aspirational or too simplistic, this book exceeded my expectations.What I Loved:✅ Gorgeous Visuals – The photography is stunning, offering endless inspiration for creating a warm yet refined home.✅ Practical Advice – Unlike some design books that focus purely on aesthetics, this guide provides actionable tips for making stylish choices that fit real-life living.✅ Approachable Luxury – The book teaches how to achieve a high-end look without feeling pretentious or unlivable, making it ideal for both design enthusiasts and beginners.✅ Thoughtful Design Philosophy – The author doesn’t just focus on trends; instead, they emphasize timeless design principles that make a home feel personal and inviting.Room for Improvement:???? While the book is full of inspiration, some readers may wish for more budget-friendly recommendations. However, the principles shared can be adapted to various price points.Final Verdict:If you’re looking for a design book that blends beauty with functionality, The Art of Home is a must-have. It’s more than just a coffee table book—it’s a resource you’ll want to revisit time and again. Highly recommended for anyone looking to create a home that feels both elegant and livable.???? Would I Buy It Again? Absolutely! This would also make a fantastic gift for anyone who loves interior design.

Beautiful book to add to your decor. Great for stacking. Love the hardback design

I absolutely love this book!! Well written and insightful especially if your a beginner when it comes to design. I just wanted to learn how to style my home in a way that was meaningful and aesthetically pleasing and this book helps me do just that. It is also a great addition to any part of your home design but make no mistake it is a great read and beautifully photographed book!!!

I was seeing it everywhere and decided to buy it. It was an excellent decision; it’s exactly like in the pictures.

Looks great on my entry bench. and matches my aesthetic well.

It’s a great decorative book, however mine came slightly damaged on the spine— which is the most visible part, so that’s annoying.

It’s worth the money unfortunately….I kept going back and forth about this purchase and couldn’t justify spending $30 on a book but it’s amazing quality and worth it.

In full transparency, I purchased this book as a coffee table aesthetic so I can only comment that it does that role beautifully! I stack it with one other similar sized book with a geometric gold item sitting on top for a grouping of three.The shipped in a box and arrived perfectly undamaged.

Another great line from Murdle! This is designed to be an advent calendar but the puzzles were fun even if I completed them when it wasn’t Christmas. Fun story line that stays true to the OG stories from Murdle

The elf on the shelf will deliver this book to grandkids

Fun, challenging, funny, endlessly entertaining. The perfect way to cozy up and get into the holiday spirit. Highly recommended!

This is a fun set of logic puzzles to get you through the holidays. It comes with 25 different mysteries to solve, that all help you solve the bigger overall mystery. The puzzles do get harder as you go further along, but they are all solvable. If you struggle, there’s a few hints at the back and the solution is written on the page after each puzzle.Overall, a great gift, or fun distraction for yourself.

I love Murdle and this is a perfect stocking stuffer. Such a great gift. And it works as an advent calendar!

Calls you out on your own bs and the bs of others, as well. Left me wanting more, but a great start.

I got this for my Dads Birthday gift and it was a hilarious success!! The verbiage inside is great and funny!

We all need this book. No nonsense approach. My mom and I read it together. Lots of laughs. You will see yourself and loved ones in it. Only negative is, I grew tired of so many F bombs. A few are funny, but too many……lost the humor.

Really helped me declutter. Provided needed motivation and I thought I was already motivated. This book really was great though I don’t like the cuss words. I just ignored them. That’s how good the information was.

This book is like that best friend you need to call you on your BS. this book has made me laugh and cry, but more importantly it has helped me work on my hording tendencies. I recommend this book to everyone. It has actually helped me!

After the first few pages, I grew weary of reading the cuss words in seemingly every paragraph. Ain’t nobody got time for that. There was some useful information sprinkled throughout it; not many details on HOW, lots of WHAT and WHY you should do it.

This is a great book with a sense of humor!! Don’t want my daughter to deal with my stuff so it got me moving!

I really enjoyed this audio book. Got my laughing on what I have been doing and how to fix it. I am glad I bought it so I can listen again and again. I find there are things I miss the first time. The author does go over and over important points to remember. Keep an open mind, swearing is used. She is funny but it is you and me who need this.

The pages are beautiful. The book is a bit bigger than a pocket sized notebook. You’ll still be able to fit it in your purse. It’s something I’ll definitely will carry around. I try so hard to journal but my long term and short term memory just isn’t the best. I have to do it right away before the memory of it fades away. So having it small enough to fit in my purse, I can quickly write it down. I find it interesting, intriguing, fun that there are only a few sentences you can write down AND you do it for five years. I’m excited to start this once the new year comes.Something I wish. I wish they would have explained what each thing in the book means. At first, I was confused about why there weren’t five years worth of pages until I looked at the reviews. I was also confused about what the 20 meant on each section until I found the answer in the reviews. So I really have to thank those in the reviews who might not know that they helped me understand the things I was confused about. Thank you!Now, mind you, this could be completely obvious to everyone but I have many medical conditions that affect my brain.

LOVE LOVE LOVE

Books are always good

Before I stumbled on this journal, I wasn’t familiar with the multi-year journal format, and it really appeals to me in a way that other daily journaling doesn’t. Having only a few lines per day to fill, along with the ability to compare days of the year across a five-year period, is making it extremely likely that I’ll actually keep up with this style of journal where I’ve failed with, uh, literally every other daily journaling attempt in my life. Some people have complained about the size of the journal, but I don’t know what they were expecting. The listing clearly describes the dimensions (cover is 4″ x 6 1/2″; pages are about 3 5/8″ x 6 1/8″), and the entire point is to make a very short entry every day. If you need more space, just… buy a normal journal?For the USD $15ish price, the quality is also excellent. The binding feels sturdy, and it being stitched means there’s basically no chance of individual pages falling out. The pages open comfortably, especially after properly breaking in the binding (which is a technique you should google if you’re not used to hardbacks). The cloth cover has a nice feel, though it may develop a tendency to attract and retain dust and pet hair. The paper is thick and takes ink well; I’ve posted photos of tests for three different fountain pens and inks, and you can see that there’s minimal feathering or bleeding and practically no ghosting. (The photo with the test writing on February 14 is pretty color-accurate; the February 15 photo showing the backside of the test page is lighter/whiter than in person.) I also have had zero need to use a blotter; everything dried/absorbed just in the time it took to write each day’s entry and close the cover again.I ended up discovering the Midori 5 Year Diary after I’d been using this one for over a month, and while I’ve decided I prefer the Midori enough to justify the significant price jump, I’m extremely bummed I’d already written in this One Line a Day journal so much, because it’s a shame that I can’t pass it on to someone else. (For anybody else trying to decide between the two, note that the Midori diary has shown zero bleeding or feathering, but there IS extremely visible ghosting—particularly with darker inks—so if that’s a nonstarter for you, you’ll want to avoid it. Writing space for is comparable between the One Line a Day journal and the Midori 5 Year diary—all my OlaD entries transferred to my new Midori journal—but watch out for the Mini version of the latter, which is smaller. Other features are easy to compare online.)

This is a lovely little journal, emphasis on the LITTLE. The lines are very small. “Narrow ruled” loose leaf paper has a spacing of 7mm per line, while this journal has a line spacing of 4mm! If you have a quality extra-fine point liquid ink pen (Like a Pentel EnerGelX 05), and you write carefully, you can make the most of each day. The paper quality is great, with no bleed-through.

My husband gave me this One Line a Day journal for my birthday, and it’s easily one of the most meaningful gifts I’ve ever received. It’s beautifully designed and such a simple but powerful way to capture life’s little moments.I use it every day—just one quick line, but it’s become a cherished daily ritual. What makes it even more special is knowing I can look back over the years and reflect on how life has evolved. It’s a perfect blend of mindfulness and memory-keeping, and I love watching the pages slowly fill with gratitude, growth, and everyday joy.Highly recommend this journal for anyone who wants to start a simple but lasting habit. It’s a gift that keeps giving.

This memory journal is fantastic. You can only write a couple of sentences per day, so it’s a limited in that way, but also what I love about it. No long entries, just a couple of little gems per day. My husband got one for us and I liked it so much, I ordered one for my bestie and her husband. Cute idea, easy to fill the entries, fun way to remember silly things and beautiful things that come with each day.

I purchased this journal with the intention of capturing the many small moments of joy and love that I experience every day with my children.Over the course of our lives, it gets harder to remember every little moment. This is a simple way to keep more memories.It takes very little time to add an entry daily. I cannot wait to go back and read this at a later date.You can start at any year, month, or day.

A must read for seniors and for those that want to get rid of stuff that’s hardly used or not used at all

Loving this book so far!! Even went and watched the Hulu series after starting it, and purchased a book for my mother in law. ???? She actually loves it too!! Just had Purple Heart stop by for a massive pick up of items!! Feels good to get clearing clutter! This book pushed me to get going.

Over the past few years I’ve been lecturing to the genealogy community on the topic of what to do with years of family history research and how to pass it on to the next generation. In my own book After You’re Gone: Future Proofing Your Genealogy Research, I review many simple techniques for cleaning out a loved one’s home in order to gather important family history items. So when it was announced that The Gentle Art of Swedish Death Cleaning by Margaret Magnusson was being released, the book went to the top of my “must read” list.And I wasn’t disappointed. So what makes Magnusson’s slim but effective tome different than any one of the other “get organized” books out there? Hers is done with humor and humility and from the perspective that one day each of us will be gone from this earth. And who wants to be remember by their family and friends as a packrat? Or as someone who lived in a house where the camera crew from Hoarders was just outside the window? As the author states in the foreward: “Let me help make your loved ones’ memories of you nice—instead of awful.”What is Death Cleaning?The Swedish term döstädning literally means “death cleaning” in English. And as the author states, “it is a term that means that you remove unnecessary things and make your home nice and orderly when you think the time is coming closer for you to leave the planet.”Simple, right? Actually not as simple as you think. I’ve gone through two major “clean outs” of homes in the past 10 years, and I can tell you that each situation is different and each clean out takes lots of time. Magnusson cuts through the sentimentality that can often bog us down when we set out to do a “purge” of possessions. The author bluntly reminds you that if you are sitting on items that you haven’t looked at in years, would you really miss them? And what is the real value of these items? And more importantly, what legacy are you leaving for your children or grandchildren?Death cleaning according to Magnusson is “about a permanent form of organization that makes your everyday life run more smoothly.” So this isn’t just for those of us in our twilight years . . . anyone who feels burdened by their possessions can benefit from the sage advice found in The Gentle Art of Swedish Death Cleaning.Practice Advice Delivered with HumorMagnusson is “somewhere between 80 and 100 years old” as she states in the About the Author section and much of her advice is based on real experience. She cleaned out her mother’s apartment as well as her mother-in-law’s apartment after their deaths. And she downsized her own large home to fit into a two-bedroom apartment when her own husband died.One touching segment, for me, was when the author discussed finding notes from her mother pinned to specific items. Each note contained advice as to how to dispose of the item and who to contact since they might be interested. This practice provided peace of mind to Magnusson as she sorted through her mother’s possessions.And the funniest segments dealt with finding what the author calls “vice” items such as a block of arsenic (which her father kept on hand during World War II when the Nazis took over much of Europe) or cartons of cigarettes in her grandmother’s linen cabinet where she would sneak a smoke. Magnusson advises that if you have items tucked away that would cause embarrassment or discomfort when found by your loved ones, dispose of them. Or, in the case of a loved one’s collection of “marriage counselors”” keep your favorite one, not all fifteen.Not All Advice Works for Genealogists and Family HistoriansWhile I agree with the author on her basic approach to handling family photos and other sentimental items – set them aside to review later and don’t get bogged down in a walk down memory lane or you’ll never accomplish the cleaning – I strongly disagree with some ways of handling these items.Throwing away duplicate photos or images that are out of focus etc. is great, I don’t agree in disposing of photos just because you can’t identify anyone in the picture. As genealogists we know that we have resources to help figure out who is who and when the image was taken even if there are no notes written on the back.In addition, when it comes to salacious stories, letters and diaries, she writes: “Perhaps you have saved letters, documents, or diaries that contain information or family stories you would never wish to embarrass your descendants with. While we seem to live in a culture where everyone thinks they have the right to every secret, I do not agree. If you think the secret will cause your loved ones harm or unhappiness, then make sure to destroy them. Make a bonfire or shove them into the hungry shredder.”Again, I have to disagree. As a family historian my role is to uncover the truth, and then to preserve the truth. There are better ways of handling this type of information: one method I use is to preserve the information, place it into an envelope with instructions on how to handle it (such as release after all living individuals identified in the story have passed), and then store the item with estate planning and other important papers. This way my executor can decide how to handle the items, but they aren’t burned on the trash heap.The Gentle Art of Swedish Death Cleaning – A Great GiftThere are several books that I occasionally send to friends and family members, and even colleagues, as a thank you or when they are going through a difficult time in life. If you have parents who should be downsizing, or know a friend who just lost their spouse and needs to go through possessions, the calming advice in The Gentle Art of Swedish Death Cleaning can help remove the sting from such a process. I’m adding this one to my list of my “gifting” books.ConclusionOne of the most important pieces of advice from Magnusson, besides performing your own death cleaning NOW, is to discuss the topic with your family members and friends. She notes the Viking tradition of burying objects with the owner when they died: “This was to be sure that the dead would not miss anything in their new environment. It was also an assurance for the family members who remained that they would not become obsessed with spirits of the dead and constantly be reminded of them because their possessions were still scattered all over the tent or mud hut.”I enjoyed reading The Gentle Art of Swedish Death Cleaning by Margaret Magnusson and I intend to put much of the information to good use in 2018 as I downsize my home here in Chicago. One of the main themes in Magnusson’s work is one of generosity: giving away those possessions that have outlived their usefulness in your life and gift them to someone else in need of their functionality. Doing so reminds me of the motto on Peter Bailey’s office wall in the movie It’s a Wonderful Life: “All you can take with you is that which you’ve given away.”

This book stresses, in a light-hearted way, the importance of sorting through your belongings now so that when you are gone, your children will enjoy fond memories as they look at what you’ve carefully and thoughtfully chosen to leave behind. Margareta Magnusson charmingly refers to her age as being “between eighty and one hundred years old.” She herself has performed many a death cleaning, and she relates each experience in her book. This too is good, because all of us will at one time or another find ourselves in the same shoes. In fact, my husband and I have already had to death clean for his great aunt. We didn’t know then that the process had a name, but we did it just the same. Believe me, the fun wore off long before the job was done.The author doesn’t tell you exactly how to death clean, but she gives guidelines for how and where to begin–as well as how and where to NOT begin. (For instance, don’t begin with photos. You will get bogged down in memories and may never get anything else done.) She encourages you to take your time going through your things. Hold each piece thoughtfully, recollecting the memories that it evokes. Be thankful for the purpose it served in your life, and then let it go–deliberately–finding just the right recipient for your treasure: someone who will appreciate it, who needs it, and who has room for it. Perhaps it is better to sell the item or to give it to a charity, a local library, museum, or other institution. Regardless of where it goes, you are choosing the destination for your possessions with care and love. And, of course, you are throwing away anything that has outlived its usefulness.Margareta stresses that this is not “spring cleaning,” for death cleaning goes beyond the purging of things that have lost their usefulness to you. Rather, it is a new mindset, a new way of living. How? Just as you have deliberately decided what will stay and what will go, you also learn to be deliberate in what new things you introduce into your home. You have simplified your life, and now you must keep it simple. Develop a habit of discarding an old item before bringing in a new one. And with everything you keep, know where you want it to go after you die. Make a list to leave behind for your children. For each larger item, you might even want to pin a note onto it to tell them what to do with it. This way, when you are gone–and none of us knows when that will be–you will still be with them, in a way, helping them get through this chore that will be fraught with emotion.Whether or not you consider yourself “old,” I highly recommend this book to you. Read it, and begin your death cleaning now. In fact, the earlier you begin, the easier it will be for you–and for those who come behind you.

This is a light, practical approach to unloading cluttering before you die and your heirs are forced to do so. it’s cloaked in the Swedish idea of “death cleaning,” or cleaning up your possessions before you die so no one else is forced to. The advice is equally applicable to death cleaning for someone else, cleaning after someone dies or before downsizing and moving to a smaller dwelling as you age.There’s nothing particularly new or profound here, but it is a charming book with interesting stories and a different perspective on preparing for death or a move. The focus is more on life and using your possessions to improve others’ lives.

Helped some with certain belongings but I’ve always tried to keep up with things.

Did you know that you can take any spiral bound book to a Staples or Office Depot and have it spiral-bound? It’s an amazing and wonderful thing and it’s very inexpensive to do. That is what I do with all of my coloring books that come with no spiral on them, I take them in and have them spiral bound. It makes coloring, easy and fun. This book is very well put together and the pages are magnificent. Highly recommend.

This is a great coloring book. It’s single sided so the next pattern doesn’t get ruined.

The pages are thin, but the book has a bunch of pages, and I am obsessed with the patterns.

Nice coloring book. Works well with water based markers. Only drawback is the designs get repetitive.

Very great. Nice quality

Got it for my son to relax (and get him away from video games for a while) and he loves it.

I have bought several of these books on Amazon. My daughter loves them and uses them daily for mindfulness!

The coloring book and pictures are beautiful. But not great for use w markers as the paper texture causes the colors to bleed together. I like to color w markers so it’s just not a great book for that

“Call It Home” is a beautifully curated guide that highlights the small details that make a house feel like a home. With stunning photography and thoughtful insights, it provides practical ideas for decorating, styling, and elevating interiors. Beyond its content, the book works beautifully as a décor piece—perfect for coffee tables, bookshelves, or office spaces—adding sophistication and inspiration to any room. Whether you’re a design enthusiast or looking to refine your living space, this book combines practical advice with aesthetic charm.

This book is full of gorgeous photos of beautifully decorated homes. It’s not a how-to guide, but more of an inspiration book showcasing her signature style—which I love

I really loved this book! Stylish and high-quality printing, with a sturdy and beautiful cover. It’s full of interesting content and plenty of ideas for space design. It works as decor, but I also enjoy flipping through its inspiring images.

This book makes a statement in our entryway. I love that it’s an actual book (a fun read might I add) while also being aesthetically pleasing for our space. Sometimes viral products might not serve in the long run but I feel differently about this item. It’ll definitely be great for any nook as house decor for years to come. Love

Perfect decorative book + love the content. Looks great in our living room stack!

Beautiful brown book, great addition to any table!! Pictured w/ flash and regular w/o.

Beautiful book for decorating your coffee table.

Decor is my passion I enjoy this book

I am on my third read through this book. It’s funny, irreverent, and spot on. It’s really helpful to see that I’m not the only one dealing with the clutter (not mine, my Mom’s) and the mental and emotional burden of it. This is not one of those scolding, shaming books, it’s very encouraging and helpful.

I really enjoyed this audio book. Got my laughing on what I have been doing and how to fix it. I am glad I bought it so I can listen again and again. I find there are things I miss the first time. The author does go over and over important points to remember. Keep an open mind, swearing is used. She is funny but it is you and me who need this.

I’m loving this book! It has really got me motivated. In fact, after chapter 1, I dove into three under the sink projects, kitchen and two bathrooms. The only con, this author drops the f-bomb several times a page and at times it can get a little tiresome. And I have a trucker mouth! My brain has learned to skip over the “word.” All in all, solid advice and I highly recommend it to people who save save, and save crap and need advice on how to get rid of it before your family has to deal with it when you’re dead!

I got this for my Dads Birthday gift and it was a hilarious success!! The verbiage inside is great and funny!

Sound advice. Great read.

I found this to be extremely helpful in organizing my thoughts about decluttering. I listened to it on audible, and while the content was very good, the narrator left a lot to be desired. She sounded flat, could not deliver a humorous line well, and her use of the cuss words seemed unnatural. She probably doesn’t swear in real life so it didn’t flow like someone who uses the f-word as an adjective on a regular basis. However, the basic information is sound and very matter of fact. I have a sister that could use this – she would greatly benefit from a frank reality check but she would never buy, read or listen to the book because of the swear words. I so wish there was a PG rated version.

This book is like that best friend you need to call you on your BS. this book has made me laugh and cry, but more importantly it has helped me work on my hording tendencies. I recommend this book to everyone. It has actually helped me!

Really helped me declutter. Provided needed motivation and I thought I was already motivated. This book really was great though I don’t like the cuss words. I just ignored them. That’s how good the information was.

*I preordered this book, but also got to read an advance copy as part of the launch team.*I am still reading this book, but so far am loving it – here’s why:1. I have followed Dana White’s blog for a couple of months and her podcast for a couple years now, so a lot of the mindset ideas aren’t new. That said, I still connect to many of them in a deep way. And it is so vital for me to hear again and again – because changing the way I think and perceive the world around me takes time. And it takes effort. And it takes intentionality on my part – intentionality as I immerse myself in materials that help me to change my mindset. And this book is one of those materials for me.Some parts I connected to:”When I tried to declutter, I examined each item, attempting to assess its value to my current life, my family’s current life, and our future life as a whole. I analyzed the importance of each and every item, trying to predict how much I’d use it if I kept it or how much regret I’d feel if I purged it.”Yep. Definitely have done that. And felt so frustrated at how draining it is to go through, item by item, trying to assess that value before deciding whether I can possibly live without it.”I can successfully not see a mess, even a fairly horrific one, until the doorbell rings. But, strangely, I do see clear spaces. Clear spaces make me happy every time I walk past them, and that is the biggest reason I have to follow the Visibility Rule.”So true! It’s amazing how easy it is to ignore the messes. And yet, when it’s clean, it feels so good!”Every time I decluttered kids’ clothing, I ended up with an entire bed covered in piles. And no one could help me because I was the only one who understood my nuanced system…Worst of all, my effort often made my home look worse. Piles and stacks sat in the open, waiting for their Ideal Decluttering Method to happen.”And once again, it’s like she’s lived my life.2. Also, I love Dana’s humor. Here are some examples of parts that made me smile, or even laugh out loud:”Some data is real, but most is experiential…Unless I specifically say where I got that number, I probably made it up…I taught theatre arts, so numbers mostly serve as dramatic effect for me.””Here’s how it works. The only supplies you need to start decluttering are a black trash bag (black, so people living in your house won’t be able to see what’s inside and suddenly remember why they totally need it), a donatable Donate Box (the box itself has to leave the house along with the stuff inside), and your feet (in most cases, attached to the ends of your legs).”3. Finally – and most importantly – her tips just make sense. They are practical. And they actually help me get stuff out of my home.”The decision became, “Do I like this more than that?” Favorite things got first dibs at container space. Things I liked (but weren’t favorites) could totally stay, guilt-free, as long as there was space. Things that didn’t have a current purpose or need didn’t get to stay, and I didn’t even feel bad about that. There simply wasn’t space.””Shouldn’t I use my decluttering energy on real decluttering instead of on these tedious daily things?Yes, except this daily stuff is clutter because you haven’t been dealing with it daily. If you dive into the tough decluttering stuff and ignore the procrasticlutter, you’ll feel like your efforts were wasted even though you worked all day. The room will still look messy.””Here’s the thing I’ve realized as I have decided to use things instead of store them: once I use things, I use them up, and then the pain of decluttering isn’t so harsh.”Like I said above, I haven’t finished the book yet. But I would still wholeheartedly recommend it to anyone who has felt like they’ve tried to declutter, tried to organize, tried to get their home looking presentable, and just haven’t felt like their efforts have made a lasting difference.

Enlightening, funny and practical! If you have a problem with clutter this book is for you! Very down to earth and it has steps to follow that are easy and examples to help you move through your clutter. I really enjoyed it!

**I received an Advance Reader Copy in exchange for this review.** I also pre-ordered this book in all formats (paperback, Audible version, and Kindle version)I have been reading Dana White’s blog, “A Slob Comes Clean” for a few years, and listening to her blog for almost as long. I have read her first book (“How To Declutter Your Home Without Losing Your Mind”) and I really enjoy the strategies and ideas she has.In this book, Dana goes through many different parts of decluttering, including ideas about having a decluttering mind-set, gives step by step strategies for decluttering various rooms, and gives practical ideas to help other people declutter.One of my favorite strategies that I’ve learned from Dana involves how to declutter without making a bigger mess. She says to take items to their homes “right now” as she finds them (part of her two decluttering questions). If items do not belong in the box/shelf/room, she immediately stops decluttering and takes the items there right then. I have found this enormously helpful at home and at work. If I find ten pens in the middle of a bunch of other things, I can put those where they belong immediately, and then those ten pens are not in the pile anymore, even if I have to stop and do other things. When I just make lots of piles of this goes to place A, this goes to place B, and this goes to place C, if I get up and have to use the bathroom or run out of time and have to leave home, the piles are just there yelling at me and things are unfinished. If I deal with things as I find them, there are no piles to go back through. The same applies to putting away clean laundry! If all of my shirts are dry and I hang up the four blouses on hangers immediately and then fold the rest, those blouses are gone and the clothing pile is smaller!My other favorite strategies are her first two steps in decluttering – do the easiest of the easy stuff first (trash) and do the easy stuff. You may think there is no trash, but sometimes tossing the empty cardboard box of headache medicine because you only need the bottle you bought is tossing/recycling trash. Seems easy when you look at it, but it makes one less step to getting headache medicine, and gets rid of an unneeded item. Sometimes as few things can get recycled/tossed quickly! Do you keep the broccoli in the refrigerator in the produce plastic bag you put it in, or does it last longer in the refrigerator without being in the bag? The next step is the easy stuff – that means the items that have a home. You probably know where to put all those pens, receipts, etc. that you may have unloaded on the table, but haven’t moved them yet. Once you do those two easy steps, the area to be decluttered or gone through because less daunting, even if you do not have time to keep going.If you read this book, (and her first book if you would like other help including daily habits), and take action on her ideas, you will make progress in your home. You can’t ask for more than that, right?

I adore this book. I first heard about this method on message boards online. Everyone was talking about it. At first I started going through some of the advice from her book second hand, but eventually I got caught up enough in a decluttering whirlwind that I decided to buy the book (ebook format of course!). I’m really glad I did! It’s a very fast read and does tend to repeat itself at times (I think there may be some awkwardness from translation) but well worth the read through.I love that in the book she tells about her own journey involved in developing her method. We see the places she stumbled and get to learn from her experience.Marie Kondo seems to have stumbled upon a lot of concepts that have been heavily researched in the social sciences sciences without knowing about the evidence base form them, just drawing from her own experiences.To me this method maps on conceptually to the concept of mindfulness although the book never uses the word “mindfulness”. (Buddhist scholars forgive me here, as I am going to talk about mindfulness from a western psychological research perspective rather than a religious one since that is that area I am familiar with.)Kondo instructs people to attend to their present moment feelings as they hold each object. Even when discarding objects it is done so in a way that expresses gratitude an acceptance for all experiences the objects brought both positive and negative. Did you love this object in the past, but now it is worn out? Taking Kondo’s advice of thanking each object for the role it had before discarding it may seem a little silly, but it works. It creates a context in which removing the object from your life is not about you expressing hatred for the object, rather it is acknowledging that it has served it’s purpose and can move on. This makes it easier to discard objects like that dress you used to wear all the time and loved, but now has a stain on it. In Kondo’s method discarding is not about you waging a battle against your stuff, rather you attend to end object and the feelings it evokes in the present. By removing this antagonistic perspective about cluttering I was able to part with some formerly beloved objected that at present no longer evoked that that feeling of joy that they had in the past.Similarly I love that in this method a similar expression of gratitude is used when discarding object that never met expectations. Kondo recommends thanking the object for teaching you about what you like and/or for bringing you joy at the time you bought it. She targets logical fallacies suck as the sunk cost fallacy without using technical jargon.One of the most brilliant parts of this method is the emphasis on separating the process of identifying what to keep and the process of organizing. These are two very different types of mental processes. To me this again maps onto the concept of mindfulness. This process of attending to the feelings evoked by each object requires one to attend to their feelings in the present. As soon as you switch to organizing you are no longer in that same mindful present-focused place because organizing requires thought about future use of the object.Kondo does a brilliant job of targeting common reasons why people hold onto objects they no longer need. This was very helpful for me regarding books. I had a large number of books that had moved with me 6+ times in the past 10 years. Kondo pointed out that often the thing we needed from the book is already inside of us after reading it. I had held onto so many books because I had fond memories of reading them, and Kondo helped me realized that for many of these holding onto the physical object was not important because I had gotten everything I needed from the book.I love that she does not emphasize going out and buying a million containers. That has long been my decluttering downfall. I am great at having lots of neatly organized stuff in lots of little containers. With Kondo’s method though I realized that much of this neatly organized stuff was not actually stuff that brought me joy. This book is not just for someone who is very messy, it can also be for the person who is overorganized to the point where they have lost sight of what they really want to have.Don’t be tempted to reject her method of folding clothing. I was skeptical but decided to try it out. Over a month into this with many laundry cycles, the organization has held up for me. This is the most sustainable clothing organization method I have ever used. It’s not burdensome to put clothing away and it is so easy to find each item in the drawer.I love this this method has helped me become more attuned to how items I own make me feel. Those little feelings of irritation can add up and it’s lovely to look in my drawers and on my shelves and have a feeling of quiet contentment.I am close to reaching the goal of going through every object in my home. There have certainly been bits that didn’t resonate as much. For example, I’m not super into the idea of greeting my home. But some of the anthropomorphizing of objects does resonate with me and help me keep things more organized. When I see my shoes out of place thrown out on the floor now I feel a twinge of empathy for my shoes which pushes me to place them gently in their proper location.I’m not on board with her suggestion to empty the purse each day. I understand why, it helps reduce clutter from accumulating there, but I am someone who has enough trouble just remembering my phone and car keys. I don’t want more things I can forget in my half awake morning state.There are some areas I think she could have better addressed though. I think there are a lot of ways that a functional necessary object might be modified to bring joy rather than being discarded. I realize this could be a slippery slope making it harder to discard, but I have personally found that items I have modified with crafting in some way have become favorite items. Similarly some clothing items may be able to bring joy if repaired in some way.Overall I loved this book and have been recommending it to everyone I know.

Review: The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up: The Japanese Art of Declutteringby Marie Kondo.The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up is an absolute gas! I can’t find any other way to say it, but to use that old fifties slang word, for a very new book. I never knew cleaning up your crap could be this much fun.I’m not sure why I picked it up to read? I had lots of vital reading/research to get done for my own book. I certainly didn’t have time for someone else’s. But that title: ‘Life changing?’ Tidying up could be life changing? Oh, come on. It drew me in. I needed to know what this woman had in mind. On top of that, there was that word: “Tidying.” Who says that? Say the word out loud. Doesn’t it feel strangely wonderful in your mouth. These must have been the things that got me to purchase the book. But could what was inside keep me going?Well, I’m here writing this review, so you know the answer to that. There was much to keep me going and I found myself totally excited about the potential of ‘tidying’ up my apartment by the KonMari Method. There was really only one spot in my place that visibly looked messy and then, of course, there was the closet. But, I didn’t think this would be all that much of a job; I was eager to go on a spiritual journey by tidying up. I was ready to have my life changed through the KonMari Method.This book is about much more than just “tidying up.” Let me share how to store your socks according to the KonMari Method. Kondo tells a story about an interaction she had with a client. (Professionally, she consults with individuals and groups about tidying up) She opened the woman’s sock drawer and “gasped. It was full of potato-like lumps that rolled about.” I found Kondos’ reaction hysterical; she certainly takes her work seriously. In bold, she says, “Never, ever tie up your stockings. Never ever ball up your socks.” This sounded like good advice even though I was guilty of this shocking behavior. I thought it made sense because you could stretch out the tops of your socks. But this was NOT Kondo’s reasoning:“Look at them carefully,” she says. “This should be a time for them (the socks) to rest. Do you really think they can get any rest like that?” I discovered I had been torturingmy socks and knew I couldn’t ever ball them up again. The guilt would be toogreat. I switched to the KonMari Method for storing socks. Wonderfully explained in the book.Some Tenants of The KonMari Method1. Do it all in one day (This prevents rebound)2. Take out all your things—and she means everything—and put them on the floor.3. Don’t even consider putting anything away. Discard first. (“Keep only those things that speak to your heart and discard the rest)4. Fold, hang and store by category, not location. (Sorting by location is a “fatal” mistake)5. The special order for tidying that you must follow is this:a. Clothesb. Booksc. Papersd. Miscellany (Kondo calls this komono)e. MementosHow to Decide What to DiscardNow, here’s my favorite part of the book. Throughout she tells you things likeyou have to pick up every single item in your space one by one, hold it in your hand and ask yourself if it gives you joy. The question is NOT whether it gave you joy at some past time; the question is ‘Does it give you joy NOW.” If not, it goes in the Discard pile, but FIRST, you must thank it for giving you joy in the past. When I was only thinking about doing this tidying project, I found this humorous, later I thought of it as kind of cute and now I love the whole idea of it. Kondo thanks objects all day long and I’ve begun to see what a terrific idea that is. You begin to live in a world in which everything is alive and you’re always grateful.There are lots more goodies in the book. These were the things that endeared me and made me decide to go on my own spiritual journey. I chose a day (Kondo says the day you choose to tidy up should be especially chosen. Make it an event) I decided that I would not just clean up that one messy area and the closet. I would, instead, use the KonMari Method to tidy up everything: my closets, my drawers, my desk, my medicine cabinet, the whole place.The Results of My Own Tidying Up Spiritual JourneyI started at seven in the morning and ended at ten at night when I could barely move. I was attempting to follow Kondo’s rule to do it all in one day to prevent rebound.I got a lot done in that day, but I did not finish. I was slowed down by deciding whether items of my clothes gave me joy or not. The only way I could tell was by putting them on. How I looked in the clothes was what generated the joy, not the simple fabric by itself.I probably saved some time on the books, however. A few weeks before I read Kondo’s book, I had organized my bookshelves and turned them into a kind of library giving each book its own place and recording the location on my laptop. As a researcher I often have to go back and read a section of a book. I am frequently frustrated by not being able to find a book among the many I have on my shelves. Sometimes, I’ve bought the same book a second or third time. It turned out that my organizational system wasn’t too different from Kondo’s, except there was one giant difference. She says you should throw out books you’ve already read because you’ll never re-read them. As a researcher I may not read a book cover to cover, but I’ll go back to the same section or sections often.Kondo has a unique way of storing clothes. She recommends folding some blouses in a specific way, instead of hanging them on a hanger. This type of folding allows you you to stand your blouses up in the drawer. I tried it and I liked it. I also liked the extra space I had in my closet.But as I said before, I didn’t finish in one day and I only have a studio apartment. I think someone with two or three rooms would have a worse time getting done in one day. Kondo doesn’t mention the bathroom, the kitchen, or the bedroom which I consider part of my tidying up.Overall, though, I learned a lot from Kondo’s book, and I think I’m going to continue using her approach in the future. Instead of risking rebound by doing the tidying I have left in short bursts over a number of days I have planned a second event for next week in which I will complete my spiritual journey.Kondo says, “Tidying is a dialogue with one’s self…There is a significant similarity between meditation under a waterfall cascading down your body and tidying.Personally, I’d rather have the waterfall, but I do love Marie Kondo’s approachto tidying up and life.”