I continue my love/hate relationship with Marie Kondo. ( )

Kurashi at Home is Marie Kondo's book of vibes. It's not a how to; that's The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up, which covers everything. This book is intended for people who have read the main book and also like a book with pretty illustrations of spare, well-curated rooms.

I read the first book awhile ago and am still folding my laundry and using a few of the ideas from that book, but a year ago we all moved to a new house and there are still, a full year later, a few boxes stuck here and there. I was looking for more inspiration than instruction, and this book suited that aim. The main thing I took away from this book was that the purpose of finishing up the move and unpacking those final boxes and getting those last spaces organized and clear is the satisfaction that comes from being in a space that looks the way I want it to look. It's about making one's home, regardless of size or how long one plans to live there, into a space that feels restful and restorative.

All in all, a pleasant book, in which it's fun to see that Kondo has relaxed her standards now that she is married and has young children. There's some interesting bits about how her religious faith influences how she looks at her surroundings, making the process of tidying up something other than being uptight about clutter. ( )

I thoroughly enjoyed reading Marie Kondo’s book, but I see that she and I are worlds apart in many of our ideas. My house will never be as clean and uncluttered as hers, nor would I feel comfortable living in such a sparse environment.

At the beginning of this book, Marie Kondo says to state the last day of tidying. I cannot do that. I will have to take it in small pieces and make the last day of tidying the last day of my life. That’s okay. To me tidying is a process toward a goal. If I never get there, I will have made improvements along the way.

Married family life with children has suited the author well. She has a picture in this book where she is sitting with her husband and daughter and is smiling with a true “spark of joy”. It‘s a sweet picture.

Marie Kondo would probably not like to see the room in which my grandchildren play, but she would delight in my three bedside drawers for storing small toys: the animal drawer, the transportation drawer, and the people drawer! :D

I am fascinated by Marie Kondo’s obsessive qualities (not to disparage them as we all have some of these). In photos of her closets, all of the hangers are situated equal distances apart!

Two different quotes (admittedly taken from different sections of this book) cracked me up when I copied both of them together:
“Are you feeling overwhelmed by tidying?”
“Since I began living in America, I’ve been hiring professional cleaners as well.”

I strongly disagree with one thing that Marie Kondo wrote: “I wanted to do something different to celebrate the special occasion of her marriage and decided to give her something handmade, which is number one on the list of unwelcome gifts”. To the contrary, for me handmade items are among my most treasured gifts.

I enjoyed reading Marie Kondo’s new book although her methods would definitely not work for me, a person whose house is not clutter free and doesn’t “shine”. Everything in the house pictured in this book is so white and clean! Some of her ideas, especially those taken from her native Japanese culture, are interesting to me. In conclusion, any book which inspires me to declutter and tidy my home...even a bit more...is a good one. ( )