"Spark Joy" by Marie Kondo | Book Review

Spark Joy by Marie Kondo

Publishing Date: January 5, 2016
Pages: 291
Publisher: Ten Speed Press
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Spark Joy is the companion to Marie Kondo's The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up. In this illustrated guide, Kondo explains her KonMari method in-depth to prepare you for clearing your life of all the "stuff" that doesn't add joy to your life.

The ultimate goal of the KonMari method is for you to find the things that spark joy in your life. All else can be discarded, with a few exceptions, such as essential tools and utensils.

Kondo encourages you to touch and hold every item as you're tidying, in order to feel that spark, or lack thereof, that it emits. She believes that if you pay close attention to an object and the way you react to or feel about it, you'll know whether it sparks joy in your life.

She also stresses the difference between tidying and cleaning, and this is something major that anyone interested in tidying needs to pay attention to. Moving things around and wiping the bookshelf they were on is not tidying - it's cleaning. Tidying is when you actually clear your space of things you no longer need or want.

The KonMari method is very much a way of life, and not one I can see myself completely dedicating myself to. There are, however, some great tips on tidying, regardless of whether or not you intend to immerse yourself in this way of life.

The most valuable section for me personally was the one where we learn that the order in which you tidy items is of the utmost importance. Like most people, I've always tidied by area, but this is inefficient because things in a certain category pop up in other places and when that happens, I'm practically back at square one. It makes so much sense when the information is presented, but it's something I'm not sure would have occurred to me on my own.

Spark Joy is a great book for you if you're ready to revolutionize the way you tidy. If you're not at that stage yet, there are definitely still some great tips to learn from this book.

*This book was sent to me by Penguin Random House Canada in exchange for an honest review.