My closet before!

I truly believe I’ve found my spirit animal — it’s Marie Kondo.

I’ve written before about her book The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up: The Japanese Art of Decluttering and Organizing. But this week I finally got around to listening to the entire audiobook and I have to admit I’m a convert (mostly.)

Now I understand why she’s such a rockstar in Japan and why there is a waiting list to work with her!

In her book, Marie explains that she started “tidying” when she was 5 years old. Like a classic middle child she did it to get attention and praise from her parents. Since then, for Marie, tidying has become a celebration. She even dresses up for the event.

Marie says everything you own wants to be of use to you. Isn’t that such a nice way of thinking about it? That was a huge mindset switch for me. Read more