Spark Joy: An Illustrated Guide to the Japanese Art of Tidying (Vermilion)

I have just finished reading this wonderful book, and ran over here to leave a few lines: so far there are only two other reviews, and, at 2 and 3 stars, they make me wonder if the reviewers have read the same book as I did!?! My 5 stars are given with no reservation! I am currently in the midst of my 'tidying festival' and even though, sprinkled throughout 'Spark Joy', almost all the ideas in 'The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying' are reiterated, I found that not only I needed the repetition of those very good principles for them to sink in, but that I also wouldn't have had half the confidence and the enthusiasm for tidying that l have now, having read it. That is because this book also contains a wealth of detail and practical advice, real life examples of different situations, questions and outcomes related to tidying, and very moving accounts from the author's own life. There is a lot of needed clarification on storage, and a step by step run through the categories, plus lots of insight into the timeless principles that underpin the KonMari approach. The illustrations are in a very cute Japanese style, and while they are particularly informative when it comes to showing the proper ways of folding clothing etc, I think their purpose is mainly to 'spark joy' and enthusiasm, and less to be scientific diagrams (which seems to be what the other reviewers might have been mistakenly expecting?). The whole point of the KonMari method is that your tidy home will spark joy for you, as an individual and family, and clearly that is not something that can be achieved by slavishly following technical illustrations and prescriptions. This book is a beautiful object in itself, lovely to look at and to hold, in a sweet small format, with beautiful binding (the photo here does it no justice), and nice, easy to read font and layout. The contents are practical, interesting, funny, heartwarming, profoundly inspirational, and represent a maturing of Marie Kondo's approach to tidying. I think it will be of particular use to people who have just made the decision to KonMari their house, or who are in the middle of tidying already. To me it has given fresh enthusiasm and practical knowledge, it has answered many questions, and it has saved me lots of time, effort, and false starts by the clarification of many points I was confused about, and by making me think about things that hadn't even occurred to me before. I know I will be re-reading it as I go, and again later with family and friends. I'm already talking about it to everyone I know. Happy tidying!

This is such a delightful little book. It's one to keep just for the sheer joy of owning it. It reads beautifully - I love Marie Kondo's style of writing. This is an area of my life that has needed addressing urgently. I feared I was turning in to one of those crazy people who hoard things and have to get an ‘expert’ in to re-organise their homes and their lives! I have moved from a large five bed roomed house to a small two bed roomed house. The result ? Chaos ! So I have had to re-asses every single item I own and really struggled until I found this book. This has been my ‘expert’ to help and advise me. The idea of holding an item and asking yourself it if brings you joy – I think is a revelation. It has allowed me to get rid of so much that I really either didn’t need or didn’t actually like! I still have more to do but not only has this book given me the motivation to get started but I have attacked the task in a more structured, methodical and organised way, thanks to the KonMari method. It really could be considered life changing in that it gives you methods to continue to keep on top of tidying, so that you don’t slip back into old habits. Once you see your cupboards and drawers so beautifully organised it brings such a sense of peace into your life that you really don’t want to upset that equilibrium. My only criticism, which is a small one is that the illustrations a poor, however they are quite cute and the descriptions are so beautiful that your imagination can do the rest. This book is a great aid, a delightful item to own (yes it brings me joy!) and a productive journey – well worth it.

The first thing I noticed when I received this book is that it is a beautiful book. The book has hard cover with a green elastic band to hold it closed. The immediate inside pages are a bright green to compliment the elastic. The name "Marie Kondo" is done in a subtle gold foil. It's beautifully minimalistic. As a fan of her previous book, I found the content just as impressive. It's a fantastic book to compliment the advice we have already learned. You don't have to read it front to back. It's an encyclopedia style book where you can jump around without feeling like you've missed something. The images are a nice addition. The book has a lot of cute black and white illustrations offering advice on organising, folding, and storing items. I think calling it an illustrated guide is a bit misleading as the entire book isn't illustrated. The occasional illustration compliments the text, but the book is not entirely visual which is what I was expecting. I was okay with this as the content is still quite good, but I wanted to point this out so others know what to expect. Overall, I found this to be a great follow up to her 'The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying'.

Presented as a perfect, smooth, rectangle, this beautiful book is a joy in itself, as one might imagine it would be. I ordered my copy after listening to Marie on Woman's Hour recently, and from reading about her in the press. Online, there are various videos of her explaining her tried and trusted methods of folding and storing, which I found truly helpful, watching them while trying them out. Don't get over excited about this 'illustrated' version though, the illustrations are rudimentary, childlike sketches with little rabbits adorning them, pencil drawings. Yes they are helpful and I rather wish they had all been in one go to section instead of scatter untidily (!) through the clothes chapter. I had to keep going from page to p age as I taught myself which is why in the end the online demonstrations were more helpful. Having the lovely hardback book in your hand is the beginning of your journey. Open it with reverence. I read it calmly and steadily, her personality is imbued in the pages, her thinking wafts about gently, leading, not lecturing, sweetly encouraging. January was a good time for me to take this seriously, alone in my bedroom, I really taught myself the art of tidying for the first time. My wardrobe is now a pleasure to open, my clothes sorted and displayed in a far better way than ever before, and I am in my sixties. Sensibly Marie says start with the things nearest to your body to interpret the feelings that show us when an item speaks to you or leaves you cold. Taking proper care of possessions and pruning them down, saying goodbye politely to those things that no longer 'Spark Joy' is solid common sense really. However, we post war babies were brought up to make do and mend, keep things in case they come in handy, to just carry on acquiring, hoarding almost, without making room for the new or feeling free to discard gifts and legacies that are loaded with meaning, not always happy. Advice that most impressed and helped me included being given permission to use the best for everyday, china, clothes, special things, previously stowed away for some occasion that never comes. Taking time to consider what is around me all day and the effect it has on my emotions. Being polite and considered, thinking about 'stuff' as it has a little bit of soul to take into account. Having so much more space in my cupboards now my clothes are folded, rolled and stored upright instead in messy heaps and piles. The orderliness really does calm. Instead of constantly thinking about changing Big Things about our lives, using this 'textbook' has altered my everyday way of thinking about apparently small things, to a deeper level than I would have believed 'just a book' could do for me. Thank you Marie Kondo for making a big difference in your friendly, sweet, humble way.

I have both Marie Kondo's books and this is far better... Much less of her story - all her abortive attempts at taming clutter until she hit her a-ha moment. This is interesting and gives her credibility in "the life changing magic..." but by leaving it out, in this book she goes into far more detail about the various categories. Her simplistic drawings are sometimes berated, but I think they suit the style of her approach - watch the videos on YouTube if you find it confusing. I read the first book and did lots of decluttering. Then I read this one and it answered many questions I had... I definitely prefer this one to the first one - not only that but it is a more beautiful book and I love the integral green bookmark. If you want to buy just one of her books, but this one. Since reading it 3 months ago, I have decluttered about 20 bin bags worth of items. There is nothing pushed under beds, room on my bookshelves, room in my kitchen cupboards and my cellar has never been so empty in 12 years! It has made me re-evaluate my entire relationship to things. I have bought all new underwear and replaced some items that I hadn't realised irritated me so much - including a really noisy kettle. There is plenty of work still to be done - as I progress, my definition of "joy" is being refined. I have re-evaluated what I want my home to look like, found a new personal style for my clothing, and sought out more statement items like art to bring more joy into my life. From trivets to coasters, kettles to endless pens, clothes to spare paint, we are gradually letting items we no longer want go to new homes. I feel more relaxed being at home and no longer sigh in frustration at the mess/ clutter in every room. Even the kids have joined in, giving toys and clothes they no longer love away. Truly life-changing. The ripple effects haven't finished yet, but there is more joy in my life since reading and acting on Marie Kondo's books.

I am a massive fan of Marie Kondo and her tidying methods and have been working my way through my home since reading her first book a couple of years ago. I am also a member of a UK Facebook group for people who are following the KonMari tidying method and we often get debates about which of her two books people should read if they only have the money to buy one and the time to read one. The group is split between those who favour 'The Life Changing Magic of Tidying' and those who think you can get by with 'Spark Joy'. Personally having now read both of them, I know that I could not have got along with just the second book. You might be fine - so don't reach for the unhelpful button without reading on - but for me, it was important to have the philosophical background in place before reading Spark Joy. Kondo's particular brand of anthropomorphism and her personal relationship to her belongings is very alien to many western readers and if I hadn't already got to know her from the first book, Spark Joy would have probably wound me up quite a lot. If you've not read her personal story of how her philosophy evolved, it's easy to dismiss her as completely batty instead of considering her an inspirational genius. I hoped that Spark Joy would be a handy reminder of key points from the first book, or that it might build on that first book. For me it didn't really succeed at either target. I had raced through the first book, voraciously soaking up all the funny stories and advice and I made a pretty good start on getting my house in order. Spark Joy as a book just DIDN'T spark anything even close to joy for me and I found reading it a bit of a drag. The level of details on the Komono category - how to even decide what goes together, and whether things 'smell' electrical - started to annoy me. I found some things just felt plain wrong. Advising people to decorate the inside of their wardrobes with pretty wallpaper or postcards, or to put book shelves INSIDE a wardrobe to hide the books was just too strange for me. Then when she started advising us to hang pretty necklaces about the house or put nick-nacks on trays or doilies I felt like it was introducing the very clutter I had been working to eliminate. The KonMari of this second book seems to have softened, become a bit less prescriptive and oddly lost some of her force along the way. She's lived a bit longer, finally accepted that not everybody will be able to change their lives, and become a bit less authoritarian. I rather preferred the self-confidence of her bossier first book self. I was looking forward to seeing the drawings of how to fold things - but on my kindle screen they were barely readable and mostly so obvious that I really wondered whether people would be getting anything from them. The cutesy little bunny pictures soon began to irritate. The drawings - a major selling point of this book - were a big disappointment. I did appreciate the stories of her clients and their challenges. Some were very inspiring. However, the book seemed even more Japanese than the first - too many things that would only be true or necessary if the reader lived in a similar climate with concerns about mildew and damp, and a lot of references to stuff I had no feel for - Manga cartoon books and Emergency Supplies boxes (in case of an earthquake). Thankfully not too much need of earthquake supplies in the East Midlands. I won't stop my KonMari mission to sort my house (very slowly), nor do I think any less of Ms Kondo whose first book really did change my life and I'm grateful for her inspiration. However, whilst I've gifted copies of her first book, I won't be doing the same with Spark Joy.

Ok, before you read it, you need to know that Marie Kondo is a sweet, prim, delicate Japanese woman. Kind of a Japanese version of a W.A.S.P. Think Charlotte from Sex and the City, but Japanese. Now that you're starting to picture her, you need to understand a few things: She talks to clothes, houses, and other items (yes.. really... but don't worry, the system still works if you don't!) She thinks these items are 'alive' and listening to her (yes... as above... really!) She didn't get out much as a kid. But... she knows how to tidy. I was skeptical about this book when it was recommended in a newspaper article I had read. However, being threatened by Mrs P with my second divorce if I didn't deal with the fact that our house is full of clutter, I decided to give it a try. What harm could it do? I should probably say, i'm not generally one for self help books. I'm not one for buying the latest craze. I like to think that I am impervious to cults and pyramid schemes. However, I found myself lapping this right up! Once you look beyond the talking to clothes thing, and the idea that she wants you to get rid of all but 5 of your photos for each 'life event', you start to see that she makes a lot of sense. Kondo seems to have an almost supernatural understanding of the habits we get into when 'tidying', and more than that, she has devised a method of dealing with it, and doing it better. She is, quite rightly, a multi-millionaire now, and to be honest, i'm quite happy to throw another few quid in her direction for the purpose of improving my living environment and therefore my life. I'm part way through my decluttering. My wardrobe has been gutted and everything is neatly folded end-on. My pant and sock drawer has never looked better. I am, actually, happier. And I still have a way to go. I have been recommending this book to anyone who will listen to me. I don't normally get that evangelical about these things, so that's a good sign.

As a fan of the first Marie Kondo book, The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying, the most intriguing thing is the reference to folding. This book opens the drawer and the door on folding and organising your things. Spark Joy - the question you ask when you touch or hold your possessions and determine whether you will keep them or not "Does this Spark Joy?" - and the rest flows from this. Once you have your lovely possessions: the ones that warm you with happy memories, or just make you feel good, or make you feel safe, or make you feel whatever it is that is important to you... you store them in a way which also gives pleasure. The folding of your clothes and storing as much as possible vertically means that are visible and accessible. Every clothing item gets a chance to be worn when it's not hidden behind other things. Arranging clothing from dark to light, from long to short - patterns which delight the eye and soothe the mind. Adorning storage with things you love but can no longer wear. Using attractive storage rather than just any old thing. So far I have organised all my clothes, my bedding, and my kitchen cupboards and shelves. The folding still takes a bit of time, but it's time well spent when I can grab something from the drawer or shelf and not have to rummage to find what I need. It also means that when it comes to holiday time, packing is brilliant - minimal effort to transfer items from bedroom to suitcase (I will also give a shout out to using packing cubes to ease the pain of packing - utterly brilliant). So, if you have been reading up in the KonMari method, and wanted to see what the end result could look like, this is the book for you.