Minimalism: The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying

I wanted to share my new favourite topic - minimalism! I know it's one of those crazy buzz words at the moment and if you know me, I don't think you would ever call me a minimalist BUT I'm 100% digging its concept and how much of a (good!) affect it can have on your life!

I'm going to talk about Marie Kondo's book today, The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying.  I believe it's up to its fourth million in sales (eep!) so good chance you've already read it or at least heard of it before.  Funny back story, my Mum mentioned she would like to read the book, so I've been keeping an eye out whilst thrifting and luckily enough, I found a copy for her.  I did sneakily read it before gifting it to her (consumed it within three days) and then a week later I found another copy too! I realise this is simply adding to my possessions but it's definitely bringing joy to my life right now, which is one of the fundamental aspect of the book - only keep those things that have a use or bring joy - simple!

The book talks about going through and handling every object in your home and deciding whether it has a use or sparks joy and to do this process in one go which Marie says, takes around 6 months.  She also talks about every home having a click point and that you'll know when your home has the perfect amount of items for it, with a place for every item to belong.  Being someone who loves Japan with all its quirks (and who isn't scared of the concept of saying hello to my home every time I enter it) I found this book fit me to a tee! I had read some reviews where people were a little weirded out by some of the book's attitudes to items and belongings but there are so many gems of wisdom scattered throughout the book I'm sure everyone could take away something positive from it!

One of my favourite activities in the book was to visualise how you wanted your home to look like and to be super specific about it.  For me it was about having a clean looking space, cleared floors, lots of white, bright spaces, less clutter, clear spaces devoted to my creativity, a pretty inspiring place to live - an air bnb I would want to stay at :P Marie talks about the lifestyle you want as being the final destination and tidying is just a tool to help you achieve that!

In the book Marie gives you permission to throw away/donate/sell those things you no longer need.  As someone who doesn't like to be wasteful this was a huge issue for me but I have noticed in the last fews months being much more mindful to what I buy and I can clearly see the magic in discarding.  

Her philosophy is that every item has a role to play in our life, some clothes might not need to be worn till they are threadbare but are there to teach us something else - perhaps the style wasn't for you and then simply thank the item, discard and learn from it :)  She also talks about how most of her clients don't regret discarding objects but if they do they can buy the item again with the intent to use the item this time around.  There was a section in the book that talked about what items to keep and to select items that you would love to see displayed in your favourite shop - isn't that a lovely thought!

There is so much more to the book, Marie's journey (cute imagery of her as a tidy kid!), practical tips as you work your way around your home and just important thoughts about living in the now not in the past or the future - which gets a big *highfive* from me

So have any of you guys read the book, are you digging minimalism, have you started the journey?

Hopefully I'll do a few more of these posts in the future as my journey keeps on going as I'v got so many thoughts swirling in my brain :)