Spark Joy

Yesterday I told you about the book by Marie Kondo, The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up, and I mentioned the follow up book, Spark Joy.

In Spark Joy, Kondo delves much deeper into each category of clutter that you will need to tackle and how to decide what sparks joy for you along with illustrated instructions for her folding and storing methods.  I definitely think that you need to two books together to make the most of the KonMari method of tidying (decluttering).

The first two chapters of Spark Joy are all about joy, what it is and how to fill your home with it.  As I mentioned in yesterday’s post about The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up, Kondo does not believe that there is a set amount of things that a person should own.  In Spark Joy she says, “Always keep in mind that the true purpose is to find and keep the things you truly love, to display these proudly in your home, and to live a joyful life.”  She also says, “It’s far more important to adorn your home with the things you love than to keep it so bare it lacks anything that brings you joy.”  I love this because the whole reason behind me exploring a simplicity in my life is so that I can live joyfully and with less stress.  It is not so that I have nothing and live in a white box.

In the third chapter of Spark Joy, when Kondo starts discussing storage, she says, “During the tidying process, there comes a moment when you realize that you have just the right amount of stuff.  I call this the click point.  It’s the moment when, after discarding everything but the things you love, you know that you have all you need to feel content.”  Contentment is at the heart of simple living.  You cannot live simply if you are constantly searching, hustling and striving.

Chapters four through eight give you detailed help in sorting each category of things in your home.  She covers everything from clothing and books to office supplies and medicines.  In this section of the book there are also illustrations on how to fold or store items.  This is extremely helpful for those of us that are visual learners.  I had a harder time understanding the folding and storing methods in Tidying Up because there weren’t illustrations.

The last section of the book covers how to add joy to different rooms and areas in your home as well as the pleasant, and perhaps unforeseen, results of getting your home in order.  She speaks of clients that love lives fell into place after tidying up because they could focus on their relationships instead of having this feeling of stress because of their living conditions.  She talks about one woman who thought she had stopped loving her job, but after tidying up and getting rid of the excess, realized that she did still love her job, but because she was having to spend her evenings cleaning things that didn’t bring her joy, she had no energy left for her job.  All of that changed after she got her house in order.

I think that Spark Joy and The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up should be sold as a set.  You need them both to fully grasp the KonMari method.  I have noticed as I’ve started the process of tidying that I do feel more joyful and expectant of a great future and life.  Even if you don’t implement every aspect of the KonMari method, I think these two books are must-reads for anyone looking to create a home they love.

To learn more about Spark Joy visit here.

To learn more about Marie Kondo visit here.

Disclaimer:  I received Spark Joy from Blogging for Books for this review.  This post contains affiliate links which means that if you click on a link and decide to purchase an item, I will receive a little money to help keep the blog going at no extra cost to you!  Thank you for supporting me and the blog!