Having too many possessions is an odd problem to have. Though, going by the abundance of storage facilities, it’s not particularly uncommon. Anyone who has been homeless, faced poverty, or even just moved a lot can be wary of having too much. I fit all those categories, so, here I am, a home-owner approaching 40, worrying about having accumulated far too much stuff. So I hoped this book would impart me with a magical spell to undo it and get me back to the self who could fit everything she owned in a trunk.
Instead I found a bit of a reiteration (with a twist) of a childhood book I had on cleaning. That book described making your bed, then taking your messes and putting them all on the bed, then putting items in their place.
With KonMari you similarly gather your possessions, just with everything you own and discarding of the things that don’t make you happy in the process. It’s a bit more detailed than that, of course, but that is the sum of it.
Far from magic, it sounds pretty much like my divorce. It also sounds exhausting.
Still, there is likely a tip in the text for everyone. For example, I’ve always done well with having a place for everything, so I can totally vouch for that. And I’ve always done poorly at tossing papers, so I can apply that more consistently. The two bits of the book that I appreciated most were permission to let things go (even papers), and the invitation to live in the present. So in the end, I will likely pare down some, though not in the drastic way the book tries to sell you on, repetitively and at length.
What I’m left most wondering is if there a process to develop a sense of what will give you joy before you wastefully purchase something to only throw it away?
Perhaps the point is to not purchase anything, even if that seems unrealistic. Or maybe that’s the magic spell to it all.
I help people declutter for a living. There is no magic formula. What gets in most people’s way is trying to make thinks work the way they think they ought to work instead of finding solutions that fit them and their space.
That sounds like fascinating work.