I have no idea what "KonMari" is. Off to Google.

Oh, o.k.....I've read about her before. http://tidyingup.com

I'm fairly happy with the amount of stuff we have. We have a large home so unloading furniture when the time comes to downsize will be a pain, and garage/shop stuff will be a pain but we need and use it all right now. I'm pretty mindful about going through closets, etc. and filling donation bags as well as not bringing home stuff I don't need. Before making a purchase, I go through a mental list of questions.....do I love it, do I need it, will I use it, how much real estate will it occupy, etc.

To tell the truth, I am somewhat embarrassed about the volume of stuff we have. I think thanking it is the wrong approach. Maybe someone needs to invent a sort of exorcism for stuff, lol.

I read the book. My take away was the way I am now folding my sock drawer and my underwear drawer.

The sock drawer especially makes things easy to see.

I don't know if I will ever take everything out of all my closets. It would be exhausting. But, I have gone through and donated quite a few bags.

I also don't think I agree with only keeping things that bring you joy. I have things are useful and needed but don't necessarily bring me joy. For example, my raincoat.

I bought the book (on Kindle so it doesn't constitute clutter) and read it in an afternoon.

It did not bring me joy.

I am pretty ruthless about throwing things away. It is a regular process, and we always have a Goodwill donation box "on the go".

I am lucky that our cleaning person folds all of our laundry and puts it away. Not quite as KonMari suggests, which I think my cleaning person would find preposterous.

Most of the things she said I feel were pretty much conventional wisdom for organizing; the things that were unconventional did not resonate with me, so I kind of give her a "thumbs down".

Thank you for the comments!

I listened to the book on YouTube (while I was sorting) and watched some of her videos. One gal asked about practical stuff. Marie Kondo said if something is necessary for the home or for your work/school, it is helping you achieve something that gives you joy.

Even if that joy is a job/paycheck or making dinner...a necessary item still can bring you some happiness. Although we might prefer a newer or prettier version of something, it is nice to recognize how fortunate many of us are and how often we take our things for granted.

I am tired of not being able to find things or having to clean around too much clutter. When I literally pick something up and ask myself if this 'sparks joy' in me....I am amazed at how many things I thought I really liked and wanted....don't. I guess I'm ready to pare down, so this was perfect timing : )

I'm waiting for bill receipts to give me "joy". I don't plan on reading the book -- sounds like something I'd end up downsizing out of my life, so not spending the money -- but before I move I want to go through everything I own and get rid of stuff as I go.

My bill receipts give me joy....when I pay them!

I liked KonMari's approach and used it to reorganize DH's and DS's dressers, as well as one of the bathrooms. The new system works great. I haven't had time to do more reorganizing, but I hope I'll be able to do it once my DS is off to college.

I find that well-organized and clutter free homes have a distinct and positive feel - more airiness, freshness, calmness, composure, etc.

The idea of thanking things for their service is not entirely foreign to me. I come from a culture in which it's common to believe in energies of places and things. Not an organized religion thing, just some sort of awareness. Good karma, bad karma, a good omen or not, etc.

For me, KonMari's book dovetails with other spiritual/emotional cleansing philosophies, like Lillian Too's 168 Feng Shui Ways to Declutter your Home

In the latter book the author talks not only about physical de-junking but also about emotional decluttering. I generally take Feng Shui books with grain of salt, since I don't think any amount of Buddha heads or dragon figurines are going to make a house a happier place. But this book has some good points in it. By the way, Christian religions incorporate some powerful methods of influencing energies of places.

I cannot quite give in to her "throw away all paperwork --- you don't need it" philosophy. I have two boxes of organized paperwork for each year, going back seven years in my attic. I have a business so I have to keep records for that, but I do it for personal stuff as well. Every year, two boxes come out and go to the shredder, and two new boxes go in. Tax returns and medical records never leave. I have needed papers so many times out of those boxes and it takes me a lot less time to go up there and get the paper I need than it would to try and find what I need online or (horrors!) attempt to get old records via calling someone on the phone. I also keep manuals and receipts for everything I own. I don't know if any of it gives me "joy" but I do get a certain kind of satisfaction from being so organized.

I've not bought into the method but I have done my own version at times. This past fall I did a total make over of our living room and that meant taking a good hard look at my 'stuff'. I emptied my china cabinet and uncovered at least a dozen vases. Who needs a dozen vases?? I weeded it down to six-and that was very hard for me to do because each one I used in a different way. But then I remembered that I no longer entertain like I did, so I have no reason to have that much stuff. Made it a lot easier to part with them.

I've also been ruthless with my toiletries and my closet. I'm keeping only what 'works' and does bring me joy. Joy for me is being easy and not making it be a chore. If it's a chore to wear a certain scarf because it needs to be pinned in place and only goes with one outfit, no matter how much I love the colors, it's a chore. And the joy from the love of the colors isn't enough joy to over come the frustration I get wearing it.

I am trying to get my DH on board, he's actually starting to do this on a very, very limited basis-but he comes from a long line of hoarders/shoppers, so it's more difficult for him.

I tell him all the time that when I retire I want to move to a tiny, say 500 SF house, and his eyes bug out.

I agree KonMari's advice on paperwork is not for everyone. Perhaps, she based it on the way things are done in Japan, her home country. My DH and I definitely need to keep more paperwork since we own a business.

On the other side, in my home country we had a minuscule amount of papers in the family home, compared to the piles of papers accumulating in American homes. We just did not have so much stuff coming in the mail or printed out everywhere.

If anyone has experience with both, is there an essential difference between KonMari and Flylady?

I really like the vertical folding method. It's changed my life - maybe that's an exaggeration, but it works so well.

I re-organize my hubby's dresser and folded his shirts the Konmari way, and everything fits! I could hardly close the drawers before, but now, easy peasy!

Haha, skibby. I actually thought I mistakenly decluttered the book before finishing it and sent it to the used book store. (I found it later under the bed when decluttering the stuff I had stored there!).

The difference between KonMari and FlyLady:

With the KonMari method, you do one type of goods at a time (say clothing) and you pull out everything at once (every closet and drawer) to see the total amount of stuff you have in that category. With the FlyLady method, you declutter 15 minutes a day to avoid burnout.

I think decluttering is like dieting - no one method works for everyone. You have to find the system that you'll follow, even if it's unconventional.

I always have a thrift store box going to gather things. And we still have too much stuff.

Even though I don't see it, my husband's sports memorabilia and collectibles mentally weigh me down. How I long to get rid of even 50% of it, but it's his stuff and not really in my way so it sits there taunting me. It has made me tougher on getting rid of my own stuff.

I read her book. If you watch the japanology plus episode on tidying up on you tube you can see the cultural ideas behind her method. You can also see the original source of the idea was another lady who had written books for Japanese readers. Marie became famous for bringing the same concepts to the west.

Her ideas were really novel to me. Especially the idea of thanking your possessions. I would not do that but I do think its just a way of appreciating what you have. I am on a clothing spending ban and I have found that it makes me appreciate what I have more. What I have implemented, since I am already a minimalist, is the clothing folding. I love it, I have done my sock drawer and a sweater drawer and plan to finish up my dresser with her folding technique. It was worth reading the book for that. Also, she did encourage me to get rid of a few things I hang on to because they were given to me, although I have never used them. I enjoyed reading her book, I found it refreshing.

Thank you for all the comments. It's been a good fit for me and now my mom is doing it. She went through her closet (which she just did a few months ago) not expecting to find anything to donate. Three garbage bags later....she was very surprised.

She said it was a unique way of looking at her items. She was surprised how many 'nice' clothes were not bringing her a smile or feeling of 'I really like this', when she picked them up. Now, all of the clothes in her closet are ones she enjoys having, not just keeping because they are 'nice' but not really special.

Today, we are going to start the dishes. Wish me luck! LOL I think we're on a roll, though. Only keeping the things we really love and use : )

I 'Kon Maried' my house last summer. The folding didn't last, and there have been one or two things I wish I hadn't given away, but for the most part it made a big difference. My closets are clutter-free, I spend less money, and it's easier to find things. When a drawer or closet gets messy it's because I've been in a hurry, and putting it back in order is much simpler. I got rid of bags of things I was holding onto for sentimental reasons or because I thought 'I may use this someday'. I think I took over 20 bags of stuff to Goodwill last summer.

The only thing I haven't liked is her suggestion to put bags inside of bags. I have a neater luggage closet as a result, but I can't remember which suitcase has the backpacks in it. And I didn't get read of any books!

I really like the fly lady. I think kon mari is really aggressive with cleaning up others people's stuff (at least as she describes herself in her book). Fly lady also gives an overall plan to keep it all going. Also the kon mari vertical fold only works if you have small drawers or a ton of stuff, otherwise it falls over sideways. But kon mari still helped me move still more stuff onwards so I was happy to have read her book.

I enjoyed the different cultural perspective on things. I have a strong aversion to going through somebody else's things, such as hubby's, and think it would be disrespectful to clean out his stuff, which is the most necessary. Unfortunately, many of the things I would get rid of are things we "inherited" from his side and he is still attached to so until that changes, the book is of somewhat limited usefulness in this household.

I did appreciate the concept of laying your hands on everything and it is something I will be working towards. There are things that end up hidden in the back of cupboards that are easy to ignore and I think every year or so I should really pull everything out to evaluate. For me though, there is also the question of stamina. I really would love to work on the garage by pulling everything out but that would likely lead to a big, perpetual pile in the middle of the garage. This is where FlyLady has the advantage for me, breaking things up into manageable segments.