The Life Changing Magic of Tidying Up:...by Marie Kondo

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Re: The Life Changing Magic of Tidying Up:...by Marie Kondo

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you hold the item in your hands, and ask, "does this spark joy?"
so let it be written... so let it be done.
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Re: The Life Changing Magic of Tidying Up:...by Marie Kondo

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No kidding, Edward. All of the answers you seek can be found in our book. Pick up your copy today, and we'll also include our 6-volume collector's edition of "How to Hide Your Books So Your Kids Can't Find Them," together with our popular 3-disc audio series, "Fast Asleep in a Stark White Wasteland." If you like what you're reading, we'll continue to send you additional items you shouldn't keep every month! You'll learn how to throw away precious family heirlooms, how to keep your square frames in perfect symmetry with the sharp angles in your living space, and we'll even share some of our favorite 0-calorie recipes for when you want to entertain guests who arrive unexpectedly at your glass door.
When God can do what he will with a man, the man may do what he will with the world.     ~George MacDonald
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Marie Kondo
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Re: The Life Changing Magic of Tidying Up:...by Marie Kondo

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This is the routine I follow every day when I return from work. First, I unlock the door and announce to my house, "I'm home!" Picking up the pair of shoes I wore yesterday and left out in the entranceway, I say, "Thank you very much for your hard work," and put them away in the shoe cupboard. Then I take off the shoes I wore today and place them neatly in the entranceway. Heading to the kitchen, I put the kettle on and go to my bedroom. There I lay my handbag gently on the soft sheepskin rug and take off my outdoor clothes. I put my jacket and dress on a hanger, say "Good job!" and hang them temporarily from the closet doorknob. I put my tights in a laundry basket that fits into the bottom right corner of my closet, open a drawer, select the clothes I feel like wearing inside, and get dressed. I greet the waist-high potted plant by the window and stroke its leaves.
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Re: The Life Changing Magic of Tidying Up:...by Marie Kondo

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.....
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Re: The Life Changing Magic of Tidying Up:...by Marie Kondo

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Does the sheep receive any thanks for giving its life to accommodate, however gently placed, the handbag? Does the handbag receive sympathy for its stressful labors throughout the day? What about the tireless service rendered by the poor hinges on the closet door? And the knob...oh the knob! ... the endless twistings and turnings! Might (I'm sure) MS. Kondo not more simply and generously dwell in a tent with the good earth at her feet and the friendly breezes forever cooling and whispering to her, the bright sun providing all the light she could ever need ... all these should suffice, should they not? All this talk of shelter. feh! Consider the lilies of the field indeed. I'm beginning to see how much we oppress the pots, the pans, the paintings, the very pilasters. What about their rights of self determination? Oh, let the land, the very rocks cry out for freedom for our stuff! Let the land be filled with ... land ... be filled ... wait. land..fill

I'm content to be steward of my lovely stuff and to appreciate and give my thanks not to the stuff but to the giver of all good stuff.
Last edited by John on Fri Jun 12, 2015 10:12 am, edited 2 times in total.
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Re: The Life Changing Magic of Tidying Up:...by Marie Kondo

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Haha, I thought this was Edward being funny again, but after an online search, I find that's actually a real excerpt from the book. Well, I suppose it was President Monson who said:
We can lift ourselves and others as well when we refuse to remain in the realm of negative thought and cultivate within our hearts an attitude of gratitude. If ingratitude be numbered among the serious sins, then gratitude takes its place among the noblest of virtues.
She does seem to express gratitude often! If she's as positive with people as she is with her plants, it could be a good thing. :lol:
When God can do what he will with a man, the man may do what he will with the world.     ~George MacDonald
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Re: The Life Changing Magic of Tidying Up:...by Marie Kondo

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But she expresses her gratitude to dumb and inanimate objects. It seems to me to be a godless philosophy fixated on, preoccupied with the stuff itself, even to the point of personification of the stuff. It strikes me as extreme...

If not downright silly.

I grant you, I come from a western frame of mind, but nonetheless...
"Music's golden tongue flatter'd to tears this aged man and poor."
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Re: The Life Changing Magic of Tidying Up:...by Marie Kondo

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My next task is to empty the contents of my handbag on the rug and put each item away in its place. First I remove all the receipts. Then I put my purse in its designated box in a drawer under my bed with a word of gratitude. I place my train pass and my business card holder beside it. I put my wristwatch in a pink antique case in the same drawer and place my necklace and earrings on the accessory tray beside it. Before closing the drawer, I say, “Thanks for all you did for me today.”
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Re: The Life Changing Magic of Tidying Up:...by Marie Kondo

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Ann M. Dibb: Show respect and refuse to mock others.
Henry B. Eyring: As we get better and better at forging unity, we will think of a scripture when we hear that question: “And now, my brethren, seeing that ye know the light by which ye may judge, which light is the light of Christ, see that ye do not judge wrongfully; for with that same judgment which ye judge ye shall also be judged" (Moroni 7:18).

Realizing that you see others in an imperfect light will make you likely to be a little more generous in what you say. In addition to that scripture, you might remember your mother saying—mine did—”If you can’t say anything good about a person, don’t say anything at all.”
...
I can promise you a feeling of peace and joy when you speak generously of others in the Light of Christ.
Gordon B. Hinckley: I hope you will not indulge in put-downs, in pessimism, in self-recrimination. Never make fun at the expense of another. Look for virtue in the lives of all with whom you associate.
Ezra Taft Benson: A priesthood holder is kind. One who is kind is sympathetic and gentle with others. He is considerate of others’ feelings and courteous in his behavior. He has a helpful nature. Kindness pardons others’ weaknesses and faults. Kindness is extended to all—to the aged and the young, to animals, to those low of station as well as the high.
Russell M. Nelson: We are old enough and wise enough to know that teasing is wrong.
Joseph B. Wirthlin: I remember when I was young, there was an older boy who was physically and mentally disabled. He had a speech impediment and walked with difficulty. The boys used to make fun of him. They teased and taunted him until sometimes he would cry.

I can still hear his voice: “You’re not kind to me,” he said. And still they would ridicule him, push him, and make jokes about him.

One day I could bear it no longer. Although I was only seven years old, the Lord gave me the courage to stand up to my friends.

“Don’t touch him,” I said to them. “Stop teasing him. Be kind. He is a child of God!”

My friends stepped back and turned away.

I wondered at the time if my boldness would jeopardize my relationship with them. But the opposite happened. From that day onward, my friends and I became closer. They showed increased compassion for the boy. They became better human beings. To my knowledge, they never taunted him again.

Brothers and sisters, if only we had more compassion for those who are different from us, it would lighten many of the problems and sorrows in the world today. It would certainly make our families and the Church a more hallowed and heavenly place.
Gordon B. Hinckley: I am asking that we look a little deeper for the good, that we still voices of insult and sarcasm, that we more generously compliment virtue and effort.
Quentin L. Cook: Any use of the Internet to bully, destroy a reputation, or place a person in a bad light is reprehensible.
When God can do what he will with a man, the man may do what he will with the world.     ~George MacDonald
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Marie Kondo
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Re: The Life Changing Magic of Tidying Up:...by Marie Kondo

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Next, I return to the entrance and put away the books and notebooks I carried around all day (I have converted a shelf of my shoe cupboard into a bookshelf). From the shelf below it I take out my “receipt pouch” and put my receipts in it. Then I put my digital camera that I use for work in the space beside it, which is reserved for electrical things. Papers that I’ve finished with go in the recycle bin beneath the kitchen range. In the kitchen, I make a pot of tea while checking the mail, disposing of the letters I’ve finished with. I return to my bedroom, put my empty handbag in a bag, and put it on the top shelf of the closet, saying, “You did well. Have a good rest.”
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Re: The Life Changing Magic of Tidying Up:...by Marie Kondo

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So I read this book yesterday. Yes, there are lots of good ideas and it is an appealling, peppy approach that is accessible and user-friendly. But I grew weary and at times alarmed by her almost other-worldly 'relationships' with her things. I feel like there is such a huge disconnect between Kondo and her space that she treats her belongings with the formality and flattery normally reserved for an aloof and honored guest, rather than treating the home like a close part of the family. It is odd to the point of discomfort; I couldn't envision myself feeling so apart from the place I returned to at the end of each day. It works well for an office or work space or even certain parts of a home, sure, but I wouldn't enjoy living in a house that completely adopted her philosophy. Like finely trimmed topiaries, her spaces are well-tended, carefully nurtured and even artful, but their roots are shallow, and no birds nest within their severed boughs and sing.
"All we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given to us"
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Edward
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Re: The Life Changing Magic of Tidying Up:...by Marie Kondo

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And Steve, sometimes a simple and gentle reminder is more effective than appealling to a string of authoritative statements bearing down heavily with the law. We know we must be kind, and kindness includes trusting that others understand the principle without needing it spelled out so determinedly, lest we appear self-righteous or patronizing when that is clearly not our intent.
"All we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given to us"
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Re: The Life Changing Magic of Tidying Up:...by Marie Kondo

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You may be right, Edward, though I was running out of ideas on how to discourage the assault on an individual (Marie Kondo in this case). I tried to gently remind us across my posts that we don't know her intentions and that she probably means well, but the mocking persisted. I use official quotes to instruct in just about every discussion on the board and they usually don't offend anyone. I hope you'll forgive the method of presenting them and simply appreciate them for what they are. I think their words are a useful reminder in any online forum.

Notice that I am specifically targeting the mocking, not the criticism of the ideas from the book. I tried a number of times to steer the conversation away from Kondo and direct them to the principles discussed, including minimalism and other philosophies. The conversation would almost always resort back to Kondo rather than tidying. It just didn't feel comfortable.
When God can do what he will with a man, the man may do what he will with the world.     ~George MacDonald
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Edward
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Re: The Life Changing Magic of Tidying Up:...by Marie Kondo

Post by Edward »

Well then, if the conversation turns to Kondo, then discuss Kondo. There is nothing wrong with that, she wrote the book and any author is subject to discussion and commentary. I think the line is when our attempt to moderate conversation becomes a judgement call on other people's lack of kindness, which is itself a judgement call. But your intention was not misunderstood. I think mockery can be treated and responded to as part of a dialogue, and while we certainly can express displeasure with it, we can't let ourselves believe we are above it either.
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Re: The Life Changing Magic of Tidying Up:...by Marie Kondo

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I am not sure I understand what you're saying. There's nothing wrong with discussing Kondo, but none of us here knows Kondo, so all we can really discuss are the things she's written. I didn't post the quotes because I think I'm above all of that. I often share statements that I don't follow with exactitude. I posted the quotes because I wanted to communicate those things in the purest way possible without my own imperfect filtration. I chose this conversation to share them as they occurred to me here. You can still respond to those statements as part of a dialog if you wish. Mockery, sarcasm, insults, bullying, teasing, and making fun of others are wrong.
When God can do what he will with a man, the man may do what he will with the world.     ~George MacDonald
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