Book Review: The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up

When I’m leading a new client through Step 2 of the Life Editing Process, Delete Bad Influences, we always start with cleaning up her home.

Tidying up your living environment is the fastest way to get a boost of energy. It feels like you’re really making progress when you can finally see the top of your dining room table again.

Because outer order creates inner calm, I often assign the fabulous book The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up for our monthly book club in Life Editor Academy.

Are you having trouble reaching your goals? Are you sick of looking at mounds of paper, clothes, and junk in your home? Let’s do some cleaning magic, Life Editor!

Watch this video to learn how tidying up your home can change your life.

The video transcript is below for your convenience.

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Video Transcript

Hey there! I’m Sage Grayson, a former book editor turned life coach. I help ambitious career women edit their habits, routines, and mindsets to balance their happiness at work and home.

I’m a Life Editor…and so are you!

Today, we’re talking about The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up or why you could use some clutter busting. Let’s go!

Step 2 of the Life Editing Process is Delete Bad Influences, and it’s no surprise that this is by far the most popular step. Everyone loves getting rid of the junk!

When you delete bad influences, you cut out the stuff that drains your energy, frustrates you, or makes you feel bad about yourself.

In my Life Editor Academy mastermind group, we have a monthly book club, and I often assign the book The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up by Marie Kondo for our deleting months.

This little book has been on every bestseller list for the past few years, and it’s really easy to see why. We all want to believe that true happiness can come from cleaning out the clutter in our homes.

Here’s what I liked about the book.

I’m 100% on board with Marie’s advice to do a complete tidy in one session. That means cleaning out every closest, pantry, junk drawer, and messy room in your house in one massive cleaning day.

She points out that many of her clients try to tidy a little bit every single day, but they make no noticeable progress.

Why? Because we can add to the clutter faster than we can delete it!

That’s why one big tidy works so well. It gets you huge results, and it doesn’t leave things half-finished. Those half-finished tasks are also known as open loops, and they’re a big pet peeve of mine.

You lose a little bit of your precious energy every time you see an open loop. But with one big tidy, there are no open loops.

You get to experience the joy of living in a fully organized home, not a home that’s always in some state of disarray. It’s this massive tidying up that prevents a relapse.

Here’s what I didn’t like about the book.

As you go through each and every random item in your home, Marie suggests that you ask yourself this question, “Does this thing spark joy?”

If it doesn’t spark joy, then you’re supposed to get rid of it. Then your home will only be filled with lovely things that lift you up.

I get what she’s trying to say, but I don’t think her idea translated well into English. There are many levels of happiness, such as contentment and pleasure. But joy means ecstatic happiness.

Most people would feel joyful if they won the lottery. That’s a big emotion to assign to every item in your house.

For example, my electric toothbrush doesn’t spark joy in me, and neither does my vacuum cleaner. However, I’m going to keep them.

Here’s why. I ask myself a different question when I’m tidying up. I ask myself, “Does this thing help me be the ideal version of myself?”

That’s the perfect way to determine if something is helpful and purposeful. It prevents you from accidentally throwing out all your drinking glasses or underpants.

Here’s my final thought.

Your home is a reflection of yourself. If you’re working on your self-development with my Life Editing Process, why not take it a step further and edit your environment too.

That’s it! This week, grab your copy of The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up by Marie Kondo. Then send me your before and after photos.

If you want more help cleaning out your closets, tidying up your mindset, and editing your life, then you gotta check out my VIP Days. These single session coaching calls are for Life Editors who are short on time but still want big results. Get all the details and book your VIP Day at SageGrayson.com.

Thanks for watching. I’ll see you soon.

This post focuses on Step 2 of the Life Editing Process, Delete Bad Influences. For more about life editing and what it can do for you, click here.

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