Spark Joy by Marie Kondo

Spark Joy is a companion novel to Marie Kondo's The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up.  It elaborates on the system she outlined in her first book for decluttering and organizing your home and provides several illustrations to give readers a visual reference for her techniques.  While the philosophy espoused in Spark Joy is the same as in Kondo's first book, there are many more details included about how to streamline the decluttering process and several new suggestions for how to organize the items you choose to keep.  The diagrams are also very helpful in showing off some of her organization techniques, especially her method for folding different articles of clothing and organizing drawers.

I found this novel to be a useful addition to Kondo's first.  While Life-Changing Magic was very inspirational, Spark Joy provided necessary specifics about the tidying process and cleared up some points that I needed some clarification on.  For example, I wasn't sure how to deal with sorting through items that do not spark any joy within me, but are necessary (like a toothbrush, for example).  Kondo explains here that we should learn to appreciate items such as these, and understand that while the items themselves may not spark joy, they help us function in ways that lead us to joy.  In the case of the toothbrush, it cleans my teeth, which allows me to have a nice smile and avoid dental problems.  That brings me joy.

The positive, whimsical tone of Kondo's writing continues on in this book, and I enjoyed exploring her bright and optimistic world.  At one point she suggests hugging a stack of your favorite novels to determine if they spark joy within you.  She also advises the reader to store their bras alone in their own drawer and "treat them like royalty." These types of passages might be exactly what turns some readers off to Kondo's ideas, but I actually love her quirky views.  I feel like she really believes in her process when I read her words.  Her eccentricity lends additional validity to her ideas. 

Fans of The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up will definitely find more to love in Spark Joy.  I think this novel is a necessary companion to the original, owing to the specific details and illustrations it contains.  I'm glad that I read this one before trying to start my de-cluttering.  I feel like I have more concrete strategies in place in my mind now.  I'm excited to roll up my sleeves and start on my own tidying project!