Books to Give to Your Best Friend
Slide these in her bag. Send these to her
snail mail. Read these with her—and discover (once again) why
the two of you always have so much to talk about.
By Michele Filgate
2 of 6
The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up: The Japanese Art of Decluttering and Organizing
Because you've looked under your
friend's bed...and those Pokemon cards from second grade are not
making her happy.
"The best way to choose what to keep and what to throw
away is to take each item in one's hand and
ask, 'Does this spark joy?' If it does, keep it. If not, dispose of it,"
explains Marie Kondo in her best-selling book,
The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up:
The Japanese Art of Decluttering and Organizing. Kondo
is a consultant with a three-month-long waiting list who has developed her own
way of decluttering based around the idea of how an item makes you feel (not
how it functions). It's possible for anyone to get organized,
Kondo argues, and the most important rule is to tidy up by category in a short
amount of time. For example, tackle all of your books in one day instead of
trying to clean each room over the course of a week and getting burned out. The
hardest lesson, but one she's seen client after client learn, is a
surprising one: "Life becomes far easier once you know that things will
still work out even if you are lacking something," she writes. "If we
acknowledge our attachment to the past, and our fears for the future by
honestly looking at our possessions, we will be able to see what is really
important to us."
— Michele Filgate
Published 01/23/2015