Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

I love that this book is under the topic of religion and spirituality. It really is so much more than a book about cleaning. It is truly about your relationship with your stuff, how to truly get through the emotional part of parting with things, and be straight-forward about how you want to feel when you look at items that you choose to keep in your house, only keeping ones that "bring you joy." The motivation for me to buy this book was that I saw that she says if you do this once, you won't have to do it again. I read the book and got really inspired- and I can tell you, I am not a single woman with no kids living in a small apartment in Japan... her method might seem like it can't be done if you have kids or it's not realistic, etc. I was determined- I got a babysitter every day for a week and I WORKED to get things OUT of my house. I did her method, starting with clothes, then moving on through her categories. I tried to get through it in as short a time as possible. I nearly succeeded; I think I would be even more successful if I truly finished every single aspect of the job (I'm including storage spaces, shed, etc.) and there are a few things left that need to be decided upon (i.e. they are the husband's things, and they need to be sold or given away.) BUT I can attest to this: our house is cleaner than it has ever been and is remaining so, and while it is not perfect, it changed our lives in a way that makes us value our space and the stuff in it. Everyone pitches in on the tidying (even our four-year old) and I don't have the feeling of overwhelm when the house needs to be tidied up- it's manageable and do-able, and I actually even enjoy it. Everything has a place so cleaning goes more quickly. But besides all of this, there were moments in the book where I was positively moved by her writing. I don't know- it was the space I was in and this book just fell into my hands at the right time. I know this book is translated from Japanese, but I really liked the way that it is written; it is special, and it feels like she is speaking to you in a really matter-of-fact way; I am quite certain that I don't have much in common with this woman but she really spoke to me in a unique way. I highly recommend this book. I really think it is life-changing magic.