TIDYING
During her recent visit to New York, Kondo gave a consultation at the home of New York’s design editor, Wendy Goodman. The apartment—a one-bedroom in Greenwich Village with billion-foot ceilings, plantation shutters, and a fireplace—was the kind of charm-stuffed dream pad that makes a visitor feel wickedly covetous. [Japanese tidying guru Marie] Kondo voyaged inside and absorbed the overstuffed bookshelves, the antique tomato-velvet ottoman, the conch shells, and the silver urns. “At the moment, everything is a big mishmash,” Goodman explained.
Kondo started with the bookshelves. “It’s going to be labor-intensive and time-consuming, but you need to take all the books down and put them on the floor,” she said. “Take them down and spread them in one area. Physically pick each book up, one by one. If the book inspires you, keep it. If not, it goes out. That’s the standard by which you decide.”
“Why can’t I just look at the book?” Goodman asked.
“Because your body is very honest with you,” Kondo replied. “Your body will respond if the book sparks joy.”
Goodman scanned her bookshelf. “That’s a big job,” she said, her voice a little shaky.
“Think of it as an event,” Kondo said. “A festival.”
–Molly Young, “Marie Kondo Will Change Your Life. Or at least your living space,” New York Magazine, February 9-22, 2015
another eye opens 
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