The Lemon Book Club - Books by Marie Kondo

There are days to travel. And there are days to stay at home.

As I have been traveling, and in effect living on the road these last years, one of the things that gave me a lot of stress was not having a home base of my own. I was always moving from one city to another, but what I was missing was a place to call home. When I decided to settle in Palermo, I was so happy to find my apartment. I was so happy to be at home.

After living here for less than three months, I was already noticing things piling up. Things I did not want, and certainly did not need. I was so distracted and overwhelmed by all this stuff. And although I had extra time on my hands, I couldn’t focus and actually get to work on anything.

I decided that now was as good a time as any to get my house organized. I wanted to be ready to restart life when the world opened up again. Actually, I wanted to start a new chapter, to begin my life from here. I didn’t want to waste any more time not living the life I have worked so hard to build. I wanted to live the dreams that brought me to Palermo in the first place.

Fortunately, I had my trusty and long-loved copy of Marie Kondo’s The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up. I bought this book a few years ago after a wake-up call I got at the Bangkok Airport (which you can read about here). That time, I just had too much stuff. This time, it was more of a subtle problem: I was surrounded by things that were not supporting the lifestyle that I wanted to be leading. I was not being true to who I am in my heart.

Of course, when you begin reading the books and examining your own things, you realize the journey of tidying up is not so much about stuff, but about you. If you really commit to the process, it forces you to take honest stock of your life and what you want for it. In the past few days I have come to the realization that time is precious, and certainly not guaranteed. That the best time to start living is now.

Marie has a second book: Spark Joy: An Illustrated Master Class on the Art of Organizing and Tidying Up. It is excellent as well. I personally use both books together when tidying. The first book speaks to the emotional process of facing your things and decluttering. The second book, with illustrations, is a great guide on how to store your things so that your house stays in order, and of course, sparks joy.

The header image was taken at the Foro Italico, Palermo.