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  • The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up

  • The Japanese Art of Decluttering and Organizing
  • Written by: Marie Kondo
  • Narrated by: Emily Woo Zeller
  • Length: 4 hrs and 50 mins
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars (928 ratings)

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The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up cover art

The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up

Written by: Marie Kondo
Narrated by: Emily Woo Zeller
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Publisher's Summary

Despite constant efforts to declutter your home, do papers still accumulate like snowdrifts and clothes pile up like a tangled mess of noodles? Japanese cleaning consultant Marie Kondo takes tidying to a whole new level, promising that if you properly simplify and organize your home once, you'll never have to do it again. Most methods advocate a room-by-room or little-by-little approach, which doom you to pick away at your piles of stuff forever. The KonMari Method, with its revolutionary category-by-category system, leads to lasting results. In fact, none of Kondo's clients have lapsed (and she still has a three-month waiting list).With detailed guidance for determining which items in your house "spark joy" (and which don't), this international bestseller featuring Tokyo's newest lifestyle phenomenon will help you clear your clutter and enjoy the unique magic of a tidy home-and the calm, motivated mindset it can inspire.

©2014 Marie Kondo (P)2015 Tantor

What the critics say

"Ms. Kondo delivers her tidy manifesto like a kind of Zen nanny, both hortatory and animistic." (The New York Times)

"Narrator Emily Woo Zeller captures the voice of author Marie Kondo so perfectly that it's as if the Japanese de-cluttering guru is speaking in person." (AudioFile)

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What listeners say about The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up

Average Customer Ratings
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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Worst book ever made me clean for 5 days straight

I always been a messy person and I thought I lived a great life in my mess but then I decided to listen to this book and it made clean for like 5 days straight now my apartment looks amazing and I feel great but I hate cleaning and now I feel like I have to do it all the time. Horrible. What kind of life is this.

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45 people found this helpful

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    4 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Great book, not great narration

I'd love to have a better narration of this book available. The content is fantastic and I strongly feel is something everyone should read!

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31 people found this helpful

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    5 out of 5 stars
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Unexpectedly Helpful

I got this book on a bit of a whim, not entirely sure why; I'm a 20 something male university student, and while cleanliness is nice to me, it's not exactly high on the priority list if I'm honest.

This got me to care however; it went into depth on why tidying is important, how it effect you and most importantly, how to take some of the hard steps needed to be tidy. Even if you're not someone who normally likes self-help, 'how to be more organzied' sort of books, this still comes highly recommended. As someone who's not in that camp myself, it was helpful to me.


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13 people found this helpful

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    5 out of 5 stars
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Really Insightful

After getting through this book, you'll wonder why anyone would ever live in a house full of cluttered junk. The lessons in this book are easy to apply and are explained clearly.

Two thumbs up.

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12 people found this helpful

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    3 out of 5 stars
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so monotone

I was excited for this after seeing Marie Kondo on her Netflix special but this was so disappointing. He sunny personality did not shine through and at times seemed judgmental and rude. The narrator was so, so monotone and at times robotic. It was tough to listen to. The content that provided information was good however, getting through it is the issue...

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6 people found this helpful

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    4 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars

monotone, but

The narration can seem a bit flat, but somewhat suited to the type of book.

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4 people found this helpful

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    4 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars

Great book - horrible narration

This book carries a great set of tools for letting go of your stuff and simplifying. The author shares stories of how she's helped clients reduce and get rid of stuff we are all holding onto. I laughed out loud a few times - she's so right why are we keeping our old credit card statements :-) But the narration...is darn right horrible. At one point I was thinking maybe it was computer generated. Narration of any audible book is key - a tolerable voice is key. UGH.

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4 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
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    2 out of 5 stars

Narrator does not spark joy

Wanted to be inspired to declutter while listening to this book but couldn't get past the nasal, world-weary deadpan of the narrator.

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3 people found this helpful

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    5 out of 5 stars
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perspective changjng

I love how this book made me feel listening to it. I always felt understood about why I have the things that I do, and given clear directions on how to look at the things that have served their purpose in my life and I'm ready to let go of.
As for the narration of this book, I found it very helpful to listen to it at 1.15 speed.

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1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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Life changing if you want it to be

As I grow older I cant but help start to think that some very difficult tasks are always much easier than they seem. Cleaning and the possessions I keep are now one of those things. You have a bunch of stuff and keep some items because you think you may need them when you do not. Keep what you truly enjoy and discard the things you do not. If there ever was a time you would read that book for example, you would have etc.

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1 person found this helpful