the National Association of Senior & Specialty Move Managers® blog

Ichigo ichie, pronounced itchy-GO itchy-A, is a Japanese concept about making the most of life’s moments. Keep a journal describing different smells, the new book suggests, study the shapes of clouds, eat an apple blindfolded, think about not thinking.

In the five years since the U.S. release of Japanese author Marie Kondo’s mega-hit “The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up,” sales of self-help and home organizing books have soared. Annual print sales of books related to tasks like cleaning, caretaking and organizing rose 78% from 2014 to 2018 and are up an additional 94% in the past year, driven primarily by Ms. Kondo, according to the NPD Group.

The latest entries train their sights on the people making the mess. The mantras strike similar notes: Embrace simplicity, stop trying so hard and slow down.

“There’s a profound desire and even need among readers for this kind of content,” says John Siciliano, executive editor of Penguin Books and Penguin Classics who is overseeing several less-is-more lifestyle titles including “The Book of Ichigo Ichie” by Héctor García and Francesc Miralles, due out in December. “These have been some of the bestselling books I’ve ever published.”

The commerce around minimalism troubles some of its fans. “If you have someone who gets with the idea of appearing on Instagram like they have a very simple life, already you’ve introduced a goal into something that’s not goal-oriented,” says Jenny Odell, author of “How to Do Nothing,” the 2019 book on the need for pursuits that defy productivity or achievement.

And rival philosophies have started to emerge amid the calls for harmony.

“Discard it even if it sparks joy,” writes Fumio Sasaki in his book “Goodbye, Things,” contradicting Ms. Kondo’s advice to readers to keep only items that make them happy. Mr. Sasaki’s minimalism is so extreme, he says he easily moved out of his home in 30 minutes. “I’m able to move anywhere I like with the same casualness as stepping out for coffee,” he writes in the book, released in the U.S. two years ago.

A spokeswoman for Ms. Kondo declined to comment.

The author bio for “Goodbye, Things” says Mr. Sasaki furnished his home with only a small wooden box, a desk and a rolled-up futon pad. But in his book, Mr. Sasaki cautions against striving for an excess of less. “Minimalism is not a competition,” he writes. “Don’t boast about how little you have.”

Caroline Donahue tried Mr. Sasaki’s approach but stopped. “It didn’t feel like a relief to think of just having a hand towel to dry myself with in the bathroom,” she says, referring to the writer’s description of his personal hygiene routine. “Once or twice when I bought a book I thought it was silly and ironic to buy a thing that was going to tell me to have fewer things.”

Simplicity gurus are arriving at a moment of overload for many Americans. Baby boomers are struggling under the weight of possessions handed down from elderly parents. Consumers are clicking “add to cart” at lightning speed. Families are worrying about the waste underpinning their abundant lifestyles.

Denaye Barahona started buying her 5-year-old son five pairs of the same pants in the same color so neither of them ever has to think about his bottoms. Suddenly, her home life feels easier, says Ms. Barahona, author of “Simple Happy Parenting” out this year. “We’re recognizing something’s got to give,” she says. “The human race can’t keep up at this pace.”

“We’re moving a little bit beyond the mechanics of decluttering and more into the mindset of it,” says Francine Jay, who preaches what she calls mindful minimalism in her 2019 book “Lightly.” Included in her prescription for simplicity: Create breathing space at home by using no more than three decorative items per room, eat less by baking cakes in coffee mugs and opt out of gift exchanges.

Attempting to find the root causes of the mess, professional organizer Tracy McCubbin has identified seven “emotional clutter blocks” in her boldly titled new book, “Making Space, Clutter Free: The Last Book on Decluttering You’ll Ever Need.” She sees problems that can’t be fixed by folded T-shirts or pretty bins with labels. A messy master bedroom, for instance, holds clues to a deeper problem, in her telling. “When it’s a couple, there are intimacy issues,” she writes. “If the client lives alone, he or she is keeping secrets.”

Self-help books that lean into Zen-like ideas are particularly popular at the moment, timing that makes sense to Ken Mogi, author of the 2018 title “Awakening Your Ikigai.” Zen Buddhism developed in Japan during a period of upheaval, says Mr. Mogi, who draws connections to today’s anxieties. “The philosophy of Zen originated from turmoil and chaos and uncertainty,” he says, “just like we’re living in now.”

Shunmyo Masuno, head priest of a 450-year-old Zen Buddhist temple in Japan, prescribes 100 tips for finding calm and joy in his 2019 book “The Art of Simple Living.” The slim volume, published in more than 30 languages, encourages readers to find peace by not wasting food (eat discarded radish greens, for instance), watching a flower grow and walking around the house barefoot.

“Simplicity is a bigger promise than ever because people’s lives are more complicated than ever,” says Leslie Yazel, editor in chief of Real Simple magazine. Ms. Yazel urges caution if the quest for that simplicity comes with a hefty price tag. “Too many products that promise to simplify your life actually do the opposite. Often when I see the latest kitchen gadget, I think, ‘Or you can just use a paring knife.’ ”

Source:Ellen Gamerman, Wall Street Journal, October 1, 2019