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the most significant. Because they have continued to identify and discard things that they don’t need, they no longer abdicate responsibility for decision making to other people. When a problem arises, they don’t look for some external cause or person to blame.
When I visit my clients’ homes, I never throw anything away. I always leave the final decision up to them. If I chose what to discard for them, there would be no point in tidying. It is by putting one’s own house in order that one’s mindset is changed.
say, ‘Hello! I’m home,’ to your house when you return. If you forget when you walk in the door, then later, when you remember, say, ‘Thank you for giving me shelter.’ If you feel shy or embarrassed to say these things out loud, it is fine to say them silently in your mind. If you do this repeatedly, you will start to feel your house respond when you come home. You will sense its pleasure passing through like a gentle breeze.
I promise you: whatever you let go will come back in exactly the same amount, but only when it feels the desire to return to you. For this reason, when you discard something, don’t sigh and say, ‘Oh, I never used this,’ or ‘Sorry I never got around to using you.’ Instead, send it off joyfully with words like, ‘Thank you for finding me,’ or ‘Have a good journey. See you again soon!’
One of my clients cleared out a cupboard and shed that she had neglected for 10 years. Immediately after, she had a strong bout of diarrhoea after which she felt much lighter.
From observing my clients, I have noticed that when they discard excess clothing, their tummies tend to slim down, when they discard books and documents, their minds tend to become clearer, when they reduce the number of cosmetics and tidy up the area around the sink and bath, their complexion tends to become clear and their skin smooth. Although I have no scientific basis for this theory, it is very interesting to see that the part of the body responding corresponds so closely to the area that is put in order.
Such people, however, would never pick up this book. You, on the other hand, have been led by fate to read it and that means that you probably have a strong desire to change your current situation, to reset your life, to improve your lifestyle, to gain happiness and to shine.
The only ones who need to spend their lives, year in and year out, thinking about tidying are people like me who find joy in it and who are passionate about using tidying to make the world a better place. As for you, pour your time and passion into what brings you the most joy, your mission in life. I am convinced that putting your house in order will help you find the mission that speaks to your heart. Life truly begins after you have put your house in order.
