The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up: The Japanese Art of Decluttering and Organizing (Magic Cleaning #1)

by Marie Kondō

So, starting today, break the habit of downgrading clothes that don’t thrill you to loungewear.

When we take our clothes in our hands and fold them neatly, we are, I believe, transmitting energy, which has a positive effect on our clothes.

Just like the gentle shake we use to wake someone up, we can stimulate our belongings by physically moving them, exposing them to fresh air and making them “conscious.”

Keep things because you love them—not “just because”

mementos are reminders of a time when these items gave us joy. The thought of disposing of them sparks the fear that we’ll lose those precious memories along with them.

No matter how wonderful things used to be, we cannot live in the past. The joy and excitement we feel here and now are more important.

That’s right. By handling each sentimental item and deciding what to discard, you process your past.

If you just stow these things away in a drawer or cardboard box, before you realize it, your past will become a weight that holds you back and keeps you from living in the here and now.

To put your things in order means to put your past in order, too. It’s like resetting your life and settling your accounts so tha...

It is not our memories but the person we have become because of those past experiences that we should treasure. This is the lesson these keepsakes teach us when we sort them. The space in which we live should be for the person we are becoming now, not for the person we were in the past.

Through the process of selecting only those things that inspire joy, you can identify precisely what you love and what you need.

Believe what your heart tells you when you ask, “Does this spark joy?”

Putting your house in order is the magic that creates a vibrant and happy life.

Conversely, no matter how hard you tidy and no matter how effective the storage method, if you start storing before you have eliminated excess, you will rebound.

Usually it is because we do not accurately grasp how much we actually own. And we fail to grasp how much we own because our storage methods are too complex. The ability to avoid excess stock depends on the ability to simplify storage.

The secret to maintaining an uncluttered room is to pursue ultimate simplicity in storage so that you can tell at a glance how much you have.

I have only two rules: store all items of the same type in the same place and don’t scatter storage space.

Start with clothes, then books, then documents, komono, and finally mementos.

If you live with your family, first clearly define separate storage spaces for each family member. This is essential.

Clutter is caused by a failure to return things to where they belong. Therefore, storage should reduce the effort needed to put things away, not the effort needed to get them out.

Clutter has only two possible causes: too much effort is required to put things away or it is unclear where things belong.

We may think that we have stored things to suit our behavior, but usually we have unconsciously adjusted our actions to match where things are stored.

Store everything similar in the same place or in close proximity.

At the most, I use only two categories for frequency of use: things I use often and things I don’t. Take the contents of a drawer, for example. You will naturally start keeping the things you use less in the back of the drawer and those you use more in the front.

When you are choosing what to keep, ask your heart; when you are choosing where to store something, ask your house.

One theme underlying my method of tidying is transforming the home into a sacred space, a power spot filled with pure energy. A comfortable environment, a space that feels good to be in, a place where you can relax—these are the traits that make a home a power spot.

Have you ever thought about what it would be like to have no fixed address? Our lives would be very uncertain. It is precisely because we have a home to return to that we can go out to work, to shop, or to interact with others. The same is true for our belongings. It is important for them to have that same reassurance that there is a place for them to return to.

Storage, after all, is the sacred act of choosing a home for my belongings.

At their core, the things we really like do not change over time. Putting your house in order is a great way to discover what they are.

letting go is even more important than adding.”

one of the magical effects of tidying is confidence in your decision-making capacity.

Tidying means taking each item in your hand, asking yourself whether it sparks joy, and deciding on this basis whether or not to keep it. By repeating this process hundreds and thousands of times, we naturally hone our decision-making skills.

But when we really delve into the reasons for why we can’t let something go, there are only two: an attachment to the past or a fear for the future.

“Am I having trouble getting rid of this because of an attachment to the past or because of a fear for the future?”

It’s important to understand your ownership pattern because it is an expression of the values that guide your life. The question of what you want to own is actually the question of how you want to live your life.

The best way to find out what we really need is to get rid of what we don’t.

The process of facing and selecting our possessions can be quite painful. It forces us to confront our imperfections and inadequacies and the foolish choices we made in the past.

This is why I am against both letting things pile up and dumping things indiscriminately. It is only when we face the things we own one by one and experience the emotions they evoke that we can truly appreciate our relationship with them.

There are three approaches we can take toward our possessions: face them now, face them sometime, or avoid them until the day we die.

I ask for help in creating a space where the family can enjoy a happier life.

I believe that tidying is a celebration, a special send-off for those things that will be departing from the house, and therefore I dress accordingly.

greet your house every time you come home.

If you forget when you walk in the door, then later, when you remember, say, “Thank you for giving me shelter.”

In essence, tidying ought to be the act of restoring balance among people, their possessions, and the house they live in.

Tidying is our opportunity to express our appreciation to our home for all it does for us.

For this reason, when you part with 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!”

It’s a very strange phenomenon, but when we reduce what we own and essentially “detox” our house, it has a detox effect on our bodies as well.

And when our space is completely clean, we don’t have to worry about tidying, so we are free to focus on the next issue that is important in our lives. Many people want to be slim and fit, and that becomes their focus. They start to walk longer distances and eat less junk food, and these actions contribute to weight loss without consciously dieting.

But I think the main reason tidying has this effect is because through this process people come to know contentment.

We amass material things for the same reason that we eat—to satisfy a craving.