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by
Marie Kondō
Read between
July 16 - July 16, 2019
If you tidy up in one shot, rather than little by little, you can dramatically change your mind-set.
Putting things away creates the illusion that the clutter problem has been solved.
Sort by category, not by location
Tidying up by location is a fatal mistake.
For example, instead of deciding that today you’ll tidy a particular room, set goals like “clothes today, books tomorrow.”
When we disperse storage of a particular item throughout the house and tidy one place at a time, we can never grasp the overall volume and therefore can never finish.
people who can’t stay tidy can be categorized into just three types: the “can’t-throw-it-away” type, the “can’t-put-it-back” type, and the “first-two-combined” type. Looking at my clients, I further realized that 90 percent fall into the third category—the “can’t-throw-it-away, can’t-put-it-back” type—
Effective tidying involves only two essential actions: discarding and deciding where to store things. Of the two, discarding must come first.
Although not large, the space I live in is graced only with those things that speak to my heart.
focusing solely on throwing things away can only bring unhappiness. Why? Because we should be choosing what we want to keep, not what we want to get rid of.
take each item in one’s hand and ask: “Does this spark joy?” If it does, keep it. If not, dispose of it.
Keep only those things that speak to your heart. Then take the plunge and discard all the rest.
always think in terms of category, not place.
People have trouble discarding things that they could still use (functional value), that contain helpful information (informational value), and that have sentimental ties (emotional value). When these things are hard to obtain or replace (rarity), they become even harder to part with.
The best sequence is this: clothes first, then books, papers, komono (miscellany), and lastly, mementos.
To quietly work away at disposing of your own excess is actually the best way of dealing with a family that doesn’t tidy.
While not exactly a meditative state, there are times when I am cleaning that I can quietly commune with myself. The work of carefully considering each object I own to see whether it sparks joy inside me is like conversing with myself through the medium of my possessions.
In fact, that particular article of clothing has already completed its role in your life, and you are free to say, “Thank you for giving me joy when I bought you,” or “Thank you for teaching me what doesn’t suit me,” and let it go.
When you come across something that you cannot part with, think carefully about its true purpose in your life.
To truly cherish the things that are important to you, you must first discard those that have outlived their purpose.
Free them from the prison to which you have relegated them. Help them leave that deserted isle to which you have exiled them. Let them go, with gratitude. Not only you, but your things as well, will feel clear and refreshed when you are done tidying.
For the first category, clothing, I recommend dividing further into the following subcategories to increase efficiency: Tops (shirts, sweaters, etc.) Bottoms (pants, skirts, etc.) Clothes that should be hung (jackets, coats, suits, etc.) Socks Underwear Bags (handbags, messenger bags, etc.) Accessories (scarves, belts, hats, etc.) Clothes for specific events (swimsuits, kimonos, uniforms, etc.) Shoes
Place every item of clothing in the house on the floor
Make sure you gather every piece of clothing in the house and be sure to handle each one.
Fold it right and solve your storage problems
The Japanese word for healing is te-ate, which literally means “to apply hands.”
Every piece of clothing has its own “sweet spot” where it feels just right—a folded state that best suits that item. This will differ depending on the type of material and size of the clothing, and therefore you will need to adjust your method until you find what works.
—So this is how you always wanted to be folded!—
Arrange your clothes so that they rise to the right.
To do so, hang heavy items on the left side of the closet and light items on the right. Heavy items include those with length, those made from heavier material, and those that are dark in color. As you move toward the right side of the closet, the length of the clothing grows shorter, the material thinner, and the color lighter. By category, coats would be on the far left, followed by dresses, jackets, pants, skirts, and blouses.
“Look at them carefully. This should be a time for them to rest. Do you really think they can get any rest like that?”
Folding socks is even easier. If you’ve folded back the tops, start by unfolding them. Place one sock on top of the other and follow the same principles as those for folding clothing. For low-cut socks that just cover the feet, folding twice is enough; for ankle socks, three times; for knee socks and over-knee socks, four to six times. You can adjust the number of folds to achieve the height that best suits the drawer. It’s easy. Just aim to make a simple rectangle, the key to folding. Store the socks on edge, just as you did for clothing. You’ll be amazed at how little space you need compared
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All you need to do is organize your clothes on the premise that you aren’t going to put off-season clothes in storage.
Instead, let in some light and air occasionally. Open the drawer and run your hands over the contents. Let them know you care and look forward to wearing them when they are next in season.
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.”
There’s no need to finish reading books that you only got halfway through. Their purpose was to be read halfway. So get rid of all those unread books. It will be far better for you to read the book that really grabs you right now than one that you left to gather dust for years.
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.
My clients tell me that now life is more fun because when they run out of something they enjoy seeing how long they can last without it or trying to substitute other things. It’s important to assess what you have on hand now and eliminate excess.
Clutter has only two possible causes: too much effort is required to put things away or it is unclear where things belong. If we overlook this vital point, we are likely to create a system that results in clutter.
In fact, the boxes that contain many Apple products are the right size and design for storage, so if you have any, I recommend using them as dividers in your drawers. They are perfect for storing writing tools.
But these are such a bother to move when you clean the bath. Kept on the floor in the shower or on the edge of the bath, they become slimy. To avoid this, some people use a wire basket as a container, but from my own experience, this makes things even worse.
There is no need to keep soaps and shampoos out when we are not using them, and the added exposure to heat and moisture when they aren’t in use is bound to affect their quality.
Your room at least should be the one place where you can pursue and enjoy your interests to your heart’s content. So if you like something, don’t hide it away. If you want to enjoy them but don’t want your friends or others to know, I have a solution. Transform your closet into your own private space, one that gives you a thrill of pleasure.
This is why I urge you to refrain from stocking up on things. Instead, buy only what you need, remove all items from their packages immediately, and put them away. If
This is how I see it: clothes in a store are products, whereas clothes in the home are personal possessions. Clothes that still have their price tag on have not yet been made our own and therefore they don’t quite “belong.”
From my own experience, the storage spaces of homes that feel “noisy” even though they look very neat on the surface usually are overflowing with unnecessary information.
By eliminating excess visual information that doesn’t inspire joy, you can make your space much more peaceful and comfortable.
Storage, after all, is the sacred act of choosing a home for my belongings.
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.
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.
