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

by Marie Kondō

All you need to do is look at each item, one at a time, and decide whether or not to keep it and where to put it.

Visible mess helps distract us from the true source of the disorder.

The act of cluttering is really an instinctive reflex that draws our attention away from the heart of an issue.

When your room is clean and uncluttered, you have no choice but to examine your inner state.

From the moment you start tidying, you will be compelled to reset your life. As a result, your life will start to change.

The true goal should be to establish the lifestyle you want most once your house has been put in order.

This excess is caused by our ignorance of how much we actually own.

Unbelievable as it may sound, you only have to experience a state of perfect order once to be able to maintain it.

All you need to do is take the time to sit down and examine each item you own, decide whether you want to keep or discard it, and then choose where to put what you keep.

The key is to make the change so sudden that you experience a complete change of heart.

Tidy in the right order.

Be sure to completely finish the first task before starting the next. Do not even think of putting your things away until you have finished the process of discarding.

To summarize, the secret of success is to tidy in one shot, as quickly and completely as possible, and to start by discarding.