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by
Marie Kondō
“special event” of putting your house in order as soon as possible.
once you have put your house in order, tidying will be reduced to the very simple task of putting things back where they belong. In fact, this becomes an unconscious habit.
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.
Your goal is clearly in sight. The moment you have put everything in its place, you have crossed the finish line.
the space I live in is graced only with those things that speak to my heart.
there is just one way to escape this negative spiral—
tidying efficiently all at once, as quickly as possible, to make the perfect clutter-free environment.
When you tidy your space completely, you transform the scenery. The change is so profound that you feel as if you are living in a totally different world. This deeply affects your mind and inspires a strong aversion to reverting to your previously cluttered state. The key is to make the change so sudden that you experience a com...
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“quickly” means about half a year.
Tidy in the right order. As we’ve seen, there are only two tasks involved—discarding and deciding where to keep things.
Do not even think of putting your things away until you have finished the process of discarding.
There must have been some reason you picked up this book. What was it that motivated you to tidy in the first place? What do you hope to gain through tidying? Before you start getting rid of things, take the time to think this through carefully. This means visualizing the ideal lifestyle you dream of. If you skip this step, not only will it delay the whole process, but it will also put you at higher risk for rebound.
Think in concrete terms so that you can vividly picture what it would be like to live in a clutter-free space.
Your next step is to identify why you want to live like that.
Ask yourself “Why?” again, for each answer. Repeat this process three to five times for every item.
you will come to a simple realization. The whole point in both discarding and keeping things is to be happy. It may seem obvious, but it is important to experience this realization for yourself and let it sink into your heart.
Selection criterion: does it spark joy?
One is to discard things when they cease being functional—
discard things that are out of date,
It’s easy to get rid of things when there is an obvious reason for doing so. It’s much more difficult when there is no compelling reason.
However, the moment you start focusing on how to choose what to throw away, you have actually veered significantly off course.
“Look more closely at what is there.”
we should be choosing what we want to keep, not what we want to get rid of.
I had been so focused on what to discard, on attacking the unwanted obstacles around me, that I had forgotten to cherish the things that I loved, the things I wanted to keep.
take each item in one’s hand and ask: “Does this spark joy?” If it does, keep it. If not, dispose of it.
the best criterion for choosing what to keep and what to discard is whether keeping it will make you happy, whether it will bring you joy.
Keep only those things that speak to your heart. Then take the plunge and discard all the rest.
Don’t start selecting and discarding by location.
always think in terms of category, not place. Before choosing what to keep, collect everything that falls within the same category at one time.
Gathering every item in one place is essential to this process because it gives you an accurate grasp of how much you have.
Things stored out of sight are dormant. This makes it much harder to decide whether they inspire joy or not. By exposing them to the light of day and jolting them alive, so to speak, you’ll find it’s surprisingly easy to judge whether they touch your heart.
Starting with mementos spells certain failure
The degree of difficulty involved in selecting what to keep and what to discard differs greatly depending on the category.
In addition to the physical value of things, there are three other factors that add value to our belongings: function, information, and emotional attachment.
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.
As you gradually work toward the harder categories, you will be honing your decision-making skills.
The best sequence is this: clothes first, then books, papers, komono (miscellany), and lastly, mementos.
“Don’t let your family see what’s here. If at all possible, take the bags out yourself. There’s no need to let your family know the details of what you throw out or donate.”
it’s extremely stressful for parents to see what their children discard.
To quietly work away at disposing of your own excess is actually the best way of dealing with a family that doesn’t tidy.
when someone starts tidying it sets off a chain reaction.
Cleaning quietly on one’s own generates another interesting change—the ability to tolerate a certain level of untidiness among your family members.
The urge to point out someone else’s failure to tidy is usually a sign that you are neglecting to take care of your own space.
begin by discarding only your own things.
What you don’t need, your family doesn’t either
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.
create a quiet space in which to evaluate the things in your life.
start is early morning.
human nature to resist throwing something away even when we know that we should.
