The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up

The life-changing magic of tidying up : the Japanese art of decluttering and organizing by Marie Kondo

This Book was translated from Japanese by Cathy Hirano

Why can’t I keep my house in order?

Tidying involves only two essential actions:

Of the two, discarding must come first.

Tidying is a special event. Don’t do it every day.

i.e the work of tidying should be completed once and for all within a single period of time.

Once tidying is done, always follow the principle of “putting things back where they belong”.

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 instant one experiences one’s own perfectly clean space, negative self-image of years is swept away.

Tidy in the right order.

Do not even think of putting your things away until you have finished the process of discarding.
Before you start, visualize the lifestyle you aspire to
Keep only those things that sparks joy in your heart. Then take the plunge and discard all the rest.
Always think/organize in terms of category, not place or location.
Starting with mementos spells certain failure. The best sequence for discarding is: clothes first, then books, papers, komono (miscellany), and lastly, mementos.
Don’t let your family see, as it’s extremely stressful for parents to see what their children discard.
If you’re mad at your family, your room may be the cause. To quietly work away at disposing of your own excess is actually the best way of dealing with a family that doesn’t tidy.
What you don’t need, your family doesn’t either
Tidying is a dialogue with one’s self. 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.
To truly cherish the things that are important to you, you must first discard those that have outlived their purpose. Acknowledge their contribution and let them go with gratitude.

Follow the correct order of categories

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.
What you wear in the house does impact your self-image. Downgrading to “loungewear” is taboo.
By neatly folding your clothes, you not only solve problems related to storage, but also is an act of caring. Folding clothes after they have been washed and dried is an opportunity to really notice them in all their detail.

First, fold each lengthwise side of the garment toward the center (such as the left-hand, then right-hand, sides of a shirt) and tuck the sleeves in to make a long rectangular shape. It doesn’t matter how you fold the sleeves. Next, pick up one short end of the rectangle and fold it toward the other short end. Then fold again, in the same manner, in halves or in thirds. The number of folds should be adjusted so that the folded clothing when standing on edge fits the height of the drawer. This allow your clothes to be stacked on edge, side by side, so that when you pull open your drawer you can see the edge of every item inside.
The key is to store things standing up rather than laid flat.
The goal is to fold each piece of clothing into a simple, smooth rectangle.
Every piece of clothing has its own “sweet spot” where it feels just right—a folded state that best suits that item.

The most basic rule is to hang clothes in the same category side by side, dividing your closet into a jacket section, a suit section, and so on.
Coats, suits, jackets, skirts, and dresses are better stored on hangers. Hang any clothes that look like they would be happier hung up, such as those made with soft materials that flutter in the breeze or highly tailored cuts, which protest at being folded.
Arrange your clothes so that they rise to the right i.e heavier to lighter. By category, coats would be on the far left, followed by dresses, jackets, pants, skirts, and blouses. Organize the clothes within each category from heavy to light.

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

Forget about “flow planning” and “frequency of use”

Designate a place for each thing
Discard first, store later
Storage: pursue ultimate simplicity
Don’t scatter storage spaces
If you live with your family, first clearly define separate storage spaces for each family member.
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.
If you are aiming for an uncluttered room, it is much more important to arrange your storage so that you can tell at a glance where everything is than to worry about the details of who does what, where, and when.
When you are choosing what to keep, ask your heart; when you are choosing where to store something, ask your house.
Never pile things: vertical storage is the key

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