The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up: The Japanese Art of Decluttering and Organizing
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Authors: Marie Kondo
Copyright © 2014 by Marie Kondo
All rights reserved.
Published in the United States by Ten Speed Press, an imprint of the Crown Publishing Group, a division of Random House LLC, a Penguin Random House Company, New York.
www.crownpublishing.com
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Ten Speed Press and the Ten Speed Press colophon are registered trademarks of Random House LLC.
Originally published in Japan as
Jinsei Ga Tokimeku Katazuke No Maho
by Sunmark Publishing, Inc., Tokyo, in 2011. Copyright © 2011 by Marie Kondo. English translation rights arranged with Sunmark Publishing, Inc., through InterRights, Inc., Tokyo, Japan, and Waterside Productions Inc., California, USA. This English translation by Cathy Hirano first published in Great Britain by Ebury Publishing, an imprint of Random House UK, London.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Kondo, Marie, author.
[Jinsei ga tokimeku katazuke no maho. English]
The life-changing magic of tidying up : the Japanese art of decluttering and organizing / Marie Kondo; translated from Japanese by Cathy Hirano. — First North American edition.
pages cm
1. Housekeeping. 2. Home economics. I. Title.
TX321.K6613 2014
648—dc23
2014017930
Hardcover ISBN: 978-1-60774-730-7
eBook ISBN: 978-1-60774-731-4
Design by Betsy Stromberg
Front cover image copyright © Vadim Georgiev/
Shutterstock.com
v3.1
You can’t tidy if you’ve never learned how
A tidying marathon doesn’t cause rebound
Tidy a little a day and you’ll be tidying forever
Why you should aim for perfection
The moment you start you reset your life
Sort by category, not by location
Don’t change the method to suit your personality
Make tidying a special event, not a daily chore
Start by discarding, all at once, intensely and completely
Before you start, visualize your destination
Selection criterion: does it spark joy?
Starting with mementos spells certain failure
If you’re mad at your family, your room may be the cause
What you don’t need, your family doesn’t either
Tidying is a dialogue with one’s self
What to do when you can’t throw something away
Tidying order: follow the correct order of categories
Clothing: place every item of clothing in the house on the floor
Loungewear: downgrading to “loungewear” is taboo
Clothing storage: fold it right and solve your storage problems
How to fold: the best way to fold for perfect appearance
Arranging clothes: the secret to energizing your closet
Storing socks: treat your socks and stockings with respect
Seasonal clothes: eliminate the need to store off-season clothes
Storing books: put all your books on the floor
Unread books: “sometime” means “never”
Books to keep: those that belong in the hall of fame
Sorting papers: rule of thumb—discard everything
All about papers: how to organize troublesome papers
Komono
(miscellaneous items): keep things because you love them—not “just because”
Common types of
komono
: disposables
Small change: make “into my wallet” your motto
Sentimental items: your parents’ home is not a haven for mementos
Photos: cherish who you are now
Astounding stockpiles I have seen
Reduce until you reach the point where something clicks
Follow your intuition and all will be well
Designate a place for each thing
Storage: pursue ultimate simplicity
Forget about “flow planning” and “frequency of use”
Never pile things: vertical storage is the key
No need for commercial storage items
The best way to store bags is in another bag
Items that usurp floor space belong in the closet
Keep things out of the bath and the kitchen sink
Make the top shelf of the bookcase your personal shrine
Decorate your closet with your secret delights
Unpack and de-tag new clothes immediately
Don’t underestimate the “noise” of written information
Appreciate your possessions and gain strong allies
Put your house in order and discover what you really want to do
Gaining confidence in life through the magic of tidying
An attachment to the past or anxiety about the future
Learning that you can do without
Your possessions want to help you
Your living space affects your body
Is it true that tidying increases good fortune?
How to identify what is truly precious
Being surrounded by things that spark joy makes you happy
In this book, I have summed up how to put your space in order in a way that will change your life forever.
Impossible? A common response and not surprising, considering that almost everyone has experienced a rebound effect at least once, if not multiple times, after tidying.
Have
you
ever tidied madly, only to find that all too soon your home or workspace is cluttered again? If so, let me share with you the secret of success.
Start by discarding. Then organize your space, thoroughly, completely, in one go
. If you adopt this approach—the KonMari Method—you’ll never revert to clutter again.
Although this approach contradicts conventional wisdom, everyone who completes my private course has successfully kept their house in order—with unexpected results. Putting their house in order positively affects all
other aspects of their lives, including work and family. Having devoted more than 80 percent of my life to this subject, I
know
that tidying can transform your life.