Warren Shea

Warren Shea’s Notes for The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up by Marie Kondo (Book)

Version: 201611 | Status: Complete

The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up by Marie Kondo

Introduction

Page 1-8

• KonMari Method: Start by discarding. Then organize your space, thoroughly, completely, in one go.
• A dramatic reorganization of the home causes corresponding dramatic changes in lifestyle and perspective. It is life transforming.
• When you put your house in order, you put your affairs and your past in order, too.
• You want to be surrounding by the things you love.

Why can’t I keep my house in order?

Page 9-32

You can’t tidy if you’ve never learned how.

A tidying marathon doesn’t cause rebound.

Tidying a little a day and you’ll be tidying forever

• People cannot change their habits without first changing their way of thinking.
• If you use the right method and concentrate your efforts on eliminating clutter thoroughly and completely within a short span of time, you’ll see instant results that will empower you to keep your space in order ever after.

Why you should aim for perfection

The moment you start your reset your life

• Many people get the urge to clean prior to an exam - the need to study for an exam is ‘tidied away’. People just need to put ‘something else’ in order
• Tidying is just a tool, not a final destination - the true goal is to establish the lifestyle you want most once your house is put in order

Storage experts are hoarders

• A booby trap lies within the term “storage”
• 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

Don’t change the method to suit your personality

People who can’t stay tidy can be categorized into 3 types : can’t throw it away or can’t put it back, or a combination of the two.

• Effective tidying involves only two essential actions: discarding and deciding where to store things. Of the two, discarding must come first.

Make tidying a special event, not a daily chore

• Tidying is special event, don’t do it every day
• Your goal is clearly in sight. The moment you put everything in place, you have crossed the finish line.

Finish discarding first

Page 33-62

Start by discard, all at once, intensely and completely

• Tidy in the right order
• Do not even think about putting things away until you have finished the process of discarding.

Before you start, visualize your destination

• Think in concrete terms so that you can vividly picture what it would be like to live in a clutter-free space.

Selection criteria: Does it spark joy?

• The moment you start focusing on ### how### to choose what to throw away, you have actually veered significantly off course
• We should be choosing what we want to keep, not what we want to get rid of
• Take each item in one 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. Take the plunge and discard all the rest.

One category at a time

• Always think in terms of category, not place

Starting with mementos spells certain failure

• People have trouble discarding things they 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, books, papers, misc., mementos

Don’t let your family see

• 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.
• 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

What you don’t need, your family doesn’t either

Tidying is dialogue with one’s self

What to do when you can’t throw something away

• To truly cherish the things that are important to you, you must first discard things that have outlived their purpose.

Tidying by category works like magic

Page 63-128

Tidying order:

• Tops, bottoms, clothes that should be hung, socks, underwear, bags, accessories, clothes from a specific event, shoes,
• What things will bring you joy if you keep them as part of your life?

Clothing

• The most important points to remember are these: Make sure you gather every piece of clothing in the house and be sure to handle each one.

Loungewear

Clothes storage

• By neatly folding your clothes, you can solve almost every problem related to storage.

How to fold

• 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

Arranging Clothes

• Arrange your clothes so that they rise to the right
• By category, coats would fall on the far left, followed by dresses, jackets, pants, skirts, blouses

Storing socks

• Never ever tie up your stockings. Never ever roll them into a ball.

Seasonal clothes

• Don’t over categorize - Divide your clothes into “cotton like” and “wool like” materials when you put them in a drawer
• If you are planning to buy storage units in the near future, I recommend that you get a set of drawers instead.

Storing books

• The criteria is whether a book gives you a thrill of pleasure when you touch it.

Unread books

• In the end, you’re going to read very few of your books again

Books to keep

• The moment you first encounter a particular book is the right time to read it

Sorting papers

• Dispose of anything that is not in these 3 categories: currently in use, needed for a limited period of time, or must be kept indefinitely
• Make sure you keep all such papers in one spot only. Never let it spread to other parts of the house.

All about papers

• Precisely because we hang on to such materials, we fail to put what we learn into practice

Misc.

Small change

• Despite the fact that coins are perfectly good cash, they are treated with far less respect than paper money

Sentimental items

• People never retrieve boxes they have sent home. Once sent, they will never be opened again.
• By handling each sentimental item and deciding what to discard, you process your past

Photos

Astounding stockpiles I have seen

Reduce until you reach the point that something clicks

• As you reduce your belongings through the process of tidying, you will come to a point when you know just how much is right for you.

Follow your intuition and all will be well

• The fact that you possess a surplus of things you can’t bring to discard doesn’t mean you are taking good care of them. It’s quite the opposite
• Believe what your heart tells you when you ask: “Does this spark joy?”

Sorting your things to make life shine

Page 129-172

Designate a place for each thing

• The point in deciding specific places to keep things is to designate a spot for everything

Discard first, store later

• Once you learn to choose your belongings properly, you will be left only with the amount that fits perfectly in the space you currently own

Storage: pursue ultimate simplicity

Don’t scatter storage spaces

• Storage method has 2 rules: store all items of the same type in the same place and don’t scatter storage spaces
• If you live with your family, first clearly define separate storage spaces for each family member
• Everyone needs a sanctuary

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

• Clutter is caused by a failure to return things to where they belong. Therefore, storage should reduce the effort needs to put things away, not the effort to get them back 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 home.

Never pile things: vertical storage is the key

• Stacking is very hard on the things at the bottom.

No need for commercial storage items

• Rather than buying something to make do for now, wait until you have the entire process and then take your time looking for storage items that you really like.

The best way to store bags is in another bag

• The key is to put the same type of bags together.

Empty your bag every day

Items that usurp floor space being in the closet

Keep things out of the bath and the kitchen sink

Make the top shelf of the bookcase your personal shine.

• One theme underlining my method of tidying is transforming the home into a sacred space, a power spot filled with pure energy

Decorate your closet with your secret delights

• Transform your closets into your own private space, one that gives you a thrill of pleasure.

Unpack and de-tag new clothes immediately.

• Stockings take up 25 percent less room once they are out of the package and folded up.

Don’t underestimate the “noise” of written information

• By eliminating excess visual information that doesn’t inspire joy, you can make your space much more peaceful and comfortable

Appreciate your possessions and gain strong allies

The magic of tidying dramatically transform your life

Page 173-204

Put your house in order and discover what you really want to do

• At their core, the things we really like do not change over time.Putting your house in order is a great way to discover what they are

The magic effect of tidying

• Letting go is even more important than adding
• The lives of those who tidy thoroughly and completely, in a single shot, are without exception dramatically altered
• One of the magical effects of tidying is confidence in your decision-making capacity

Gaining confidence in life through the magic of tidying

An attachment to the past or an anxiety about the future

• The real reason we we can’t let something go: an attachment to the past or an anxiety about the future
• The question of what you want to own is actually the question of how you want to live your life

Learning that you can do without

• The sum total of all the garbage so far would exceed 28000 bags, the number of items discarded must be over 1,000,000.
• The fact that they do not need to search is actually an invaluable stress reliever.
• Life becomes far easier once you know that things will still work out even if you are lacking something

Do you greet your house

• I believe that tidying is a celebration, a special send-off for those things that will be departing from the house, and therefore I dress accordingly.
• In essence, tidying ought to be the act of restoring balance among people, their possessions, and the house they live in

Your possessions want to help you

• Make your parting a ceremony to launch them on a new journey

Your living space affects your body

• It’s a very strange phenomenon, but when we reduce what we own and essentially “detox”our house, it has a detox effect on our bodies as well

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

• If you can say without a doubt “I really like this”, no matter what anyone says, and if you like yourself for having it, then ignore what people think

Your real life begins after putting your house in order

• As for you, pour your time and passion into what brings you the most joy, your mission in life.