Notes on The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up by Marie Kondo

My wife and I both just finished reading The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up: The Japanese Art of Decluttering and Organizing by Marie Kondo (it was her idea). I had actually heard of it a while ago in Tim Ferriss podcast episode with the author and thought it would be interesting to read. We also enjoyed watching the Netflix series Tidying Up by the author, which actually helped to reinforce stuff from the book by showing visually how to organize and fold things.

With paper I'm pretty good about scanning and destroying and not keeping stuff around too long, but with other categories of items (like electronics), I'm not as minimal, so this book was helpful for me as well.

I found the book really insightful and loved the structured approach she recommends. The idea of tidying by category as opposed to by location makes a lot of sense, and I also liked the main criteria she recommends for keeping something ("does the item spark joy?"). That reminded me of Derek Sivers' methodology for deciding what to do (something should either be "hell yeah" or "no" -- don't do anything that's not a "hell yeah" for you). It was also fun to read about her upbringing and how she got into tidying from an early age.

Now we're inspired to go through all our stuff and really get it organized! Below are my main notes and takeaways.

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Intro
First discard then organize your space

1 why can’t I keep my house in order
Can’t tidy if never learned how
Doing a little at a time fails
Tidying in one shot changes your emotions and mindset
Why you should aim for perfection
Just two parts: deciding whether to part with something and deciding where to put it
Messy room is messy mind
The moment you start you reset your life
Storage experts are hoarders
Sort by category not by location
Don’t change the methods to suit your personality
Make tidying a special event
Should be done just once

2 finish discarding first
Start by discarding all at once intensely
Quickly means about 6 months 
Tidy in the right order
Don’t worry about putting things away before done completely discarding
Before you start, visualize your destination
Be concrete
Look at magazines for photos that grab you
Imagine the lifestyle you want
Ask why several times
Selection criterion
Does it spark joy
Take each item in hands and ask if it sparks joy
One category at a time
Bring everything from across the house of that category into one pile
Can also do subcategories like tops and bottoms
Starting with mementos spells failure
Qualities that make things hard to discard 
Functional
Information
Emotion
Rarity
Clothes first
Then books
Then papers
Then komono/miscellany
Then mementos
Don’t let your family see
Don’t show your parents all you discard
If you’re mad at your family, your room might be the cause
Check your own space
Discard only your own things
What you don’t need, your family doesn’t either
Tidying is a dialogue with one self
Meditating like tidying 
Create a quiet space, not even music
Start early morning
What to do when can’t throw something away
Things have taught us lessons and can let go of them

3 tidying by category works like magic
Tidying order
Clothes
Books
Papers
Komono/miscellany
Sentimental items
Clothes order
Subdivide by category for efficiency
Tops
Bottoms
Clothes that should be hung
Socks
Underwear
Bags
Accessories
Clothes for specific events, swimsuits, uniforms
Shoes
Clothing tidying
Check all drawers around house. Anything missed goes into discard pile automatically. Check laundry room and machines. 
Put all clothes on floor
Start with off season clothes
Do I want to see this outfit again next time it’s in season?
Would I want to wear this right away if the temperature suddenly changed?
Handle each one and ask if it sparks joy
Loungewear
Don’t promote bad clothes u won’t wear out to loungewear. Just discard. 
Clothing storage
Folding as main storage method over hanging
A lot less space needed
Placing hands on the clothes makes you think about them. Act of caring and thanking clothes. 
How to fold
Store things standing up so can see all items at a glance
Fold into simple rectangle
Adjust number of folds to match height of drawer when standing
Fold thin soft material more tightly
Arranging clothes
Hang any clothes that look like they’d be happier hung up
Hang clothes of same category side by side
Arrange clothes so they rise to the right
Hang heavy items on left side and light items on right
Heavy is long, dark or large
Order: coats, dresses, jackets, pants, blouses
Organize clothes within each category to rise to right
Storing socks
Treat them with respect
Never tie up stockings or ball up socks
Socks need to rest and have time without tension
Better to fold or roll and arrange on end
Shoebox good divider box
Seasonal clothes
Eliminate need to store clothes in boxes
Keep all clothes ready to wear year round
Don’t categorize by activity
Don’t store in plastic storage units
Get set of drawers
Open drawer and run hands through contents
Storing books
Remove all books and put all on floor
Always remove and don’t judge on shelf because invisible there and dormant
To decide if sparks joy need to take out
Divide in categories
General (pleasure)
Practical (Reference, cooking)
Visual (photograph collections)
Magazines
Take each into hands and decide if want to keep
Decide if it gives you thrill when you touch it, not read it
Imagine bookshelf filled only with books you love
Unread books
Sometime means never
Keep only the books that will make you happy to see on shelf, not reread
Get rid of ones you haven’t read yet
Get rid of old textbooks and reference books because most likely will never use them
If still need can buy again 
Books to keep
Those that belong to hall of fame
Keep up to 50
The moment you first encounter a book is when you should read it so keep collection small
Sorting papers
Rule of thumb: discard everything
3 categories to keep
Currently in use
Needed for temporary time
Keep indefinitely 
Later deal with sentimental papers
Two files for ones to keep
Papers to be dealt with
Papers to keep
Keep all such papers in one spot only
Store in vertical organizer 
Divide papers to keep by frequency of use (infrequent or frequent)
Put infrequent ones in clear folder and don’t worry about organization
Ones you look at frequently put in clear folder with some categories divided
Reduce volume in this category
Three divisions
Needs attention 
Generally should be empty as long as dealing with things in your life in a timely manner
Should be saved (contracts)
Should be saved (other)
Troublesome papers
Lecture materials
Real value from seminar is the experience itself not the notes
Apply the learning instead of keeping the notes
Credit card statements
Dispose all
Warranties
Part with all manuals
Put all warranties in one single folder rather than dividing
Greeting cards
Part with cards
Dispense after a year at most or only keep those you really love
Used checkbooks
Dispose
Pay slips
Dispose
Komono (miscellaneous items)
Keep things because you love them, not just because
Follow order
CDs, DVDs
Skincare
Makeup
Accessories
Valuables (passports, credit cards)
Electrical equipment and appliances, cameras, cords
Household equipment
Stationery and writing materials
Household supplies
Expendables, tissues, medicine, detergent 
Kitchen supplies, tools
Other (spare change, figurines, etc.)
Hobby articles
Common types of komono
Disposables
Gifts
Key holders
Weird incense
Don’t feel guilty for parting with it
Cosmetic samples saved for trips
Electronics boxes and packages and manuals and CDs
Unidentified cords
Broken appliances
Bedding for guests
Spare sets of bedding
Spare buttons
Products from latest health craze
Free novelty goods from events or promo giveaways
Loose change goes into wallet not piggy bank
Take piggy banks to bank now
Sentimental items
You won’t lose the memories if you discard the mementos
Only keep the items that spark joy
Don’t give to parents
Helps you process your past
Photos
Cherish who you are now
Put all in one spot and deal with together at end
Remove all from albums and check one by one
Only keep those that spark joy
Likely will Only keep 5 per day from important trip
Stockpiles
Get rid of excess stock at once
Reduce until you reach point where something clicks
Just right click point when you have just enough to live with
Will never own more than this amount after and never rebound
Will show you your true values
Focus on just what gives joy
Follow your intuition and all will be well

4 storing your things to make your life shine
Greet home when arriving 
Designate a place for each thing
Thank items as put them away
Every single item in designated spot
Stores items of same type near each other
Discard first, store later
Storage: pursue ultimate simplicity
No point for complicated strategy
Don’t scatter storage space
Only organize by type of item and by person
Only one place per person
First start by sorting only your own things and not common household things
Forget about flow planning and frequency of use
Never pile things
Vertical storage best
Stand things on edge
No need for commercial storage items
Just drawers and boxes
Empty shoeboxes
Lids as dividers
Apple boxes
No irregular shaped ones
Only worry about this after done tidying and disposing


The best way to store bags is another bag
Dividing by material or type of use
No more than 2 per bag
Need to be able to see what’s in each at a glance
Leave handles in view
Like Nested dolls
Empty your bag every day
Even what you use daily
Items that usurp floor space belong in the closet
Off season items above closet along with large mementos
Drawers better than boxes
Keep things out of the bath and kitchen sink
Don’t keep soaps and shampoos out
Dry after use and put away
Store sponges and dish detergent under sink
Hang sponges to dry outside
Store oils in cupboard not out
Make the top shelf of your bookcase your shrine
Charms from temples carry with you or in personal altar on book shelf
Decorate your closet with your secret delights
Old posters and hobby memorabilia
Don’t hide it away
Transform closet as private space
Back walls of closet
Personalize
Unpack and detag new clothes immediately 
Don’t stick pile
Don’t underestimate the noise of written info
Remove product seals and labels from containers so words not jumping out at you all the time
Appreciate your possessions and gain strong allies 
Say thank you to clothes after wearing
Treat items with care

5 magic of tidying changes your life
Put your house in order and discover what you really want to do
Childhood possessions and things we choose to keep indicate what we care about most
Magic effect of tidying
Gaining confidence while tidying
An attachment to the past or a fear of the future
Only two reasons why someone keeps something
Learning what you can live without
Do you greet your house?
Do so when you come home
Your possessions want to help you
Your living space affects your body
House detoxes body
Tidying increases good fortune
How to identify what is truly precious
Being surrounded by things that spark joy makes you happy
Your real life begins after you put your house in order

Afterword