Hold it and ask if it sparks joy
The test for keeping an object is a felt one, not a rule about usefulness or price. You physically hold each item and notice whether it gives a feeling of positive connection. If it does, it stays.
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Marie Kondo, a Japanese organizing consultant, offers a clear method: gather possessions by category, keep what sparks joy, and store clothes upright.
Sort by kind, not by room
Tidying room by room hides how much of one thing you own, because it is scattered across the house. Gathering every item of a type into one place shows the full volume at once, so you judge it as a whole.
Start easy, end with sentimental things
Decisions are tackled in a fixed order so the skill of choosing builds before the hardest choices. Clothes come first, then books, papers and miscellaneous items, and keepsakes come last because they are the most emotionally loaded.
Value objects regardless of price
Possessions are treated as valuable, not disposable, whatever they cost. Treasuring what you own, and displaying things so each can be appreciated, is presented as a traditional Japanese, Shinto-influenced way of living.
Choose what to keep, not what to toss
Hunting for things to throw out keeps your attention on the wrong question and never ends. Flip it: pick out the things you actually want, and let everything else go. The work of tidying is identifying what makes you happy.
One big purge beats steady nibbling
Order lasts when tidying is done as a single, thorough event rather than a little each day. The book's advice is to discard quickly and completely at the start instead of chipping away indefinitely.
Thank objects before letting them go
Things you discard are thanked for the service they gave, not tossed as worthless. Clothes, for example, protect and warm us all day yet often end up in a heap on the floor. Acknowledging that service makes it easier to part with an item, and to treat the ones you keep with care.
Every item needs one fixed home
Once each object has a set place and is returned there, keeping order becomes simple. Clutter returns when things have no assigned spot to go back to.
Store clothes standing up
Folded clothes kept upright in drawers, rather than stacked on top of one another, stay in view and are not crushed beneath a pile. You can see everything you own at a glance.