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Life Lessons Inspired by Marie Kondo’s Book “Spark Joy”

As part of my reading push, I’ve picked up Marie Kondo’s Spark Joy: An Illustrated Master Class on the Art of Organizing and Tidying Up. Her book helps to guide you to keeping your home clean and simplified. Good for those whom want to fit more t-shirts into their dresser. Here’s some of the tips I’ve pulled out which helped me to better organize my spaces.

spark-joy-hardcover

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The correct order for tidying things: Clothes > Books > Papers > Miscellaneous (Komono) > Sentimental Items

 

Tidying up means confronting yourself. Cleaning meanings confronting nature.

 

If an item doesn’t really spark joy, go ahead and discard it!

 

It might come in handy is TABOO. You can always manage without it.

 

Tidying up is a priceless opportunity for learning and reassessing you relationship with your possessions and to create the lifestyle that brings you the most joy.

 

There are only two choices: keep it or chuck it. And if you’re going to keep it, make sure to take care of it. It’s a crime to put things in detention so we can justify throwing them away.

 

Rather than hiding things that fall into the great zone, keep them openly and willingly.

 

Storage only falls into place at the end once you’ve decided what you want to keep.

 

It’s easier to store things when space is limited. Restrictions force our brains to think at full capacity.

 

For clothes, gather all of them and put it in one place. Do it swiftly and mechanically, like a robot. Be committed to discarding things you’ve overlooked (you basically forgot / don’t care about those things).

 

Hanging on to course materials prevents us from using what we’ve learned.

 

Keep equipment (pens, scissors) in a box that’s compartmentalized.

 

Wallets, tire easily. Money is used quite roughly. By taking good care of your wallet, you will feel gratitude every time you remove some cash, and this will actually change how you use your money.

 

When you are in a kitchen that is easy to clean, one that always looks spick-and-span, the effort of removing things from the cupboard doesn’t seem stressful at all. Aim for one that’s easy to clean. Put nothing on the counters or around the sink and stove top. Keep dish soaps and sponges away from the sink.

 

Clear plastic cases for stationary are great for storing cleaning supplies and you can put it under the sink.

 

Next to food and your toothbrush, cutlery is the only other thing that enters your mouth. Use something gentle like bamboo for your cutlery. Not hard plastic.

 

Utilize the full vertical space. Under sink you can put a thing to make multiple layers.

 

If your bathroom has a built-in cupboard, store everything inside in such a way that you won’t feel embarrassed if someone else happens to open it.

 

If you cannot bring yourself to throw something away, keep it with confidence.

 

If you want to develop a relationship with someone new, the basic approach is to get rid of everything. Thank them for the memories. This will help you move on.

 

When tidying up digital data, the same principle applies: choose what you wish to keep, not what you re going to discard. It takes less time than you think to go through it.

 

Keep the airflow of entranceway free. Remove shoes and other things distracting the air circulation.

 

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Marie Kondo’s Spark Joy

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8 responses to “Life Lessons Inspired by Marie Kondo’s Book “Spark Joy””

Devan Nielsen
June 8, 2016 at 3:57 pm

Favorite “choose what you wish to keep, not what you re going to discard.” This is a mental shift for a lot of people including myself. Something to keep in mind when going through 100’s of photos.

Will Chou
May 22, 2016 at 1:49 pm

Will definitely check out the book.
Thank you Noah!

Gemma Regalado
April 16, 2016 at 4:29 pm

I AM EXCITED BY THE FOOTER TACO.

(I know, I’m probably not the right sort of commenter for this kind of book review – although I love me a bit of Marie Kondo. I just love an easter egg, though. Props to the designer)

Jandee Smith
April 5, 2016 at 11:47 pm

Nice tip! This article really helps. Organizing things/clothes makes free space wide. Keeping the airflow of entranceway free and removes that distracts the air circulation.

Michael Shuffett
April 3, 2016 at 7:03 pm

Not sure if this is a review :p. But very useful info. Do the above notes represent the book distilled, or will I get significantly more out of the book / do you recommend picking it up?

Jamie
March 24, 2016 at 12:19 pm

Konmari method! I feel like she looked into my brain and stole my thoughts.

Ankesh Kothari
March 24, 2016 at 2:15 am

Seems like a really awesome book. Thanks for reviewing it Noah.

I like the idea of not being owned by things. And being a minimalist. But discarding things can be painful. The trick I feel is to guard yourself against impulse purchases. Never buy a thing unless you feel a need for it at least twice.

Kaydence
April 18, 2016 at 4:30 am

Short, sweet, to the point, FRE-Eexactly as information should be!

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