It's easy to get rid of things when there is an obvious reason for doing so. It's much more difficult when there is no compelling reason.
Marie KondoRead
A lot of people agree that tidying is connected to how we live, and even though, outside of Japan, houses might be bigger, people have more things than they need.
Interpretation
What this quote means
Tidying reflects our lifestyle choices and the clutter in our lives often denotes excess.
Marie Kondo suggests that the process of tidying up is deeply linked to our way of living. Despite larger living spaces in some countries outside Japan, many people tend to accumulate excess belongings that are unnecessary, leading to clutter. This observation highlights a cultural difference in how material possessions are viewed and managed, emphasizing the importance of simplicity and intentionality in one's living environment.
Themes
TidyingClutterSimplicityLifestyleMinimalism
In practice
Example use cases
In a workshop about minimalism, this quote can be used to illustrate the significance of decluttering.
More from Marie Kondo
All quotes βKeep only those things that speak to your heart. Then take the plunge and discard all the rest. By doing this, you can reset your life and embark on a new lifestyle.
Marie KondoRead
Effective tidying involves only three essential actions. All you need to do is take the time to examine every item you own, decide whether or not you want to keep it, then choose where to put what you keep. Designate a place for each thing.
Marie KondoRead
The objective of cleaning is not just to clean, but to feel happiness living within that environment.
Marie KondoRead
Have gratitude for the things you're discarding. By giving gratitude, you're giving closure to the relationship with that object, and by doing so, it becomes a lot easier to let go.
Marie KondoRead
It's going to be labor-intensive and time-consuming, but you need to take all the books down and put them on the floor. Take them down and spread them in one area. Physically pick each book up, one by one. If the book inspires you, keep it. If not, it goes out. That's the standard by which you decide.
Marie KondoRead
Similar quotes
Religion is regarded by the common people as true, by the wise as false, and by rulers as useful.
Seneca The YoungerRead
If you have to have it, it's ego. If you have to not have it, it's ego. Hold life lightly and it will deliver what you need and release what you don't.
Alan CohenRead
The unformed is not worse than the over-formed. The former is nothing; the latter is mere appearance. Real form presupposes real life.
Ludwig Mies Van Der RoheRead
I have more respect for a man who lets me know where he stands, even if he's wrong, than the one who comes up like an angel and is nothing but a devil.
Malcolm XRead
The primordial image, or archetype, is a figure--be it a daemon, a human being, or a process--that constantly recurs in the course of history and appears wherever creative fantasy is freely expressed. Essentially, therefore, it is a mythological figure. . . . In each of these images there is a little piece of human psychology and human fate, a remnant of the joys and sorrows that have been repeated countless times in our ancestral history. . . .
Carl JungRead
There's a terror in knowing what the world is about
David BowieRead