For kids, it’s best to teach them how to fold their clothes first. Kids will be able to fold their clothes at about three years old. You don’t want to teach them how to put away toys first because it’s difficult. Clothes are something kids wear every day, so it’s easy for them to have a sense about their belongings.

I had been so focused on what to discard, on attacking the unwanted obstacles around me, that I had forgotten to cherish the things that I loved, the things I wanted to keep.

The process of facing and selecting our possessions can be quite painful. It forces us to confront our imperfections and inadequacies and the foolish choices we made in the past.

If you fold your clothes in the formal spark of joy, you can actually make the joy last longer.

The best way to find out what we really need is to get rid of what we don’t. Quests to faraway places or shopping sprees are no longer necessary. All you have to do is eliminate what you don’t need by confronting each of your possessions properly.

Keep 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.

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.

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.

The objects you decide to keep, the ones that gave you the spark of joy? Treasure them from now on. When you put things away, you can actually audibly say, ‘Hey, thank you for the good work today…’ By doing so, it becomes easier for you to put the objects away and treasure them, which prolongs the spark of joy environment.

It is very natural for me to say thank you to the goods that support us.

I had a slight hope the phrase ‘spark joy’ might become popular, as it was the keyword that I wanted to put forward in the first place.

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.

It’s important to understand your ownership pattern because it is an expression of the values that guide your life. The question of what you want to own is actually the question of how you want to live your life.

Changing lifestyle habits acquired over many years is often extremely difficult.

The objective of cleaning is not just to clean, but to feel happiness living within that environment.

Being packed all the time, even when not in use, must feel something like going to bed on an empty stomach.

People cannot change their tidying habits without first changing their way of thinking.

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

To truly cherish the things that are important to you, you must first discard those that have outlived their purpose. And if you no longer need them, then that is neither wasteful nor shameful. Can you truthfully say that you treasure something buried so deeply in a cupboard or drawer that you have forgotten its existence?

I recommend tidying by category, not by place. For example, instead of deciding that today you’ll tidy a particular room, set goals such as ‘clothes today, books tomorrow.’