I happened to watch an episode of the series “Tidying Up with Marie Kondo,” and there was one scene that I truly loved.

Mario, the homeowner, picked up a small mailbox from a storage box and asked Marie: “I’m not sure if I should throw this mailbox away?”

Marie asked back: “Does it ‘Spark Joy’ for you?”

Mario replied: “Maybe ‘Spark Joy’ isn’t the right word for this item. When I see it, it reminds me of when we first moved into this house. It’s more of a feeling of attachment.”

Marie then followed up: “In that case, let’s change the question—will this object add value to your life in the future?”

Mario answered: “Oh… if that’s the question, I think I can let it go now.”

The Philosophy Behind Organizing

Marie’s philosophy of organizing a home is essentially about organizing one’s own life. The moment we decide that we need to change something, we are implicitly admitting to ourselves: “Right now, we have a problem,” and we want to fix it.

A crucial part—and a strict rule—of the KonMari Method is that we must bring out “all” our belongings and pile them together.

  1. This is so we can truly “see” the reality of our current situation.
  2. From there, we can identify “what the real problem is that we are facing.”
  3. Then, we begin to solve the problem point by point.

A Matter of the Heart

Every person faces different levels of difficulty, but no one is unable to solve their problems. This is because every issue is ultimately a psychological one, such as:

  • The feeling of regret or “wastefulness.”
  • The feeling of being reminded of a past mistake (buying something we didn’t need).
  • The feeling of guilt when discarding a gift from someone else, even if we no longer want it.

The result of “letting go” of these burdens is the return of “a sense of freedom” and “detachment.” Those who can let go find their happiness increases.

The Trap of “Someday”

Sasaki, the author of “Goodbye, Things,” made an excellent comparison:

The things in our house are constantly calling out to us, waiting for the day we pick them up and use them. It’s as if there is a “Someday” tag attached to every single item.

This word “Someday” represents a future that we don’t know when—or if—it will ever arrive. We keep telling ourselves that “someday” we might use it.

The moment we get rid of those items, the anxiety about an uncertain future—the anxiety hidden within that “someday”—disappears.

All that remains is the “Present.”