Japanese cleaning: 5 ways to get rid of unnecessary things

2024 Author: Malcolm Clapton | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 03:44

A few months ago I got the idea to become a minimalist. It all started with a desire to follow fashion trends. One fine morning I woke up with a keen sense of the need to change my image, which means to get rid of most of the clothes that I had become accustomed to …

The main forces were thrown into the fight against the myriad of things in the wardrobe. At the same time, not only a significant part of things fell under the reduction, but also old thoughts and feelings, as if at once lost all meaning and became alien to me. I realized that they have become that very heavy burden, a barrier on the way to a new life. Baggage, which I was no longer able to carry.

A really valuable discovery for me was the book by the young Japanese writer Marie Kondo "An Ordinary Miracle, or The Cleaning That Will Change Your Life." After reading it, my life really began to flow in a qualitatively new direction.

It turned out that the essence of minimalism is not at all about hermitism. Not in asceticism and its extreme manifestations, as I thought earlier.

What is the basic life principle of a minimalist? The answer is simple: live surrounded by things that bring true joy to the owner. Guided by this simple idea, I began to gradually get rid of everything that was no longer pleasing to me, and … I became happier. The restrained harmony of the environment, in the center of which I comfortably settled down, allowed me to forget about the hustle and bustle and do what I loved.

If the theory I'm talking about is already beginning to appeal to you, take on board its five basic principles.

Find out what lies at the heart of your life scenarios

The sooner you realize the reason that convinced you to put your life in order, the better. Take a look around, think about where to start. Make a list of things or habits you can get rid of without regret.

Imagine the environment in which you want to be, think about what will form the basis of your new lifestyle. This will help to correctly prioritize, and therefore, to determine the goals.

Do not be afraid to do everything at once

Act contrary to popular belief that less is more.

According to the principles described by Kondo, saving vitality in this case will not benefit your good intentions. For example, house cleaning will tire you quickly if you limit yourself to just one room. Only after crossing its threshold, you will find yourself where you have not yet had time to reach your hands - in your past life.

Grab whatever comes your way and get rid of unnecessary things on the go. This way, you can change your mindset and achieve near-instant results without delaying anything.

When planning your home cleaning, divide the process into several parts

As you know, a sapper makes only one mistake. In our case, the order of actions and the order of the rooms will not play a decisive role. For example, reading enthusiasts tend to leave books in the most unexpected places around the house.

At the same time, finding the right book is sometimes not an easy task. In this case, Kondo proposes to proceed in stages. To begin with, distribute objects into several conditional groups: clothes, books, documents, personal belongings, and so on.

After collecting all the available clothes in a certain part of your home, decisively get rid of those that you no longer like or do not fit in size. Do not be afraid to overdo it, because now only your favorite things will be in your wardrobe.

The same applies to books: leave only those that you really want to read or have read more than once with pleasure, and distribute the rest to friends or assign to the district library. I prefer books in electronic format, so I have not personally encountered the problem of storing and organizing them.

Expiration date is a universal concept. As you know, everything has a time limit. All sorts of pieces of paper are no exception: warranty coupons, cashier's checks, instructions and other documents. There is no need to keep them in a drawer for years, especially in our age, when all this is already on the Internet. Do the items that can be classified as "for good memory" last, otherwise they will take too much of your time.

Everything has its place

Japanese director Kosai Sekine even directed a short film of the same name. And it is no coincidence. Having got rid of the burden of unnecessary things, find a corner for each of the list of favorites and in demand. This will help you make the most of your living space.

Let's say you don't know where to store the logs. Having bought one at the subway entrance, you will drop it on the table as soon as you are at home. Do not be surprised if in any of the days there are more magazines: they have found a "home" for themselves. By taking care of everything in advance, you will save yourself from such problems forever.

Know how to part

Finally, we have come to the most exciting question, which you have probably already asked yourself more than once: how to determine whether a thing is needed or not? Mary Kondo herself answers it with typical Japanese restraint: "Tokimeki". The meaning is something like this: a thing is good if it makes the heart beat faster.

Following this simple rule, take the time to “chat” with each of them. Hold it in your hands, feel it, listen to your feelings. If all is well, do not rush to part with the thing.

After all, you may not be a minimalist, but living surrounded by what you love is a luxury you can afford.