403 Forbidden

If you recognize something familiar in my photo above then you have probably read Marie Kondo‘s book “The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up: The Japanese Art of Decluttering and Organizing“. What you see are three T-shirts that have been folded according to her technique. I’m definitely not the first one to  write of this book that has become a worldwide bestseller. For me it is a book that makes you think (and in times when thinking is not that much in fashion…). Organizing and decluttering our homes also means to reconsider ourselves and what really is important in our lives.

It is a quite simple book, in which the practical information is at the end rather limited but it gave me a sense of “freshness” – a word that Marie Kondo uses herself – towards objects (and life) and it fits perfectly in my desire of “anti-accumulation”. I’ve already taken this direction and I’m so much happier with trying to live with less.

To learn the Kondo’s  technique of tiding up your home – which means throwing away all superfluous first and then to start again with joy with what we really like – I recommend of course reading the book itself. These, however, are the lessons that I personally found the most interesting.

1 | The Konmari’s Folding Technique 

To not stack clothes but to store them vertically instead, was the definitive advice. I won’t ever put T-shirts on top of each other in a drawer, but I will stack them one next to each other. Folding them in the “square method” and then folded again in three parts so that they can stand. It will never happen to me again to forget which tops I own. “Oh, hello you (not so nice) T-shirt I did not even remember of you at all and I haven’t worn you in months.” No, NEVER AGAIN.

Folding clothes eliminates wrinkles and “strengthens the fabric” according to Marie. And it definitely makes more space in the closet. So much more! From now on I will use this technique also for packing luggage. Here is a video tutorial on Kondo’s technique of folding clothes.

2 | Focus on Emotions

“Wearing clothes that do not tell you anything makes you happy? […] Owning accessories that you know you will never use makes you happy? The answer […] should be “no”. Imagine yourself surrounded only by things that speak to your heart. Is it not the lifestyle you’ve always dreamed of? Only keep what excites you, throw everything else away without thinking about it twice”.

Exactly, Marie!

I wrote about how I missed an emotional dimension towards clothes before. People and human relationships are the important references of our lives but it is also true that if we do not love what we buy will continue to buy things compulsively and indiscriminately without ever being satisfied.

This book is infused of love that we should feel towards things. Which doesn’t coincide with: “Oh my God, oh my God I got the new IT-Bag, I’m so excited!. Next week I’ll buy another bag to get even more excited!”.

“Touching clothes gives them energy. To fold them is a gesture to show them our affection. We must thank them for having protected our body. Look at your clothes, touch them, fill them with attention and let them know that you can not wait to wear them. Thank your clothes and accessories and express them your gratitude. “

These are some of the tips Marie Kondo shares throughout the book. Is she crazy?? When I read those words I thought that if the book had been written by a “western” author, then yes, maybe she would have been called a little weird. But a Japanese can afford this kind of romantic mysticism, described in an absolutely neutral tone like it was science. So yes, we can whisper sweet words to our clothes and say “hello” to our home when we return at the end of the day. WE CAN.

What happens when you apply Marie Kondos’ technique? “First of all your possess will decrease significantly. Then, most importantly, you will experience a feeling of freshness as you never felt before and you will gain full confidence of what awaits you in life. The right amount of objects to own for yourself will click in your head”.

This is what I liked of the book. No rules or quantity indications for the perfect closet. We do not have to live like ascetics in a cave. We must not deprive us of everything. We must simply love what we own and buy only what we really love.

“Focus on things to keep on the basis of what makes you feel good and enjoy life according to your own rules.”

“We accumulate material things for the same reason that we eat: to satisfy a desire. Buying things compulsively and eating and drinking too much are attempts to relieve our anxiety.”

“Asking yourself what you would like to own and how you want to live is the same question.” Marie Kondo, The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up

* * I read the book in Italian and I have translated all the quotes myself, so they might not be as accurate as from the true English edition of the book.