J.R.: [00:00:00] Hello everyone and welcome back to One Thousand Gurus, where we distill wisdom from people of all walks of life, as well as some of the most transformative books. I'm your host, J.R. Yonocruz.

Today's episode is special because we are diving into a book that completely changed my relationship with possessions, my time, and ultimately my happiness, and it is a book that came into my life at exactly the right moment, and I have a feeling that I might do the same for you.

So today we're talking about The Life-changing Magic of Tidying Up by Marie Kondo or Marie Kondo. You guys might have heard of this book or this person from their Netflix special or their show on Netflix that came out years ago, but I had actually heard of this book first before the Netflix special came out.

So I had done a book summary highlight for personal finance and it showcased three different books. But I was trying to think of what should be my next book because I decided that I wanted to, moving forward, just do one book at a time. And I thought to myself, if I had to pick a book that drastically changed my way of thinking, this book would be in the top five.

So now I know you [00:01:00] might be thinking a book about cleaning. What is this about? Why is this one of your favorite books?

Well, this book isn't just about organizing your closet or folding your shirts. This is actually about fundamentally understanding what you value, who you are, and how you want to live your life.

Marie Kondo's KonMari Method isn't just a tidying system, but it's a philosophy built on gratitude, intentionality, and the radical idea that you should only surround yourself with things that spark joy.

So now let's get into it.

Also, if you are audio only, you can feel free to check out the overview summary Word document that I put together that you can download that has a whole takeaway for this episode, as well as a link in that document to this presentation that I'm showing over video. Or you can check out the YouTube video as well.

So first section, why this book matters. My personal story. So I first discovered Maria Kondo when she appeared on the Tim Ferriss Show podcast, which is one of my favorite podcasts. I've spoken about it before. The conversation was phenomenal, and she talked about tidying in a way that I had never heard before, like it was a spiritual [00:02:00] practice, not just a chore.

So I immediately looked her up on Audible, and when I saw that it had close to 20,000 reviews with an incredible rating, I knew I had to read it. That's usually a good sign that something resonates deeply with people when it has such a high volume and high rating.

But here's what made the book even more timely for me. I was actually just about to move out of my apartment.

I'd been living in this place for about two years, and I needed to downsize dramatically.

My goal was to fit everything I owned into my car, my 2001 Honda Civic, and honestly, I had no idea what to start. That's when Marie Kondo's framework came into my life, and I'm not exaggerating when I say that it changed everything. So as I was reading this book, I started applying to principles.

Immediately. I followed her recommended steps tidying by category, keeping only things that spark joy and following her storage methods. The result was I reduced my possessions in half, and that feeling I got from tidying even just the first few steps was so immediate and powerful that I kind of became addicted.

This was probably the first time in my life I'd ever felt excited to clean my room. Not just to organize, but to examine every item, [00:03:00] but to examine every item I owned and ask myself. But to truly examine every item that I owned and ask myself, does this spark joy?

What really stuck out to me about this book wasn't just the physical decluttering, it was the psychological effect. So has two central themes throughout the entire book.

First is gratitude and respect for your possessions. By treating your belongings with care and surrounding yourself with only things that bring you joy, you inherently create an environment where you can thrive.

And the second is, less is more. By simplifying your life, you strip away the fluff and the unnecessary, and you can finally see who you really are and what's truly valuable. It's kind of like mental cleaning and the effects ripple out towards every area of your life. I think in general, the minimalist or simplicity philosophy really resonates with me in all aspects of my life.

I think a big part of it was because of this book, but I think the idea that having less things, simplifying your life and reducing clutter in [00:04:00] all aspects just really resonated with me.

So the KonMari method. So let's talk about the actual method. What makes the KonMari Method approach different from every other organizing system that you've tried or I've tried?

So, Mari Kno starts with this foundational idea. The roots of the problem lies in the mind. Success is 90% dependent on our mindset. So the KonMari method isn't just about where to put your socks or your clothes. It's a guide to acquiring the right mindsets for creating order and becoming a tidy person.

And here's the first big principle that goes against conventional wisdom, tidy all at once, not little by little. This was kind of revolutionary to me because I think me, like most of us, we kind of clean here and there a little bit by little bit, but she says, no, just clean all at once, and you'll find more of a avalanche effect in that sense.

She says that by trying to tidy a little bit each day is a never ending process. You never get your house in order if you only clean up halfheartedly. Instead, she recommends tidying [00:05:00] quickly, intensely, and completely all in one go. For most people, this takes about six hours, but once you finish and experience what it's like to be perfectly tidy, you'll be freed forever from the belief that you're just not good at tidying or cleaning up.

And this is totally true because if you don't take care of the problem, the root of the problem, it kind of just comes back, right?

Success depends on experiencing tangible results immediately, and that's exactly what happened to me. But also by necessity, because cleaning up and tidying and reducing the number of things that I have, or the volume of my possessions means that I have less to carry when I do move.

So here's something profound that Maria Kondo says. She says, the act of cluttering is really an instinctive reflex that draws our attention away from the heart of the issue.

So think about that. When your space is cluttered, it's easy to avoid looking inward, but when your room is clean and uncluttered, you have no choice but to examine your inner state. 

I think most of us use cleaning as a procrastination tool, or rather, sometimes it's the opposite [00:06:00] that we can't. Be productive if our space around us is cluttered.

And I think we've all had this experience where we're supposed to be doing something, whether it's a task that we're dreading or something that's very mentally taxing, and instead we procrastinate by going on a cleaning spree around us. But once that's done, you realize there's nothing else to do, and now you have to look inward and or focus on the task at hand because there's no other things in the back of our mind, right?

So when we examine our inner state, we can see the issues that we're avoiding and we're forced to deal with them. That's why tidying can feel so uncomfortable at first. It's not just about stuff, it's about confronting yourself.

Marie Kondo is very clear about this. Tidying is just a tool, not the final destination. The true goal is to establish the lifestyle you want most once your house has been put in order. This isn't about having a perfect Instagram worthy home.

It's about creating a space that supports the life you want to live.

And here is the key. The whole point of keeping and discarding things is to be happy. And [00:07:00] I think that's a fundamental human desire is to be happy. So before you start tidying, you need to ask yourself, what kind of lifestyle do I want?

What do I hope to gain from this process? Because tidying forces you to confront that question directly.

The framework, how to actually do this.

Marie Kondo breaks effective tidying down to two essential actions, one, discarding, and then two, deciding where to store things. And of the two, discarding must come first. Of course, order of operations. You can't organize clutter. You have to remove it first. Otherwise you're just moving junk around.

The golden question. So how do you decide what to keep and what to discard? I think most of us have heard of this in pop culture recently, ever since this book and the show came out. But she introduces the most important question in the entire book. Does it spark joy? So here's how it actually works.

Take each item in your hand, like physically hold it, and then ask yourself, does it spark joy? If it does, you keep it. If it doesn't, you dispose of it easy. This is the most [00:08:00] accurate and simple yardstick by which to judge something, whether or not you keep it. Now, some people struggle with this at first, and they say, well, my vacuum cleaner doesn't spark joy, but I need it.

So she clarifies for functional items, the question becomes, does this serve me well? Does having this in my life bring me peace or satisfaction? It's about tuning into your emotional response to your belongings.

So here's another critical principle, sort by category, not location. So don't tidy by room, tidy by category, and she says specifically, you have to do it in this order. So it's clothes, then books, then papers, then komono, which is miscellaneous items like that little drawer or box of random things that you have. And then mementos.

So why this order? It's because you need to build your decision making muscle and going in this order is kind of like starting off with the weights lower and then building it up higher. Because it's easier to toss clothes and it's obviously way harder to toss out mementos or gifts [00:09:00] or things of sentiments of value.

Clothes are relatively easy to evaluate. Books are harder. Papers can be tricky. Komono can be more challenging, and mementos are hardest because they're tied to your past and your identity. If you start with mementos, you'll get overwhelmed and stuck, and then you hit a roadblock and you'll just quit.

But if you follow the sequence, you'll get better and faster at recognizing what sparks joy by the time you reach the hardest category.

So clothes. Let's talk about clothes for a moment. This is where you start, Maria Kondo breaks down clothes into subcategories, tops, bottoms, clothes to hang, socks, underwear, bags, accessories, clothes for specific events and shoes.

Here's something that she says that really stuck with me. What you wear in the house does impact your self image. So if you're constantly wearing ratty old clothes, you're sending a message to yourself about your worth. But if you wear clothes that make you feel good, even at home, it changes how you see yourself.

This kind of relates to one of my old bosses when I used to work at a law firm when we were suit and tie, and [00:10:00] even though most of the people in the office didn't. See clients because as a lawyer, as an attorney, when you see clients, they expect a certain level of professionalism in your attire. But when you're behind the scenes like an office worker or you work in a cubicle, it doesn't really matter too much.

However, my boss had this philosophy that when you look good, you feel good and you perform better. And I think it's the similar philosophy here is that, yeah, you can wear comfortable clothes, but also just realize that how you dress does affect your self image and how you feel about yourself.

So Maria Kondo is also famous for her folding method, and she's serious about it.

She says, folding is really a form of dialogue with our wardrobe. And this is a point that actually really stuck with me, and it goes beyond folding, but we'll get to that in a bit. The goal is to fold your clothes so that you can see everything at a glance, like books on a shelf. If you can kind of picture how they're stacked vertically, you store them vertically, not in piles.

Why is because vertical storage is key. When you stack things, the items at the bottom get crushed and forgotten. But when you store [00:11:00] them vertically, everything is visible and accessible. Plus it prevents over accumulation because you can immediately see how much you have.

So books. When it comes to books, Marie Kondo has a radical perspective. The moment you first encounter a book is the right time to read it. I think that one might hit a little bit hard or hit home for a lot of us book collectors, or just book collectors in general? If you had a book sitting on your shelf for years and haven't read it, you've already missed that moment in that window, just let it go.

She noticed that having fewer books actually increased the impact of the information she read. She could recognize necessary information more easily and honestly, after applying this principle, I found the same thing. I stopped hoarding books just in case and kept the ones that truly resonated.

So papers, here's Marie Kondo's rule of thumb for papers, discard everything, like literally everything. She says that nothing's more annoying than papers because they never inspire joy. No matter how carefully you keep them. The only papers that you should keep fall into three categories.

One currently in use, two [00:12:00] needed for a limited time and three must be kept indefinitely, like tax documents or legal papers. Everything else recycle it. That includes seminar materials, old notes, printed articles. The real value was the experience itself, not the paper.

So put what you learn into practice and let the paper go, which makes a lot of sense because the papers aren't really serving you anymore.

They're just taking up space. Real estate in your life.

So now Komono and mementos. Komono is a catchall category for everything else, like CDs, DVDs, skincare, makeup, kitchen goods, electrical equipment, and so on. One subcategory that Marie Kondo specifically addresses is gifts, and I think gifts are really hard for most of us.

At least I know for me, it was really hard to wrestle with throwing away gifts. But this is also a turning point that really shifted the way I think about things. She says The true purpose of a present is to be received. So gifts aren't things they're meant to convey feelings.

So once you've received that gift and felt the love behind it, its purpose is essentially complete. You don't need [00:13:00] to feel guilty about letting it go.

And then there are mementos, the hardest category. Marie Kondo says, by handling each sentimental item and deciding what to discard, you process your past. If you just stow these items away, your past becomes a weight that holds you back.

She offers this powerful insight. It's not our memories, but the person we have become because of those past experiences that we should treasure.

The space in which we live should be for the person we are becoming now and not for the person we were in the past.

That one hit me really hard. I had to ask myself how much of my space was dedicated to who I used to be instead of who I am becoming.

So storage and maintenance.

Marie Kondo talks about reducing your possessions until you reach what she calls the just right click point. This is the moment when you feel like you don't need any more to live comfortably and be happy.

The satisfaction that comes at that point is palpable. Here's the magic. Once you pass that point, the amount you own never increases. That's why you never rebound.

So storage principles when it comes to storage, Marie [00:14:00] Conde's philosophy is simple. Pursue ultimate simplicity, and I guess to. Tease that. Again, this does not just apply to physical things in your possessions. This is something that I have fully embraced or have tried to internalize in my life as a whole.

Every item must have a designated place.

If something doesn't have a home, your space will become cluttered again. And storage should make it easy to put things away, not get them out, because clutter is caused by a failure to return things to where they belong.

I think that hit me really hard because when things are just left out in the open, they don't really have a place to go. Obviously, it's harder to put them where they belong, and then it causes more clutter.

So her favorite storage tool, a simple shoebox. Inexpensive, functional, and perfect for organizing drawers.

Maintenance habits.

Maria Kondo recommends some habits that might seem extreme at first, but are surprisingly effective. Don't store anything in the bath. Wipe items dry after use and store them in a cupboard. I definitely do this. I try to keep my bathroom as clean as possible and very minimal things that are left out.

This prevents slime [00:15:00] buildup and makes cleaning faster. This is the other thing that I wanna emphasize is that the cleaner you keep your stuff, the easier it is to clean everything. Or I guess the more tidy and organize your spaces, the easier it's to clean.

The same goes for kitchen sponges and condiments. Put them away after each use.

Unpack and de ttag new clothes immediately after purchase. These small habits create in environments where tidiness is effortless. So basically it's just front loading everything, making sure you get things done sooner, and not having to leave a lot of stuff for yourself later on.

So the life changing effects.

Here's what Marie Kondo's clients teller, after they complete the process. When you put your house in order, you discover what you really want to do.

So some people change careers, other start companies. Some become passionate about their current work.

And many become more engaged with their hobbies and interests.

Why? Because tidying forces you to clarify your values. You see what truly matters to you.

Think of it as like. Physically cleaning up your space also mentally cleans up your space in your mind.

Marie Kondo says, sometimes letting go is even more important than adding.

And one of the [00:16:00] magical effects of tidying is confidence in your decision making capacity. When you practice making hundreds of decisions about what to keep and what to discard, you get better at making decisions in all years of life.

That's kind of like what Tony Robbins mentioned in the podcast episode breakdown that I had a few episodes back, which is the power of decision making.

And when you can strengthen your decision making muscle, you give yourself the ability to have a higher quality life because you are better at making those decisions.

Understanding your attachment patterns. So Marie Kondo identifies two reasons why we can't let something go, and this is one of my top five favorite points of the whole book.

We can't let things go because of either one, an attachment to the past or two, a fear for the future. Understanding your ownership pattern is important because it's an expression of the values that guide your life. The question, what do you want to own is actually the question. How do you want to live your life?

Here's the liberating truth. The best way to find out what we really need is to get rid of what we don't. Discarding things that don't spark joy has [00:17:00] no adverse effects whatsoever.

I think whenever I come across someone and they're a self-proclaimed hoarder, or maybe you go to their house and you can clearly see that they are a hoarder, or maybe they have parents who are hoarders.

It's so easy to identify that there is either a strong attachment to the past, like they feel like they. Can't get rid of something and they need it, or a fear of the future, and so they need to be prepared. It's kinda like the whole, too much past is depression and too much future is anxiety. It's like the same thing, but in a physical manifestation form of having too many possessions.

Gratitude, practice.

So one of Marie Kondo's most unique teachings is about gratitude. She tells her clients to greet their house every time they come home.

By treating your home like a person you appreciate, you develop empathy for it. You notice where it needs attention, and as a result, you take better care of it. She also recommends thanking items before you discard them.

It sounds kind of weird, but honestly it's powerful when you think of or when you give that same compassion to the things you own, and you are now giving it up as you would a person. [00:18:00] So you say thank you for teaching me that I don't like the style, or Thank you for being there for me when I needed you, but I don't need you anymore.

This practice of gratitude transforms, discarding from something guilt inducing to something freeing. It's kind of like being guilty for breaking up with a partner or a friend into something that's freeing, which is best for both of you, right?

The detox effect.

Marie Kondo says, when we reduce our belongings and detox our house, it has a detox effect on our bodies as well. When you reduce clutter, you clean more often you create a healthier environment, and that directly affects your physical and mental health.

Plus, there's something deeply satisfying about living in a space filled only with things that you love.

If you can imagine. Where your living space is only filled with things that spark joy within you, you can kind of imagine that that's a way better place to live than a living space that's fully cluttered and filled with things that don't spark joy.

Marie Kno says, owning only what we love and what we need is the most natural condition. And I couldn't agree more.

Alright, key [00:19:00] quotes from the book. Let me share some of my favorite quotes from Marie Kona that really capture the essence of this philosophy.

Quote. Number one, the whole point in keeping and discarding things is to be happy.

Quote two, does this spark joy? The question that changes everything.

Three, the space in which we live in should be for the person we are becoming now, not for the person we were in the past.

Four. It is not our memories, but the person we have become because of those past experiences that we should treasure.

Quote Number five, the true purpose of a present is to be received. You don't need to keep gifts out of guilt. They just take up space and they don't add value because the gift and the feeling that you receive from it is the true value.

Quote number six. Sometimes letting go is even more important than adding.

Seven. The best way to find out what we really need is to get rid of what we don't.

Quote number eight. Success is 90% dependent on our mindset.

Quote. Number nine, tidying is just a tool, not the final destination.

Quote, 10 [00:20:00] things that are cherished shine. She has this really good point in the book where.

Clothes, your car, your home, the things that you own. Your possessions last a lot longer when you cherish them because you take better care of them. And that intentionality into your possessions extend the lifespan and the longevity of it.

Quote number 11, your real life begins after putting your house in order.

Quote number 12, owning only what we love and what we need is the most natural condition.

All right, next section, practical takeaways. So what can you actually do with all of this? Here are the practical takeaways. Take away number one, tidy by category, not by location. Don't go room by room. Gather all your clothes, all your books, all your papers. See the full volume of what you own.

Follow the correct order. So remember clothes, books, memento. Build your decision making muscle progressively.

Take away. Number three, ask. Does it spark joy for everything that you own? Hold each item in your hand. Feel the emotional [00:21:00] response and keep only what brings you joy or serves you well.

Take away number four, discard first, then organize. You can't organize clutter. You have to remove it first.

Take away. Number five, give every item a designated home. If it doesn't have a place to return to, it will create clutter.

Takeaway number six, store items vertically, not in piles. This allows you to see everything and prevent over accumulation.

Takeaway number seven, practice gratitude for your possessions. Think items before you discard them. Greet your home. When you arrive. Treat your belongings with respect.

Takeaway number eight, focus on the lifestyle you want to create. Tidying is not the end goal. It's the tool that helps you build the life that you actually want.

Takeaway Number nine, understand your attachment patterns. Are you holding onto the past or fearing the future? Recognizing this helps you let go.

And finally, takeaway number 10, apply the spark joy principle beyond possessions. I've started asking, does this spark joy about how I spend my time, the commitments that I make and the relationships I maintain.

It's [00:22:00] very transformative.

All right, so that's what I'm taking away from the book, the Life Changing Magic of Tidying Up by Maria Kondo.

This book came into my life at exactly the right time. Like I mentioned, it fundamentally changed how I think about my possessions, my space, my time, and my happiness.

The KonMari method isn't just about folding clothes or organizing drawers. It's about gratitude, intentionality, and surrounding yourself only with things that bring you joy. It's about understanding your values and creating a space that supports the person you're becoming.

And honestly, it really works.

If you're feeling overwhelmed by your stuff or maybe you don't feel overwhelmed by your stuff, but you feel overwhelmed by life. You could start with tidying up your living space. If you're constantly cleaning, but never feeling tidy. If you're ready to create a space that truly reflects who you are, highly recommend you read this book or check out my notes, my book summaries at marloyonocruz.com.

Type in tidying up or Marie Kondo, you'll find it.

Apply the principles and experience this transformation.

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