The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying: A simple, effective way to banish clutter forever

organise them into infrequently used papers and more frequently used papers.

I recommend tidying by category. For example, instead of deciding that today you’ll tidy a particular room, set goals like ‘clothes today, books tomorrow’. One major reason so many of us never succeed at tidying is because we have too much stuff. This excess is caused by our ignorance of how much we actually own. When we spread storage of a particu

storage should reduce the effort needed to put things away, not the effort needed to get them out.

FOR THE REASONS described above, my storage method is extremely simple. I have only two rules: store all items of the same type in the same place and don’t scatter storage space.

The work involved can be broadly divided into two kinds: deciding whether or not to throw something away and deciding where to put it.

SORT BY CATEGORY, in the correct order, and keep only those things that inspire joy. Do this thoroughly and quickly, all in one go.

Gathering every item in one place is essential to this process because it gives you an accurate grasp of how much you have. Most people are shocked at the sheer volume, which is often at least twice what they imagined. By collecting things in one spot, you can also compare items that are similar in design, making it easier to decide if you want to

Appreciate your possessions

There are only two ways of categorising belongings: by type of item and by person.