discard things when they cease being functional—for example, when something breaks down beyond

material, such as stiff leather or thickly woven cloth, or of purses for special occasions,

When they finish tidying, all of my clients are surprised that they notice no inconvenience in their daily lives. It is a strong reminder that they have been living all this time surrounded by things that they don’t need. There are no exceptions. Even clients who have less than a fifth of their possessions left at the end feel this way.

Books like this, which fall into one’s personal Book Hall of Fame, are simple to identify.

Getting back to warranties: the filing method I recommend is to put them all in a single clear file, without separating them into categories. Warranties are only used once a year if at all. What point is there in carefully sorting and separating them when the odds that they will be needed are so low?

When faced with something that doesn’t bring them joy, their hands pause, and they cock their head and frown. After thinking for a few moments, they throw the item onto the “keep” pile. At that moment, there is a tightness in their brow and around their lips. Joy manifests itself in the body, and I don’t let these physical signs escape me.

One theme underlying my method of tidying is transforming the home into a sacred space, a power spot filled with pure energy.

The Art of Discarding by Nagisa Tatsumi (Takarajimasha, Inc.),

In addition to the physical value of things, there are three other factors that add value to our belongings: function, information, and emotional attachment. When the element of rarity is added, the difficulty in choosing what to discard multiplies. People have trouble discarding things that they could still use (functional value), that contain