Notes from The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up

[This book](https://smile.amazon.com/Life-Changing-Magic-Tidying-Decluttering-Organizing/dp/1607747308?sa-no-redirect=1) surprised me by actually living up to its title. I expected a collection of “life hacks” and instead found a crisp new philosophy of focus and priority.

### The Big Idea

> The best way to choose what to keep and what to throw away is to take each item in one’s hand and ask: “Does this spark joy?” If it does, keep it. If not, dispose of it.

Decide which things in your life bring you true joy, and get rid of the rest. If something used to bring you joy, or you think it could bring you joy in the future, thats not good enough. Joyless items not only fail in their core duty of improving your life, but also block and distract from the things that do bring you joy.

This of course applies to physical items, but can be extended to relationships, jobs, and activities. Ruthlessly discard joyless things!

### 5 Favorite Quotes

> * When you put your house in order, you put your affairs and your past in order, too. As a result, you can see quite clearly what you need in life and what you don’t, and what you should and shouldn’t do.

> * When we really delve into the reasons for why we can’t let something go, there are only two: an attachment to the past or a fear for the future.

> * The question of what you want to own is actually the question of how you want to live your life.

> * The best way to find out what we really need is to get rid of what we don’t.

> * Human beings can only truly cherish a limited number of things at one time.

### Next Steps

I’m going to “tidy up” next week!