The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up: The Japanese Art of Decluttering and Organizing by Marie Kondo

Here in the States, minimalism isn’t exactly a point of pride (we like stuff, and lots of it), so it’s especially remarkable that Japanese tidying expert Marie Kondo’s brutally strict approach to decluttering took off here. The no-excuses elimination method has spawned legions of Konverts who devote vast amounts of time to Kondo-ing their lives top to bottom. The bestselling book that started it all is easy to digest (and infectious…you will literally start itching to toss stuff), though its central thesis is kind of hard to stomach at first: Unless you truly, deeply love an item, it has no business in your home. This means the first purging session can be rough, but the euphoria that comes with unloading a single bag of unnecessary clutter makes going H.A.M. on the rest of your space easy. We’ve laid out the basics below—along with an illustrated guide to her folding technique, which we found impossible to figure out based on the text alone. (Meanwhile, we gave the book to some friends to spur donations for our annual goop closet sale.)

When deciding what to discard, remember that the endgame isn’t to throw out or donate as much as possible but to make sure that the things you hold on to make you happy. This is where picking up each item and asking, “Does this spark joy?” comes in. It may sound like a hazy benchmark, but with practice, it becomes an invaluable tool. It’s particularly effective for organizing closets as we often develop superficial attachments to clothing (I paid a lot for this, I wore it when I met my husband, maybe if I lose 10 pounds), not really considering if the shirt, dress, or pair of shoes serves a purpose.

Sort and purge by category rather than by room. While your instinct may be to start in, say, the kitchen, and then move on to the living room and so on, it’s best to pick a category (clothing, books, documents, etc.) and go from there. The reasoning is that similar items are likely scattered throughout the house, not confined to one room.

After discarding, designating a specific home for every single item you keep is critical in avoiding a clutter relapse. According to Kondo, fancy stackable storage solutions encourage hoarding, so simple and easy-to-use options are best. Ideally, it should be just as effortless to put something away as it is to locate it later.

The KonMari Folding Method

Arguably the most revolutionary Kondo tidying tool is her folding technique. The instructions are complex, though, which is why we illustrated it below. In short: Rather than haphazardly laying things flat in a drawer, they should stand upright; the more folds there are, the less wrinkled the item will be when you are ready to wear it. While the space-saving benefits are pretty far-reaching, Kondo’s other objective is to grant clothes—everything from coats to sweaters to socks—the respect they deserve by touching, appreciating, and properly storing each item.