I own 200 things. I know this because I counted. Minimalism resonates with me. Why do I need 15 shirts, when 5 will do just fine? Why do I need 150 books that I will never read again? Why do I need photos stored under my bed, never to be seen?

Before I decluttered, my possessions weighed me down. I felt I couldn’t think clearly. To streamline, I picked up Marie Kondo’s book, The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up: The Japanese Art of Decluttering and Organizing *. She preaches that possessions should bring joy.

Before decluttering, I loved some possessions, felt neutral about others, and disliked the rest.

They all seemed necessary though. After reading Mari Kondo’s book, I realized I own so many things because I either fear the future or the past.

I worried that in the future I might need an item. For instance, I kept bank statements for tax purposes. When did I use statements from five years ago? Never. Now that papers can be kept online, I have no excuse. Similar logic can be applied to clothes and other categories. If I haven’t used it recently, I will probably not need it in the future.

Some items remind us of the past. I worried I would forget these memories after decluttering. I had a once-loved shirt sitting at the bottom of my drawer, collecting dust and wrinkling the rest of my clothes. There is no reason to keep it. Though it is difficult, if an object doesn’t currently bring me joy, it should not be in my life.

Decluttering doesn’t mean getting rid of items for the sake of fewer items.

If that once-loved shirt still brings me joy, I would keep it. I may not need the object, but if it still brings me joy, it serves a purpose. I will only get rid of an item if it loses its joyful properties.

I know I am most happy when living in the present. Items that do not bring me joy distract me with the past or future. Getting rid of my acquired detritus forces me to live in the present. I did not discard items so that I own few things, I discarded them so I have possessions that only give me joy. To me, living a decluttered life is living a present and happy life. Kondo’s method helped me achieve this life.

Step by step, I learned to identify which possessions brought me joy.