Marie Kondo’s book,did, indeed, change Emily Clay’s life. The Portland, Oregon, woman says that since reading the book she has divested herself of about “a ton” of clothes and books and, although she loves shopping, she has not refilled her shelves and closets. “It changed the way I view my stuff,” she says. “If I don’t love it or have not used it, read it or worn it, then I get rid of it.” Beryn Hammil , a San Francisco Bay Area interior designer, had a similar experience. “I use, and encourage others to use, [Kondo’s] basic premise that you should keep something only if it gives you pleasure,” she says. “That single statement helps determine something’s place in my home and heart. It’s amazing how much clearer the energy in my home is now that I’ve eliminated things that were just stuff.”