Quotes from The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up: The Japanese Art of Decluttering and Organizing

“The question of what you want to own is actually the question of how you want to live your life.”
― Marie Kondō, quote from The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up: The Japanese Art of Decluttering and Organizing

“But 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.”
― Marie Kondō, quote from The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up: The Japanese Art of Decluttering and Organizing

“Keep only those things that speak to your heart. Then take the plunge and discard all the rest. By doing this, you can reset your life and embark on a new lifestyle.”
― Marie Kondō, quote from The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up: The Japanese Art of Decluttering and Organizing

“The space in which we live should be for the person we are becoming now, not for the person we were in the past.”
― Marie Kondō, quote from The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up: The Japanese Art of Decluttering and Organizing

“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. This is not only the simplest but also the most accurate yardstick by which to judge.”
― Marie Kondō, quote from The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up: The Japanese Art of Decluttering and Organizing

“Imagine what it would be like to have a bookshelf filled only with books that you really love. Isn’t that image spellbinding? For someone who loves books, what greater happiness could there be?”
― Marie Kondō, quote from The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up: The Japanese Art of Decluttering and Organizing

“No matter how wonderful things used to be, we cannot live in the past. The joy and excitement we feel here and now are more important.”
― Marie Kondō, quote from The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up: The Japanese Art of Decluttering and Organizing

“People cannot change their habits without first changing their way of thinking.”
― Marie Kondō, quote from The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up: The Japanese Art of Decluttering and Organizing

“Clutter is caused by a failure to return things to where they belong. Therefore, storage should reduce the effort needed to put things away, not the effort needed to get them out.”
― Marie Kondō, quote from The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up: The Japanese Art of Decluttering and Organizing

“The true purpose of a present is to be received.”
― Marie Kondō, quote from The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up: The Japanese Art of Decluttering and Organizing

“Visible mess helps distract us from the true source of the disorder.”
― Marie Kondō, quote from The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up: The Japanese Art of Decluttering and Organizing

“For books, timing is everything. The moment you first encounter a particular book is the right time to read it. To avoid missing that moment, I recommend that you keep your collection small.”
― Marie Kondō, quote from The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up: The Japanese Art of Decluttering and Organizing

“People with large book collections are almost always diligent learners.”
― Marie Kondō, quote from The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up: The Japanese Art of Decluttering and Organizing

“The process of assessing how you feel about the things you own, identifying those that have fulfilled their purpose, expressing your gratitude, and bidding them farewell, is really about examining your inner self, a rite of passage to a new life.”
― Marie Kondō, quote from The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up: The Japanese Art of Decluttering and Organizing

“We should be choosing what we want to keep, not what we want to get rid of.”
― Marie Kondō, quote from The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up: The Japanese Art of Decluttering and Organizing

“I have yet to see a house that lacked sufficient storage. The real problem is that we have far more than we need or want.”
― Marie Kondō, quote from The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up: The Japanese Art of Decluttering and Organizing

“When you come across something that you cannot part with, think carefully about its true purpose in your life. You’ll be surprised at how many of the things you possess have already fulfilled their role. By acknowledging their contribution and letting them go with gratitude, you will be able to truly put the things you own, and your life, in order. In the end, all that will remain are the things that you really treasure. To truly cherish the things that are important to you, you must first discard those that have outlived their purpose.”
― Marie Kondō, quote from The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up: The Japanese Art of Decluttering and Organizing

“If sweatpants are your everyday attire, you’ll end up looking like you belong in them, which is not very attractive. What you wear in the house does impact your self-image.”
― Marie Kondō, quote from The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up: The Japanese Art of Decluttering and Organizing

“From the moment you start tidying, you will be compelled to reset your life. As a result, your life will start to change. That’s why the task of putting your house in order should be done quickly. It allows you to confront the issues that are really important. Tidying is just a tool, not the final destination. The true goal should be to establish the lifestyle you want most once your house has been put in order.”
― Marie Kondō, quote from The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up: The Japanese Art of Decluttering and Organizing

“There’s no need to finish reading books that you only got halfway through. Their purpose was to be read halfway.”
― Marie Kondō, quote from The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up: The Japanese Art of Decluttering and Organizing

“Keep only those things that speak to your heart. Then take the plunge and discard all the rest.”
― Marie Kondō, quote from The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up: The Japanese Art of Decluttering and Organizing

“It is the same with people. Not every person you meet in life will become a close friend or lover. Some you will find hard to get along with or impossible to like. But these people, too, teach you the precious lesson of who you do like, so that you will appreciate those.”
― Marie Kondō, quote from The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up: The Japanese Art of Decluttering and Organizing

“I recommend you dispose of anything that does not fall into one of three categories: currently in use, needed for a limited period of time, or must be kept indefinitely.”
― Marie Kondō, quote from The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up: The Japanese Art of Decluttering and Organizing

“Tidy a little a day and you’ll be tidying forever.”
― Marie Kondō, quote from The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up: The Japanese Art of Decluttering and Organizing

“Therefore, the best criterion for choosing what to keep and what to discard is whether keeping it will make you happy, whether it will bring you joy.”
― Marie Kondō, quote from The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up: The Japanese Art of Decluttering and Organizing

“Many people carry this type of negative self-image for years, but it is swept away the instant they experience their own perfectly clean space. This drastic change in self-perception, the belief that you can do anything if you set your mind to it, transforms behavior and lifestyles. This is precisely why my students never experience rebound. Once you have experienced the powerful impact of a perfectly ordered space, you, too, will never return to clutter.”
― Marie Kondō, quote from The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up: The Japanese Art of Decluttering and Organizing

“You may think this is a waste of money, but reducing your stock and relieving yourself of the burden of excess is the quickest and most effective way to put your things in order.”
― Marie Kondō, quote from The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up: The Japanese Art of Decluttering and Organizing

“All you need to do is take the time to sit down and examine each item you own, decide whether you want to keep or discard it, and then choose where to put what you keep.”
― Marie Kondō, quote from The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up: The Japanese Art of Decluttering and Organizing

“When we disperse storage of a particular item throughout the house and tidy one place at a time, we can never grasp the overall volume and therefore can never finish. To escape this negative spiral, tidy by category, not by place.”
― Marie Kondō, quote from The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up: The Japanese Art of Decluttering and Organizing

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“В самом деле, юная девушка полна иллюзий, она так неопытна, и в её любви большую роль играет голос инстинкта. Поэтому победа над ней вряд ли польстит молодому дипломату: женщины же идут на огромные жертвы обдуманно. Первая увлечена любопытством, соблазнами, чуждыми любви, другая сознательно подчиняется чувству. Одна поддаётся, другая выбирает. Выбор этот сам по себе является чем-то безмерно лестным. Женщина, вооружённая знанием жизни, за которое она почти всегда дорого расплачивается несчастьями, искушённая опытом, отдаваясь, как будто отдаёт большее, нежели самое себя; девушка, неопытная и доверчивая, ничего не изведав, не может ничего и сравнить, ничего оценить; она принимает любовь и изучает её. Женщина наставляет нас, советует нам, когда мы по молодости лет ещё не прочь, чтобы нами руководили, когда нам даже приятно подчиняться; девушка хочет всё познать и бывает наивна, а женщина была бы нежна. Первая сулит вам лишь однажды одержанную победу, с другой вы принуждены вечно вести борьбу. Первая плачет и утешается, вторая наслаждается и испытывает муки совести. Если девушка стала любовницей, значит, она чересчур испорчена, и тогда её с омерзением бросают; у женщины же тысяча способов сохранить и власть свою и достоинство. Одна слишком покорна, и постоянство её наводит на вас скуку; другая теряет слишком много, чтобы не требовать от любви всех её превращений. Одна только себя покрывает позором, другая разрушает ради вас семью. Девичьи чары однообразны, и девушка воображает, что всё будет сказано, лишь только она сбросит одежды, а у женщины бесчисленное множество чар, и она таит их за тысячью покрывал; словом, любовь её льстит нашему самолюбию во всех его проявлениях, а наивная девушка затрагивает лишь одну сторону нашего самолюбия. Тридцатилетнюю женщину жестоко терзают нерешительность, страх, опасения, тревоги, бури, которые несвойственны влюблённой девушке. Женщина, вступив в этот возраст, требует, чтобы мужчина питал к ней уважение, возмещая этим то, чем она пожертвовала ради него; она живёт только им, она печётся о его будущем, она хочет, чтобы жизнь его была прекрасна, чтобы он добивался славы; она подчиняется, она просит и повелевает; в ней и самоуничижение и величие, и она умеет утешать в тех случаях, когда девушка умеет лишь жаловаться. Наконец, тридцатилетняя женщина, помимо всех иных своих преимуществ, может вести себя по-девичьи, играть любые роли, быть целомудренной, стать ещё пленительнее в своём несчастье. Между ними неизмеримое несходство, отличающее предусмотренное от случайного, силу от слабости. Тридцатилетняя женщина идёт на всё, а девушка из девичьего страха вынуждена перед всем отступать. Такие мысли теснятся в голове молодого человека и порождают подлинную страсть, ибо она соединяет искусственные чувства, созданные нравами, с чувствами естественными.

Самый главный и самый решительный миг в жизни женщины именно тот, который сама она считает самым незначительным. Выйдя замуж, она более не принадлежит себе, она властительница и раба домашнего очага. Безупречная нравственность женщины несовместима с обязанностями и свободными нравами света. Эмансипировать женщину — значит развратить её. Допустить чужого к святая святых семьи не значит ли отдаться на его милость? Но если женщина привлекает его, разве это уже не проступок или, для большей точности, не начало проступка? Надобно согласиться с этой суровой теорией или же оправдать страсти. До сих пор во Франции общество избирает нечто среднее: оно смеётся над несчастьем. Подобно спартанцам, каравшим пойманного вора только за неловкость, оно, по-видимому, допускает воровство. Но, быть может, такая система вполне разумна. Самое ужасное наказание — это общее презрение, оно поражает женщину в самое сердце. Женщины стремятся и всегда должны стремиться к тому, чтобы их уважали, ибо без уважения они не существуют; поэтому они требуют от любви в первую очередь уважения.”
― Honoré de Balzac, quote from A Woman Of Thirty

“Denial is a skill I mastered at a young age. Don’t think about it. Don’t talk about it. Suck it up. Choke it down.”
― Emma Chase, quote from Twisted

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