What to Ask Yourself Instead of “Is This a Spark of Joy?”
We all have things that we need, that we want and love in our life, and things that are spinning in our homes, because this is garbage that we have not yet realized is garbage. Mari Kondo asks, “Does this cause joy?” This is a way to tell the difference.If that doesn’t work, try answering the following questions instead:
Would I rip it out of Mari Kondo’s hands if she tried to take it?
Kondo doesn’t actually do this; in her books, she makes it very clear that these decisions are personal and that you should not let someone else’s rules prevail over what you know in your heart.
But she also once wrote that if a client is having a hard time deciding whether to keep something, she suggests giving it up. This is a test: if they object, the subject remains unanswered.
If I were traveling across the country, would I have to take it with me?
If you’ve taken a big step, you know this: the closer you get to your departure date, the fewer things in your life are joyful enough to be worth packing, labeling, transporting, and finding a new place to.
You don’t need to travel anywhere to apply this rule. An imaginary move will do.
What would I do if I needed this and this was not?
I find this rule helps to be honest with yourself about duplicates. If I didn’t have this particular bag, I would use one of my 15. On the other hand, I might not wear a business suit very often, but I would not like to rush out and buy it on the next time I really need in that.
Have I used this last year?
Except for a few specialty items (like this emergency business suit), if you haven’t worn clothes in the past year, they probably shouldn’t take up space in your closet. The same goes for kitchen equipment and almost anything that can be useful. Those spare sheets that you hate? If you’ve done fine without them all year, you can probably let them go.
Our technical editor David Murphy says that when he finds cables or accessories for electronics, he asks himself, “How many devices do I have that support this?” If the answer is no, he should probably leave.