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Is Marie Kondo’s question, “does it spark joy”, the right question for you?

By Julie Stobbe / March 12, 2019 /

Most of us keep more than we will ever need. This costs valuable storage space, makes retrieval of the items we actually need more difficult and adds to the stress of daily living. The famous Japanese organizer Marie Kondo tells you to ask if the object sparks joy for you. If it does keep it, if not donate it. Sometimes that question doesn’t solve the dilemma if you should keep something or donate it. The following questions might be more helpful when you ‘re making those decisions.

For Paper:

Are there any tax or legal reasons for keeping this?
Can I easily get a copy elsewhere?
Does someone else have this information?
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Can I identify a situation in which I would ever refer to this information?
Is it still relevant to my life?
What are the implications if I didn’t have this?
Shred papers that contain personal information.

For belongings:

Is it out of style, the wrong size or colour or mismatched?
Does it still work? Do I have all the parts?
When was the last time I used this item and when would I need to use it in the foreseeable future?
If it is something I use rarely, could I borrow one from someone else?
Do I use it often enough to make it worth the cost to store it?
Do I have more than one? Do I need more than one?
Has the collection outgrown the space or the container originally allocated to storing it? Has the collector outgrown the collection?
Is it the best of the best?

Swedish Death Cleaning

A third way to decide what to keep and what to donate is conveyed in the Swedish Death Cleaning method. Ask yourself:

If you died tomorrow, your loved ones would have to deal with everything you left behind. What would they really want to see left?
Start thinking about the cost of holding onto things, instead of thinking about the cost of needing it one day and not having it. Share on X

Give yourself permission to let go of things. Don’t let the fear of making a mistake cause you to keep things you don’t need, love or use.

Tell us how you decide what to keep and what to let go

Julie Stobbe is a Trained Professional Organizer and Lifestyle Organizing Coach who brings happiness to homes and organization to offices,coaching you virtually using Zoom. She enjoys working with her clients to provide customized organizing solutions to suit their individual needs and situations. She reduces clutter, streamlines processes and manages time to help her clients be more effective in reaching their goals. Julie can coach you to break-free of the physical or emotional clutter constraining you from living life on your terms. Online courses are available to help instruct, coach and support your organizing projects. Get started by downloading Tips for Reorganizing 9 Rooms.