[APPLAUSE]
MARIE KONDO: Hello, everybody.
My name is Marie Kondo.
Call me KonMari.
KonMari.
Yes.
I am a Japanese
organizing consultant.
I usually visit client home and
give her one-to-one organizing
lesson.
[SPEAKING JAPANESE]
INTERPRETER: So
first of all, let
me start how I usually
work with my clients.
So this is the first example.
MARIE KONDO: [SPEAKING JAPANESE]
INTERPRETER: So
she is-- the lady
who lives in this room--
she is in her 20s.
MARIE KONDO: [SPEAKING JAPANESE]
INTERPRETER: You already
see in this picture
that she has full of
stuff from her bed.
Actually, that's actually her
bed, but you might not see it.
And she also had a lot
of stuff on the floor.
MARIE KONDO: [SPEAKING JAPANESE]
INTERPRETER: And
she first told me
that, don't you think the
bedroom is just like a storage?
MARIE KONDO: [SPEAKING JAPANESE]
INTERPRETER: So when she comes
home after work, she never,
ever feels relaxed in her room.
MARIE KONDO: But how
about after my lesson?
Voila.
It looks so neat and clean.
Of course, nothing
is on the floor.
[SPEAKING JAPANESE]
INTERPRETER: So my job is
to consult how to organize,
and I've been doing this
job for more than 10 years.
MARIE KONDO: Characteristics
of my consultation
is thus-- my clients
never go back to the mess
because they have been
transformed to the organized
person.
Today, I'm going to
tell you how to make
your house ordered in a way that
will change your life forever.
[SPEAKING JAPANESE]
INTERPRETER: So before I
start telling you what to do,
let me tell you how
I start my job, how
I discovered this method.
MARIE KONDO: [SPEAKING JAPANESE]
INTERPRETER: I was
only five years
old when I got very interested
in how to organize things.
MARIE KONDO: [SPEAKING JAPANESE]
INTERPRETER: So I
was always picking up
every single issue of the
magazine that my mother was
subscribing, and the
magazine was about how
to organize the house.
MARIE KONDO: [SPEAKING JAPANESE]
INTERPRETER: So when
I turned 15 years old,
I started a serious consultation
to how to organize things.
MARIE KONDO: [SPEAKING JAPANESE]
INTERPRETER: There was
a best-selling book
in Japan titled "Technique
to Get Rid of Things,"
and I read that book.
And I discovered the method.
MARIE KONDO: [SPEAKING JAPANESE]
INTERPRETER: So
you would probably
wonder how I started
researching organizing things.
First, I started reading every
single book published in Japan
on organizing.
MARIE KONDO: [SPEAKING JAPANESE]
INTERPRETER: And I also
keep organizing things.
I worked every single
day organizing things.
MARIE KONDO: Today, my own room.
Next day, my brother's room.
Next next day, my sister's
room followed by the kitchen,
living room, bathroom, my
friend's room, friend's room,
friend's room, my
classroom, classroom,
classroom of the school.
And again, get down
to my own room.
[SPEAKING JAPANESE]
INTERPRETER: So I spent
most of my teenage years
organizing things
just like that.
MARIE KONDO: [SPEAKING JAPANESE]
INTERPRETER: And I started
an organizing consultation
business when I was 19.
MARIE KONDO: [SPEAKING JAPANESE]
INTERPRETER: I also picked this
topic in my thesis at college.
MARIE KONDO:
[SPEAKING JAPANESE] So it's
safe to assume that I am
a crazy, tidying fanatic.
[SPEAKING JAPANESE]
INTERPRETER: So you
are perfect to think
that I'm a fanatic
organizer at this point.
MARIE KONDO: Yes.
[SPEAKING JAPANESE]
INTERPRETER: So
I'd like to present
KonMari method,
which I discovered,
to everybody here today.
MARIE KONDO: [SPEAKING JAPANESE]
INTERPRETER: So let me start.
MARIE KONDO: [SPEAKING JAPANESE]
INTERPRETER: So number
one of KonMari method.
MARIE KONDO: Tidy in
one shot as quickly
and completely as possible.
[SPEAKING JAPANESE]
INTERPRETER: If you think
you have to tidy around
you everyday, gradually,
little by little,
that's completely wrong.
MARIE KONDO: [SPEAKING JAPANESE]
INTERPRETER: Because you need
a shock that changes your mind
into tidying your things.
MARIE KONDO: [SPEAKING JAPANESE]
INTERPRETER: So you
want to finish it
in a very short period of time.
MARIE KONDO: [SPEAKING JAPANESE]
INTERPRETER: So the
first important thing
is to set the deadline
of organizing.
MARIE KONDO: [SPEAKING JAPANESE]
INTERPRETER: Of course, you
can set the deadline in one
week, assuming that you're
going to do that every day,
or you decide to
do every weekend
and set the deadline
in three months.
MARIE KONDO: [SPEAKING JAPANESE]
Special event nowadays.
INTERPRETER: So don't
think about tidying
is an everyday event.
It's a special event,
just like a festival.
MARIE KONDO: [SPEAKING JAPANESE]
INTERPRETER: So the number
two item in KonMari method
is how you're going to do it.
MARIE KONDO:
[SPEAKING JAPANESE] Sort
by category, not by location.
[SPEAKING JAPANESE]
INTERPRETER: It's very
common to make this mistake
if you try to organize things
in a specific location.
MARIE KONDO: [SPEAKING JAPANESE]
INTERPRETER: It
never ends if you
try to tidy up in just
one portion of the closet
or one portion of
the living room.
MARIE KONDO: [SPEAKING JAPANESE]
INTERPRETER: The right way to
do it is to organize by category
and do it quickly.
MARIE KONDO: [SPEAKING JAPANESE]
INTERPRETER: Well,
for example, if you
decide to organize
your clothes first,
take out all the clothes
in your house in one spot.
Make a big pile of all the
clothes you have in your house.
MARIE KONDO: [SPEAKING JAPANESE]
INTERPRETER: So just
in the same way,
if you decide to
organize your books,
take out all your books
from your bookcase
and pile them up in one
location in the house.
MARIE KONDO: [SPEAKING JAPANESE]
INTERPRETER: I
know it looks hard.
It's really messy.
I'll tell you why
you need to do this.
MARIE KONDO: [SPEAKING JAPANESE]
INTERPRETER: If you bring out
all your stuff, books, clothes,
in one location,
you visually realize
how much books, how
many clothes you have.
MARIE KONDO: [SPEAKING JAPANESE]
INTERPRETER: In daily life,
we rarely understand how much
stuff we have around us.
MARIE KONDO: [SPEAKING JAPANESE]
INTERPRETER: So it is
a great opportunity
if you bring out everything
in one spot, realize
how much stuff you have,
how many books you have,
so that you can decide
which one you want to keep,
which one you
really need to keep,
and which one you
can get rid of.
MARIE KONDO: [SPEAKING JAPANESE]
INTERPRETER: So from this point,
the next step you have to take
is to sort them or separate
them between the things you need
and the things you don't.
And the criteria I
recommend in my method
is a little bit unique.
MARIE KONDO: [SPEAKING JAPANESE]
INTERPRETER: That's number
three of KonMari method.
MARIE KONDO: Selection
criterion-- does it spark joy?
[SPEAKING JAPANESE] spark joy.
This.
INTERPRETER: So
does it spark joy?
This is the key word.
MARIE KONDO: [SPEAKING JAPANESE]
INTERPRETER: I know I definitely
feel weird air in this room
right now.
MARIE KONDO: Don't worry.
I'm used to this reaction
from the audience.
INTERPRETER: So this is a really
common reaction in my seminar.
MARIE KONDO: [SPEAKING JAPANESE]
INTERPRETER: So what
I mean by saying,
spark joy-- I can explain
exactly what it is.
So if you look at one thing,
you should question yourself
if that thing makes you happy.
Does it make you impressed?
MARIE KONDO: [SPEAKING JAPANESE]
INTERPRETER: Many people
always think first which
one to get rid of, but
it is much more important
to think which one
to keep, which one
you want to keep and live
together from now on.
MARIE KONDO: [SPEAKING JAPANESE]
INTERPRETER: So I will tell
you how to make a decision.
MARIE KONDO: [SPEAKING JAPANESE]
INTERPRETER: So point number
one, make sure you touch it.
MARIE KONDO: [SPEAKING JAPANESE]
INTERPRETER: Take
every single item
you can think of in your hand.
MARIE KONDO: [SPEAKING JAPANESE]
INTERPRETER: And imagine
how your body reacts
to that moment, how you feel
when you touch the item.
MARIE KONDO:
[SPEAKING JAPANESE] Spark joy.
INTERPRETER: So spark
joy, this is the reaction
from your body, the reaction
you feel from your body
when you touch the
item you should keep.
MARIE KONDO: [SPEAKING JAPANESE]
INTERPRETER: Just like that.
MARIE KONDO: [SPEAKING JAPANESE]
INTERPRETER: So if you feel
every single part of your body
faces up when you touch the
item, that's the right feeling.
MARIE KONDO: [SPEAKING JAPANESE]
INTERPRETER: So
on the other hand,
if the item doesn't give
you any inspiration,
for example, this one.
MARIE KONDO: [SPEAKING JAPANESE]
INTERPRETER: You
started feeling down.
MARIE KONDO: [SPEAKING JAPANESE]
INTERPRETER: Your whole
body started feeling down.
MARIE KONDO: [SPEAKING JAPANESE]
INTERPRETER: I know
you are skeptical,
but if you really
try to do this,
you realize how your
body really reacts.
MARIE KONDO: [SPEAKING JAPANESE]
INTERPRETER: Definitely after
this seminar, when you go home
tonight, try part of it.
MARIE KONDO: [SPEAKING JAPANESE]
INTERPRETER: So let me go
over my three basic methods--
do it quickly in a short amount
of time, and sort by category,
and find if the item sparks joy.
MARIE KONDO: [SPEAKING JAPANESE]
"Life-Changing Magic of Tidying
Up." [SPEAKING JAPANESE]
INTERPRETER: So this
is my book, and if you
need to know more
about it, if you'd
like to know more about it,
please pick up this book.
MARIE KONDO: [SPEAKING JAPANESE]
INTERPRETER: So I definitely
want every one of you
to read my book, but I will
give you one more technique.
MARIE KONDO: [SPEAKING JAPANESE]
INTERPRETER: So this is the
right order of organizing.
MARIE KONDO: [SPEAKING JAPANESE]
INTERPRETER: There is
definitely the right order
when you organize stuff,
and this is how it goes.
Start from clothes, books,
documents, miscellaneous items,
then mementos.
MARIE KONDO: [SPEAKING JAPANESE]
INTERPRETER: Make sure
you follow this order.
MARIE KONDO: [SPEAKING JAPANESE]
INTERPRETER: It
often happens when
you are going through
old photos, or mementos,
the items you were
given from a mother,
it always stops you
from organizing.
MARIE KONDO: [SPEAKING JAPANESE]
INTERPRETER: That's
why I definitely
recommend you this order
because this order gives you
the sense of spark joy feeling.
You definitely learn that
feeling with your body.
MARIE KONDO: [SPEAKING JAPANESE]
INTERPRETER: So in this order,
while you start with clothes,
your body and your mind get
trained with spark joy feeling.
And by the time you
reach to mementos,
you're already good
at how to do it.
You already know how
to go through mementos.
MARIE KONDO: [SPEAKING JAPANESE]
INTERPRETER: I'd like you to
try my method with this order,
hopefully, tonight.
MARIE KONDO: This KonMari
method always works.
I hope you would really try it.
[SPEAKING JAPANESE]
INTERPRETER: So I explain
all my method to you by now,
so I would like to open the
floor for a Q&A session.
MARIE KONDO: [SPEAKING JAPANESE]
INTERPRETER: Should
we sit in the chairs?
MALE SPEAKER: Yeah.
So there's two mics.
There's one mic over there,
and there's one mic over there
if you'd like to line up.
I'll get it started just
because I'm right here.
So I wanted to know, how
do you deal with somebody
who has a child, like
a one-year-old child,
and there's toys everywhere?
INTERPRETER: [SPEAKING JAPANESE]
MARIE KONDO: [SPEAKING JAPANESE]
INTERPRETER: Well,
this is not difficult.
It depends on the
child's age, but I
have two different methods
depending on the child's age.
The borderline is
about three years old.
MARIE KONDO: [SPEAKING JAPANESE]
INTERPRETER:
Because if the child
is younger than three years
old, most of the cases,
parents just
organize their stuff.
MARIE KONDO: [SPEAKING JAPANESE]
INTERPRETER: But if the child
is older than three years old,
it's time to train them
how to organize things,
and they're capable of it.
MARIE KONDO: [SPEAKING JAPANESE]
INTERPRETER: And the important
thing at this point is
do not tell them to
organize the toys.
Tell them to
organize the clothes.
That's important.
MARIE KONDO: [SPEAKING JAPANESE]
INTERPRETER: Well,
I'll tell you why.
Because clothing is something
you always put on every day,
so if you learn how to fold
the clothes that you always put
on and put it back into the
clothing at the right spot,
that's the best way that they
learn they need to organize
and the importance
of organizing things.
MARIE KONDO: [SPEAKING JAPANESE]
INTERPRETER: So number
one key is to teach them
how to fold the clothes.
MALE SPEAKER: OK.
Next question.
AUDIENCE: So I
understand your method
in terms of getting yourself
into a mindset where you only
have to do this once.
But I was curious how you deal
with things that we acquire,
either things that
we acquire ourselves
or things like gifts
that come into the house.
Do you do an inventory annually?
Or do you just not let
them come into house?
INTERPRETER: [SPEAKING JAPANESE]
MARIE KONDO: [SPEAKING JAPANESE]
INTERPRETER: In her
case, she doesn't really
have any rules for that.
MARIE KONDO: [SPEAKING JAPANESE]
INTERPRETER: Because her
method is completely based on
if you were impressed, if
you get inspired by the item.
MARIE KONDO: [SPEAKING JAPANESE]
INTERPRETER: Because it
depends on the person
how often you want to
organize or how much stuff you
need to keep around yourself.
MARIE KONDO: [SPEAKING JAPANESE]
INTERPRETER: Because my
method, again and again,
is based on if you get inspired,
if you get that spark joy
feeling, that doesn't
really bring you back
to the crowded situation.
It's not really depending on
how often you should acquire
or how you get the
stuff in your room.
MARIE KONDO: Yes.
AUDIENCE: Thank you.
MALE SPEAKER: Next question.
MARIE KONDO: Next question.
AUDIENCE: Hi.
Thank you so much for coming.
The question is, I have a
lot of things that I need,
but I don't like or
they don't inspire joy.
How do I find the
balance between keeping
versus discarding them?
INTERPRETER: [SPEAKING JAPANESE]
MARIE KONDO: [SPEAKING JAPANESE]
INTERPRETER: For example,
what kind of item?
AUDIENCE: GMAT study books and
like very old kitchen utensils
that I haven't replaced.
INTERPRETER: [SPEAKING JAPANESE]
MARIE KONDO: [SPEAKING JAPANESE]
INTERPRETER: If you judge those
items are necessary for you
right now, that means those
items are making you happy.
MARIE KONDO: [SPEAKING JAPANESE]
INTERPRETER: So even if you're
not inspired by those items,
but if they are necessary
to you right now,
you should keep them.
AUDIENCE: OK.
MARIE KONDO: [SPEAKING JAPANESE]
INTERPRETER: So
one recommendation
I can give you is that if
the item doesn't inspire
you, if you don't get
the special feeling,
try to talk it into it.
Try to convince yourself
that this is a good thing,
this is a good thing for you.
MARIE KONDO: [SPEAKING JAPANESE]
INTERPRETER: If
you keep doing it,
even if the item
doesn't inspire you,
you start getting a
positive feeling about it.
MARIE KONDO: [SPEAKING JAPANESE]
INTERPRETER: So in
this way, you'll
probably find all the items you
have in your house inspiring.
AUDIENCE: I see.
Thank you.
MARIE KONDO: [SPEAKING JAPANESE]
MALE SPEAKER: Next question.
AUDIENCE: Have you
ever encountered
in some of your clients--
my question is basically
about shared spaces.
If you are sharing a living room
or the kitchen with somebody,
maybe you want to keep it
clean or the things that
are important for you
are not that many,
but the things that are
important to the other person
are the most of them.
And they're just
all over the place.
So is there like a
way to make it work,
so you just have your space?
How does this--
INTERPRETER: Can you speak up?
I'm sorry.
I didn't catch the
whole question.
AUDIENCE: I'm just curious
about how to deal with a case
when most of the stuff actually
does not belong to you,
so it's not your
decision to keep it.
INTERPRETER: [SPEAKING JAPANESE]
MARIE KONDO: [SPEAKING JAPANESE]
INTERPRETER: So
those are belonging
to someone else, correct?
MARIE KONDO: [SPEAKING JAPANESE]
INTERPRETER: You
should prioritize
to organize your own
items before you start
thinking about someone else.
MARIE KONDO: [SPEAKING JAPANESE]
INTERPRETER: From my
experience in the past 10 plus
years of my career,
I've definitely
seen several clients
who keep saying that,
oh, I tried to tidy up
my room, but my husband
doesn't cooperate.
My kids don't really corporate.
But if you look at clients
saying something like that,
they are the ones who are
not tidying up correctly.
MARIE KONDO: [SPEAKING JAPANESE]
INTERPRETER: So this is true.
MARIE KONDO: [SPEAKING JAPANESE]
INTERPRETER: I know you have
to organize stuff no matter
what, so the important thing
is you organize your stuff
and put them in your space.
So separate the space
with other people.
So you take care of
your stuff in your space
and leave the other
stuff and other spaces
to the other people.
MARIE KONDO: [SPEAKING JAPANESE]
INTERPRETER: And
you shouldn't worry
about the space
allocated to other people
because that's up to them.
That's their own business how to
use them, how to organize them.
MARIE KONDO: [SPEAKING JAPANESE]
INTERPRETER: Of course, you can
set a few rules like anything
shouldn't leak out or
anything should be exposed,
stuff like that.
But that's the best way
to do with other people.
AUDIENCE: Thank you.
MARIE KONDO: Thank you.
[SPEAKING JAPANESE]
INTERPRETER: Good luck.
AUDIENCE: Hi.
Thank you for coming.
Since you talk here about
how to initially purge
the items you have, just sorting
into what to keep and not,
do you also have
recommendations for then
how you go about organizing the
items that you decide to keep?
Or do you leave that up
to the individual person?
INTERPRETER: [SPEAKING JAPANESE]
MARIE KONDO: [SPEAKING JAPANESE]
INTERPRETER: Yes,
there is a clear rule.
MARIE KONDO: [SPEAKING JAPANESE]
INTERPRETER: So make
sure to organize items
in the same category
in the same spot.
MARIE KONDO: [SPEAKING JAPANESE]
INTERPRETER: I often
see at people's houses
the items in the same
category here and there.
They're kind of
scattered around.
So my point is to put all of
them together in one spot.
MARIE KONDO: [SPEAKING JAPANESE]
INTERPRETER: So as I showed you
earlier, organizing by category
is very important.
And another important thing
I can definitely tell you
is how to fold the clothes.
That's definitely a big key.
AUDIENCE: Great.
Thank you.
MARIE KONDO: Thank you.
AUDIENCE: Hi.
Thanks for coming here.
And thanks for taking the
time to write the book.
I have a friend who is
a pretty serious hoarder
with a lot of stuff.
And when you ask him,
do you need this stuff,
can you throw this stuff away?
The answer is, oh, I
might need it later
or I have this grand plan
to use this in such a way.
But of course, that never
happens, and stuff just
keeps accumulating.
I wonder if you have worked
with clients like that,
and what you say to them,
and what the outcome is.
INTERPRETER: [SPEAKING JAPANESE]
MARIE KONDO: [SPEAKING JAPANESE]
INTERPRETER: Probably
you're asking me the advice
to somebody who don't
even bother organizing.
AUDIENCE: No, actually
it's pretty organized.
He can find things.
It's just a huge
amount of stuff that--
INTERPRETER: Oh, so
it's not cluttered,
but he has a lot of items.
AUDIENCE: It is a lot
of items, and it's
kind of creeping into the
corridor space and so on.
You can't walk
around in the house.
You know?
INTERPRETER: [SPEAKING JAPANESE]
MARIE KONDO: [SPEAKING JAPANESE]
INTERPRETER: If
he is my client, I
don't think it's important for
me if he has too many items
or not.
MARIE KONDO: [SPEAKING JAPANESE]
INTERPRETER: I think
it is much, much
more important to figure
out if that person is
happy with that amount of items.
MARIE KONDO: [SPEAKING JAPANESE]
INTERPRETER: So I would
probably recommend that person
to imagine the ideal
lifestyle for that person.
MARIE KONDO: [SPEAKING JAPANESE]
INTERPRETER: I think your
friend needs to figure out
what kind of lifestyle
he or she wants,
what's the realistic life
your friend wants so that he
or she can figure out
how much stuff to keep
or what to keep, what
not to keep, et cetera.
And this is a very efficient
way of mindset for anybody.
If you have somebody like
that in your family members,
friends around you, this is
really highly recommended.
AUDIENCE: OK.
Thank you.
MALE SPEAKER: So we have
time for one more question.
Those of you that were lucky
enough to get here early
and got a book, Marie will sign
them in the back afterwards.
INTERPRETER: [SPEAKING JAPANESE]
AUDIENCE: Yeah.
My question is related to
something that as engineers we
think sometimes a bit too
much, how frequently we
should run a task.
Like should we run it
in an [? online ?],
think about it
running all the time.
Or should we run it in a batch?
So what do you think
about organizing?
What's the ideal frequency
that you'd advise?
Like should we think always
be running in our mind?
Oh, I just picked a pen.
It's probably not
that useful anymore.
So should we always
be thinking about it?
Or should do it something--
at the extreme end
would be like once in a year,
which is what I do typically
at the end of the year
in December, I think,
all right, this is
a bag for Goodwill.
This is a bag to throw.
And that's like the minimum we
do, so when should we do that?
Should we do it at
the end of the year?
Should we do this
every end of the day?
Or should be
constantly be thinking
about every time we encounter
and thinking at the house
or at workplace?
INTERPRETER: [SPEAKING JAPANESE]
MARIE KONDO: [SPEAKING JAPANESE]
INTERPRETER: Well, the only
answer is just do it one time.
MARIE KONDO: [SPEAKING JAPANESE]
INTERPRETER: Talking
about when you should do,
my answer is right now.
It can be any time,
but do it now.
MARIE KONDO: [SPEAKING JAPANESE]
INTERPRETER: Well,
the reason is it's not
for tidying up your house,
tidying up your living space.
It's all about how you want
to spend the rest of your life
from now on.
MARIE KONDO: [SPEAKING JAPANESE]
INTERPRETER: So I
highly recommend you
to do it right now, ASAP.
MARIE KONDO: [SPEAKING JAPANESE]
INTERPRETER: Good luck.
MALE SPEAKER: OK.
Any closing comments?
Or anything else that
Marie wants to say?
INTERPRETER: [SPEAKING JAPANESE]
MARIE KONDO: [SPEAKING JAPANESE]
INTERPRETER: I know the
topic is kind of puzzling.
It's very unusual,
but as a conclusion,
I would like to tell you why.
MARIE KONDO: [SPEAKING JAPANESE]
INTERPRETER: So I know every
one of us has so many items.
There are so many
items in our life.
But figuring out what
items you have right now
is figuring out how you are
going to live your life.
MARIE KONDO: [SPEAKING JAPANESE]
INTERPRETER: So my method
is telling you to examine
every single item in your life.
That means you
examine, you assess
your lifestyle and the life
you want to live from now on.
MARIE KONDO: [SPEAKING JAPANESE]
INTERPRETER: So once you
find out the inspiration
from every item you have, you
probably learn the inspiration
on how you want to
live, how you want
to work, how you
want to be succeed,
how you want to make
friendships, et cetera.
MARIE KONDO: [SPEAKING JAPANESE]
INTERPRETER: So find out
your own inspiration point
with items and with
your lifestyle.
MARIE KONDO: [SPEAKING JAPANESE]
INTERPRETER: Thank you for
listening to the KonMari
method.
And please, please,
touch each item you have,
and feel the
inspiration from them.
MARIE KONDO: Thank
you very much today.
[APPLAUSE]
