Marie Kondō’s book, the life-changing magic of tidying up, spoke to me. I’d discovered Stoicism and had started a simple meditation practice.
I was primed to participate.
My physical stuff had begun to weigh on me. Kondo’s method — called KonMari — sounded like a sensible way to address this scourge of stuff.
The KonMari process taught me three important lessons.
First, it was liberating to release over half my wardrobe (which was already fairly minimal at the time). And I’ve yet to miss a single piece of clothing, each of which I respectfully thanked (part of the method) and jettisoned.
Second, filters help. KonMoari calls for us to retain only items that “spark joy.” Though chuckle-worthy, I found joyfilter useful.
As I write this, I’m staring across the room at my charging Kindle and applying the joyfilter.
Does it still spark joy?
Yes. Every damn day.
Kindle — you get to stay!
I now regularly take stock of my reduced possessions. I think of my joyfilter like a computer’s hard disk cleaner. Stuff, like data, occupies space on the hard disk of my mind. Running the joyfilter clears that space. Cleaning my mental hard drive helps me meditate more mindfully and think more clearly.
The third point surprised me. Before undergoing KonMari, my chief concern was that I’d toss something important — something I’d miss forever.
The opposite happened — I regret I didn’t toss more stuff.
And I continue to apply the joyfilter.