The Essential Rule for Happiness: Decluttering Life's Clutter

This is the practical version of ‘Living Simply’.
It contains methods to neatly and simply organize all the unnecessary things in life, including the space, time, relationships, choices, and even the organization of the mind, that drain our energy and make us tired.
It also emphasizes that a tidy interior, amazing peace, better choices, and better relationships are essential for happiness, and that a simple life and simple organization are key to achieving this.


The book delves into everything from organizing your kitchen or refrigerator, to the criteria for choosing essential items, the pursuit of a simple life, and how the laws of organization impact our daily lives, lives, and minds.
And it explains from various angles the causes of the principles that block our simple life.
It most persuasively demonstrates that through organization, we can encounter the essential things in life that we so desperately desire: freedom, peace, and the wonders of life.

Simplicity is the decision not to own anything that might clutter us.
It is also a comfortable room where you can relax after a day's work, and a clean apartment where you don't have to do anything.
It also involves avoiding the countless choices we face every day, without being confined to rigid frameworks.
Owning only what you need gives you greater mental freedom and allows you to use your imagination to explore things.
Let's simplify our surroundings by removing everything else, leaving only what allows us to relax our body and mind.
True simplicity begins with owning only the things you absolutely need and cherish.

Let's get to the heart of the matter.
Let us get rid of everything that is deemed non-essential, meaningless, or useless.
Once this excess disappears, you can get closer to your true self.

Throwing things away may seem easy at first, but not many people actually do it.
To eliminate the clutter in your life, you must first understand yourself! You must know who you are, what you like, what you need, and what you don't.
This applies to both our material, mental, and spiritual lives. We must understand what truly makes us happy, mature, and helps us grow, and what power within us enables us to protect ourselves and those around us from being deceived by the world's lies.
---p.11

Simplicity doesn't just refer to an interior with a modern design on white walls.
A truly simple life is one where you have time to spare, don't waste it, choose the good things, and cherish and respect yourself.
To achieve this, we must first and foremost avoid things that cause us stress and resolve not to own anything that disturbs us.
A comfortable room where you can relax after a day's work and a clean house that needs no further maintenance also fall into this category.
It also involves avoiding being confined to monotonous and rigid frameworks and reducing the number of choices required of us every day.
Owning only what you need gives you greater mental freedom and allows you to use your imagination to explore things.
In other words, simplicity enriches things related to dreams and imagination. ---p.20

The more we own, the more easily we get hurt.
On the other hand, as we progress spiritually, our desires for possessions and people decrease.
Becoming detached from material things allows us to be free from all spheres, including the relationships that surround it.
“I’m really happy with this person right now.
But I don't own him.
"I am not a prison guard, and he is free whether he is with me or away from me." If you can say this, you will worry less about losing that person, and you will be able to distance yourself from him, which will allow you to become more free. ---p.33

The more you clear out clutter, the more clearly you become aware of what is unnecessary.
Let's start with material things first, and then gradually expand the scope to eliminate unnecessary activities, pointless chatter, and meaningless relationships.
Cleaning your head is similar to spring cleaning or the Japanese New Year's cleaning.
Every time we let go of old attitudes and habits, and every time we discard unnecessary items around us, we create more space in our hearts.
Additionally, as you gain more room to see and act on situations from different angles, you will feel more relaxed and free.

If we clear our minds and banish the strange thoughts that have been nesting in our minds (most of the time we are not even aware of them), we will be free to enjoy all kinds of wonderful things that belong not only to the material world but also to the immaterial world.
---p.42

Actually, it is very easy to concentrate.
Just looking at children or animals provides good examples of concentration.
The common misconception that focusing requires hard work is that people often find it difficult.
Concentration is not something to be stressed about, but rather something to be relaxed about.
Hold in your mind a joyful and precious image, as if what you imagine is right before your eyes.
Then you will naturally focus. ---p.79

Another way of saying that having your own style and unique way of life means knowing who you are and living according to your own desires.
Paradoxically, if we truly know ourselves, we can create our own style with fewer possessions.
In fact, stylish people have a very clear style system and they know what suits them perfectly.
They buy only clothes that suit their personality and body type, live within their capabilities, and are in harmony with who they are, not with an alter ego they wish to become. ---p.82

If you decide to practice minimal ownership, choosing only the essentials, then choose the best quality.
A well-made, beautiful object provides lasting pleasure.
It is better to have one beautiful ring than three mediocre rings.
When something is perfect like this, we forget about it and stop caring about it.
It becomes like a part of oneself, and the desire to change it into something else disappears.
Having nice things, like a pair of pretty shoes that fit well, makes you feel good. ---p.91

Antiques and objects imbued with simplicity stand in opposition to today's culture of excess.
I also reject the flashy designs on cereal bags, CD cases, knick-knacks, magazines, and cheap knick-knacks.
Old things are thrown away at the beginning of autumn,
A hazy rural horizon landscape with brown birds foraging for food in the fields.
Also, like a handcrafted wooden armchair, it is simple, neat, unadorned, functional, yet sophisticated.
So, over time, it takes on a warmer and deeper color, giving you pleasure every time you look at it, touch it, or sit on it.
A string of yarn, a needle, a wooden teaspoon, a bar of soap, a broom, a pair of jeans, a pencil… .
These timeless objects, created hundreds of years ago, still bring us the greatest joy today.
In other words, the beauty of old things is that they seem indifferent to the passage of time.
Old floors and stairs, leather goods, ceramics, jewels, patinaed metal, worn carpets, moss-covered rocks, yellowed sheets of paper, darkened tea sets, cast-iron pots blackened by long use, and white candles dripping with wax create this beauty.
These objects bear the marks of time and are not tainted by uniformity.
So, it shows uniqueness, and that is history.
It goes without saying that the aesthetics of old things do not include overuse.
Some objects become very interesting because of the history they contain.
This is precisely what we want to preserve. ---pp.96~97

Living eco-friendly doesn't mean forcing yourself to live a frugal life, making sacrifices, or living an uncomfortable life.
Rather, it is about living a richer, more interesting, more fulfilling, more sustainable, and healthier life.
All it takes is a little diligence. ---p.171

When you're very angry, you tend to place less importance on things than usual, which reduces the emotional value you place on them.
So, you can easily throw away even things you couldn't even think about until then.
The act of letting go also calms the mind, provides a fresh perspective, and clears emotional blocks by discarding materially unnecessary items. ---p.223

We live in the 'information age'.
To protect yourself and live a rich and enjoyable life amidst the deluge of new products, information, messages, and desires, you must be able to choose wisely.
Selecting refers to the skill of comparing and selecting or discarding by weighing the pros and cons.
Let's start by taking out the six kitchen knives and ten umbrellas we have at home, and choose the ones we like the most from each type and throw away the rest.
Let's throw away all the things that have become useless and out of function, like the indoor exercise bike that has become a clothes drying rack, the faded painting, the worn-out Moroccan cushion chair, and the rusty scissors, and keep only the useful things like 'faithful servants'.
As you battle this accumulated clutter, new items you may not have even known existed and never used will pop up here and there.
By accumulating things like this, we subtly gain a sense of security that we own something.
And we find excuses to keep unnecessary items that clutter up our space.
in result
Expending mental energy in a dizzying space takes a financial and emotional toll.
If this state persists for a long time, you will become even more lost, not knowing what to do even if you want to deal with it. ---pp.232~233

One of the important things in 'emptiness' is the skill of 'improvising' to handle all situations.
For example, it's useful to prepare a meal using leftover ingredients from the refrigerator, or to organize clothes by tying the four corners of a scarf when you don't have a bag or place to put them.
It's also common wisdom to wear two sweaters in layers instead of running to the store to buy a warmer one as soon as the temperature drops.
In other words, the improvisation discussed here is the skill of minimizing waste by making the most of what one has through one's imagination to achieve a certain goal rather than possessing something else. ---p.245

The problem is not what we own, but how and why we own it.
Of course, some of our desires are essential for a happy life.
But unfortunately, most desires are produced and created by consumer society.
This is what hinders our happiness.
Simplicity, it is not about eliminating all desires, but learning to suppress them so that they do not amplify and do not become dominated by them.

---p.274