The Art of Discarding

How to get rid of clutter and find joy

By: Nagisa Tatsumi

Narrated by: Karen Cass

A combination of tiny homes and a love of stylish homeware has left Japanese people hungry for advice on organization, decluttering and tidying up. Indeed, in this era of mass consumption, we are all drowning in 'stuff', despite our best efforts to keep on top of the clutter that collects in our homes, our office spaces and even our cars. All this clutter causes us mental anguish. However, as we all know, throwing things away can be difficult - it clashes with the values instilled in us from an early age of not wasting things, reusing items, and keeping things 'for a rainy day'. Simply put, we feel guilty about getting rid of things.

Enter Nagisa Tatsumi and her bold suggestion - that it's okay to throw stuff away. Tatsumi's book Suteru Gijyutsu, or The Art of Discarding, was a sensation when it was published in Japan, selling one million copies in the first six months after publication in 2000. In it, she argues that we need to learn to let go and tackles head-on the psychological issues that people have with getting rid of things, in particular a reluctance to discard things 'just in case', the desire to hoard things and guilt about getting rid of things that were given as gifts.

The book offers practical advice and techniques to help listeners learn to let go of stuff that is holding them back as well as advice on acquiring less in the first place; if we buy less, there's less to get rid of. She takes readers through a step-by-step process of getting rid of household items, clothes and books - and promises a clutter-free, calmer life where we are free from 'accumulation syndrome' and where, ultimately, less is more.

©2017 Nagisa Tatsumi (P)2017 Hodder & Stoughton

An eye opener

Very good advice. I intend to begin right away. don't agree with everything but definitely great ideas.

Clear and Concise

I enjoyed this book mainly because it offered clarity about the wisdom behind the practice of discarding. I look forward to implementing the principles that were proposed.

good advice, perhaps better read than heard

I had a difficult time actually listening and would frequently be drifting away and having to re-listen to the same chapter. The way the book is written is better suited to actual reading, and the narration felt cold and distant. Nagisa Tatsumi provides many examples to illustrate her concepts and help you understand your own path based on your situation. These were the hardest to listen to and is where I often drifted away in other thoughts.

The ideas and prescriptive methods put forth by Nagisa Tatsumi are good and convincing otherwise.

Good ideas, but not many useful to me

It was thorough, a bit repetitive and not very apropos to my situation. Most were of disposing of paper products from a business.

The Art of Discarding

So much info to digest, but I'm sure ready to begin decluttering. Start Small: wise! Thank you, Ruth