Less is More

The magic is happening

I’ve previously written about the recency-bias. It’s where something new to you suddenly appears everywhere you look. It’s a bit like when you buy a new car and then suddenly you notice how many other people have the same make and model.

Well last week I wrote about my commencement of decluttering my home with a view to living a more minimalist existence. The aim being to reduce the amount of things I need to keep track of and essentially make decisions about. So far, it’s going well, with plenty of household items bagged up ready to donate to charity and just as many bags consigned to the rubbish bin.

It’s so cathartic, I’m really loving it.

However, back to the recency-bias or the recency-effect. I thought I was somewhat on my own with the desire to streamline my home and also my life. I know there are plenty of minimalists out there, but I was of the opinion it was a sub-culture. How wrong am I?

This past week the New York Times, Business Insider and the Washington Post have published articles about decluttering. It appears its more of a trend that gaining momentum that I had known.

Oh well, three articles does not constitute a trend as such, but last night on Netflix I was confronted with a new  Netflix original series called Tidying Up With Marie Kondo.

Marie is Japanese and has a couple of books out on the art of tidying up one’s home or apartment. After being translated into English both books have become best-sellers which, I assume, is what attracted the attention of Netflix. 

Marie has some cultural approaches to getting rid of useless shit and decluttering. She also has some pretty unique techniques to putting everything that’s left, back in its place including how to fold and store your remaining clothes. It mightn’t be everyone’s cup of tea but, today, I came home to a Christmas Miracle; my wife was folding all her clothes and arranging them in the closet with precision.

Marie Kondo, I love you.