″‘How about his old Bunny?’ she asked.
‘That?’ said the doctor. ‘Why, it’s a mass of scarlet fever germs!—Burn it at once. What? Nonsense! Get him a new one. He mustn’t have that any more!‘”
“And so the little Rabbit was put into a sack with the old picture-books and a lot of rubbish, and carried out to the end of the garden behind the fowl-house. That was a fine place to make a bonfire, only the gardener was too busy just then to attend to it. He had the potatoes to dig and the green peas to gather, but next morning he promised to come quite early and burn the whole lot.”
“People have trouble discarding things that they could still use (functional value), that contain helpful information (informational value), and that have sentimental ties (emotional value). When these things are hard to obtain or replace (rarity), they become even harder to part with.”
“Tidy in the right order. As we’ve seen, there are only two tasks involved--discarding and deciding where to keep things. Just two, but discarding must come first. Be sure to completely finish the first task before starting the next. Do not even think of putting your things away until you have finished the process of discarding.”
“Truly precious memories will never vanish even if you discard the objects associated with them . . . No matter how wonderful things used to be, we cannot live in the past. The joy and excitement we feel here and now are more important . . . Does this spark joy?”
“Books: Once you have pile your books, take them in your hand one by one and decide whether you want to keep or discard each one. The criterion is, of course, whether or not it gives you a thrill of pleasure when you touch it.”
“Papers: I recommend you dispose of anything that does not fall into one of three categories; currently in use, needed for a limited period of time, or must be kept indefinitely . . . Make sure that you keep all such papers in one spot only. Never let them spread to other parts of the house.”
“Reduce until you reach the point where something clicks. Sort by category, in the correct order, and keep only those things that inspire joy. Do this thoroughly and quickly, all in one go. If you follow this advice, you will dramatically reduce the volume of the things you own, experience an exhilaration you have never known before, and gain confidence in your life . . . the click point differs from one person to another.”