Tidying by Category, Not by Location

Instead of tidying room-by-room, Kondo advocates for tidying by category (e.g., clothing, books, papers). This allows you to grasp the sheer volume of items you own and make more mindful decisions about what to keep.

This approach helps you avoid the trap of simply shuffling clutter from one room to another. By gathering all your clothes together, for instance, you can truly assess how many items you have and identify duplicates or items you no longer need.