15 Things Japanese Women Throw Away Immediately (Most Homes Keep Them for Years)

My mother was not a minimalist. She did not know that word. She simply did not let things wait. When something was finished, it left that same week, with a thank you. In my house in Oregon, I let things wait for years. In this video I walk through the 15 things Japanese women throw away immediately, from the pile at the front door and the chair that holds clothes, to the broken things we keep for someday, the dead flowers, the forty-one jars, and the three can openers in the drawer by the stove. Along the way: the genkan, teiichi (a fixed home for every thing), hari-kuyō (the needle memorial), ma (the space between things), and the wisest sentence my mother ever said about spares. None of these are bad things. They became clutter because they were allowed to wait. Tell me in the comments which one is waiting in your house right now. I read every one. CHAPTERS (estimated at 150 wpm, re-time after the voiceover renders) 0:00 What is quietly making you tired 0:52 Who I am 2:06 1. The pile at the door 3:33 2. The chair pile 4:55 3. The papers for later 6:18 4. The crowded countertop 7:47 5. Things with no home 9:05 6. Broken things 11:13 7. Dead flowers and dying plants 12:51 8. Empty jars, containers and bags 14:16 9. Just in case things 15:47 10. Gifts you do not use 17:18 11. Unfinished projects 18:35 12. Expired things in the bathroom 19:50 13. One piece of furniture too many 21:20 14. The garage and the storage unit 22:52 15. Duplicates 24:08 Say thank you, then let go #declutter #decluttering #japanesedecluttering #minimalism #thingstothrowaway #declutteringtips #over50