In 2015, I traveled from our home in London to Dublin, Ireland for Web Summit, an annual technology conference. Much to the bewilderment of Trish, I came back from the conference enamored with the idea of tidying. Strange as it might seem, the most profound speaker for me was Marie Kondo, author of The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up.

After Marie’s intriguing presentation, I bought her book and read it before I even got home from the trip. I knew that Trish had to be fully on board if we were going to do this, so I told her I would hoover the flat (vacuum the apartment) if she read the book by the end of the weekend.

Needless to say, Trish read the book. Following Marie’s recommended tidying process, we started with clothes, then moved on to books before tackling more challenging items like paperwork and memorabilia. Picking up each item, we decided whether it gave us joy (keep) or not (donate or discard). The charity shops did well, collecting 30 bags of stuff that we no longer wanted. The clutter-free flat felt amazing.

With that momentum, we started putting all the dishes away every night and found it much easier to keep the flat clean. A few months later, I finally believed Marie Kondo’s key lesson; in the end, you do not change your things, you change yourself.

I am no longer attached to material items and I only buy something if I really need it or I am sure it will give me joy. I also discard items regularly instead of hanging onto things, just in case. Several years and one move back to the US later, our house still has a great feel to it, with almost no clutter.

What will you give up to make room for something that gives you joy?