Quote Of The Day By Marie Kondo: 'But When We Really Delve Into The Reasons For Why We Can't Let Something Go, There Are Only Two...'

To be considered one of Time Magazine's world's 100 most influential people at just past the age of 30 is quite a feat. Marie Kondo did just that in 2015 at a precocious 31. Kondo and her KonMari organization method exploded onto the scene in the U.S. in 2014 with her first book, "The Life Changing Magic of Tidying Up," followed a year later with "Life-Changing Magic: Spark Joy Every Day" in 2015. Her first book was published in Japan in 2010, making her a household name in her home country before her international fame began to spread. The premise of her runaway hits was that you should only hold onto items that truly "spark joy" in you. She's gone on to make many TV appearances, including two of her own Netflix series, "Sparking Joy With Marie Kondo" and "Tidying Up With Marie Kondo".

The Japanese decluttering genius has been helping clients pare down and organize their possessions since 2003, when she was a 19-year-old university student in Tokyo. She admits to a childhood obsession with organization, and decades later, it's become much more than a job. Her collection of best-selling books has been translated into 44 languages, clearly resonating with a wide range of audiences worldwide. You may not have discovered first-hand how Kondo's strategies work for decluttering your home, but you probably know at least one person who has been sold on the KonMari method. True to her philosophy's self-help bent, she digs into the emotional connections we make with objects and forces us to reckon with our relationship to our belongings. That's why Kondo is today's quote of the day.

The quote of the day from Marie Kondo is: "But when we really delve into the reasons for why we can't let something go, there are only two: an attachment to the past or a fear for the future."

The quote comes from her 2014 debut publication "The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up: The Japanese Art of Decluttering and Organizing", and while Kondo proclaimed this more than 10 years ago, the sentiment hasn't aged at all. When it was released, the book skyrocketed to the number one spot on the New York Times Bestseller list, and it remained on the list for nearly three years. It was in this work that Kondo coined the expression "spark joy," and people link these two words with the author perhaps more than any other concept in her books. The idea distills her philosophy into an easy-to-remember catchphrase that readers and the public in general can relate to, helping people get rid of sentimental clutter.

English design legend William Morris once said, "Have nothing in your house that you do not know to be useful, or believe to be beautiful." Despite the longevity of Morris's words, they don't address why we accumulate things that don't serve the life we're living now. Kondo takes Morris's musing several steps further by acknowledging the emotional connection we create with our belongings. This bit of nuance can help us narrow down what's genuinely worth keeping and what's not, even among the useful or beautiful things. Much of what's tucked into boxes in closets is loaded with memories that we feel like we'd betray if we got rid of. Plus, there's the uncertain possibility that what we're tossing could come in handy down the road. Instead of clinging to these two ideas, Kondo encourages us to enjoy the memories, not the things, and not to hoard stuff that we don't use or enjoy.

When Kondo's first book was published in English, mindfulness was a growing part of the cultural conversation in the U.S. Kondo's words reflect the popularity of this Buddhist-influenced philosophy. Although Kondo may not be a practicing Buddhist (she attended a Christian women's university), Japanese culture is interwoven with Buddhist teachings that seep into daily life. The idea of non-attachment encourages people not to put too much value on objects or emotions, and taking the time to consider whether something sparks joy in you in the present moment is a tool that can help loosen your grip on unnecessary possessions. Instead of just smart organization tips, Kondo asks you only to consider the "now" when you decide whether to keep something.

• "The question of what you want to own is actually the question of how you want to live your life." — from "The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up"
• "The space in which we live should be for the person we are becoming now, not for the person we were in the past." — from "The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up"
• "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." — from "The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up"
• "When you come across something that you cannot part with, think carefully about its true purpose in your life. You'll be surprised at how many of the things you possess have already fulfilled their role. By acknowledging their contribution and letting them go with gratitude, you will be able to truly put the things you own, and your life, in order. In the end, all that will remain are the things that you really treasure. To truly cherish the things that are important to you, you must first discard those that have outlived their purpose." — from "The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up"
• "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?" — from "The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up"