Getting rid of clutter despite children
need to determine what’s contaminating you and get rid of it,” Yamashita said in her sparsely furnished apartment in Tokyo, urging both a physical decontamination process of space and a clearing of the mind.
Her book on danshari became an instant best-seller in Japan, and the concept has now become a verb in its own right. Japanese people don’t talk about KonMari, they say: “Ah, my house is a mess. I need to danshari.”
Danshari is based on the idea that if you have a clutter-free environment, your mind will also be clear. Formulating it, Yamashita, who is 63, was heavily influenced by Eastern religions.
Zen Buddhism and Shintoism taught her to think about what she needs right now and to get rid of impurities, she said. And then there’s Tao, the philosophy that considers the natural order of the universe.
Many Japanese people of Yamashita’s generation, born after World War II, became hoarders, unwilling to throw anything away in case they needed it in a time of emergency. There is a constant refrain here of “mottainai,” or “don’t be wasteful” — as in, better keep those 300 shopping bags in case you need them.
This clutter explains why so many Japanese people are unhappy today, she said.
“We have many depressed people in Japan. Their heads are too full of information, they become overwhelmed with their thoughts,” she said. The process of getting rid of tangible belongings helps clear out intangible things too.
Some psychologists have started “prescribing” danshari to their patients to get them to reflect on themselves, and Yamashita says danshari can even be good for relationships: Once you’ve decluttered, you’re more likely to invite people home.
Many Japanese people have seized on danshari as a way of life.
Yuriko Ozaki, a working mother in Osaka with three boys, started decluttering after the devastating earthquake that rocked Japan in 2011. This event forced her to reconsider what was important in life — and having less stuff also reduces the chance of being hurt by it during an earthquake.
She now writes a blog teaching other parents how to declutter even while having children, and has written a book on how owning less stuff means less housework and less strain on the family budget.
Then there’s Numahata, who was inspired by a photo in a magazine of a Japanese house that contained almost nothing and has also written a book, with fellow danshari devotee Fumio Sasaki.
“The year that we had our daughter, our place was so messy,” he said. “It inspired me to make our house look like the one in the magazine. We got rid of so much stuff, and I really liked the liberating feeling I got from having so little.”
Once they were done, he made his wife a cup of coffee. She sat in the empty room and drank it, and pronounced it delicious, he said — drawing the conclusion that it tasted better because their space and minds were clear.
It’s changed the way they live their lives, he said. He moves more quietly and gracefully now, and as a family they go out more. (Numahata said his wife, an animator, is not a danshari follower but just “doesn’t like stuff.”)
Now Numahata is raising the next generation of minimalist in Ei, who just naturally cleans up after herself, he said.
“As she’s growing up, of course she wants stuff,” he says of his daughter. “When we do buy things, we buy small things that fit in the basket.”
And they pass on gifts or toys that Ei has outgrown. “We let many of the things go without getting attached to them. We repeat that cycle,” Numahata said. “People question why we give presents away, people might think it’s cold. It’s just the way we live.”
With the few toys that she has, Ei makes up lots of games and has developed a good imagination, her father said. Ei speaks perfect, unaccented English, even though she goes to a Japanese kindergarten and hears only a little English at home from her father.
Visitors to their apartment are initially surprised by how empty it is, but soon remark how comfortable they feel, he said. To explain why, Numahata quoted a Taoist principle: “It’s the empty space inside the pot that makes it useful.”