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Writer's pictureElena Harris

Useful or Beautiful

Updated: Nov 8, 2020

"Have nothing in your house that you do not know to be useful or believe to be beautiful." - William Morris


This is a great question to ask when decluttering, "Do I find it useful or beautiful?" If the answer is no, it's probably something you should let go of.


Some people get snagged by Marie Kondo's spark joy idea and think, "My hammer and tax records don't spark joy, so I guess her whole decluttering strategy just isn't gonna work for me." I like Kondo's response to this. I heard her say somewhere that if something is truly useful for you, it should actually spark joy. Maybe not the same type of joy that your classic leather jacket does, but if you think about it, an organized tax paperwork box that gives you peace of mind, should make you smile a bit inside. And if your old hammer doesn't bring you joy, maybe it's time to get yourself a new one.


From analyzing the quotes in this little series, I have discovered that the main motivation for us to declutter should be to get rid of distractions so we can enjoy the rest.

- Have nothing in your house but use and beauty.

- Minimalism: It's about removing the distractions.

- Organization cannot hide the distractions.

- Waiting until later makes more clutter.

- Clutter is chaos.

- Our house is not a living space when we let clutter take over.


Comment below: What was your favorite quote from the series? Or what is something strictly useful you own and how does it spark joy for you?

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