- I'm here today with Marie Kondo,
the author of the Life-changing Magic of Tidying Up,
and she is going to tackle my messy, disgusting desk.
Our video director said it was not the Jackson Pollock
of desks, it was just the disgusting, messy person
living in the alley of desks,
so it's embarrassing and it needs work,
and thankfully Marie is here to help me today.
You say you need to keep items that
are either useful or bring you joy.
Is that process different when you're working
in a home, versus working in an office?
- I'm a little afraid the pile is going to collapse.
And how do I decide which books I keep
and which ones I donate?
- Thank you.
Thank you.
- What do we do with napkins?
(speaking in a foreign language)
Do I have to thank the napkin?
- Thank you.
- Thank you napkin. - Of course.
- The big moment everybody.
Just the whole thing?
- I don't think so.
- Okay, I should go through it, okay.
Thank you.
Why do you think Americans have become so
obsessed with tidying up?
Is there something happening culturally
that's causing a shift?
- So now no books?
- Yes.
- I thought there were gems of reporting in here
that I once found important.
Guess they're gone for good.
- So I have to decide how I feel about pens?
I've never really thought about
how I feel about pens before.
- This is a prison jumpsuit
that someone in PR sent to me, what do you think?
Is it flattering, should I keep it?
- It does not spark joy, but it was
kinda funny when I got it in the mail,
but I think I can part with it, thank you.
- I'll hang up my daughter's picture, there we go.
Thank you. - Thank you!
- My favorite part of the experience was when she took
all of my cords and rolled them in a little tiny box,
and they're so neat and lovely.
And it's nice to actually be able to see the things
that I care about instead of just junk everywhere.
What this does is it gets rid of a lot
of the mental clutter and chaos,
and it kind of just helps you focus
on the things you're actually supposed
to be working on.
I think this will be pretty easy to keep up with
now that there's a clean slate.