The Secrets of Tidying Up

I have been in charge of product lineup development at Ryohin Keikaku, which operates MUJI. After graduating from the Faculty of Business and Commerce, I joined Seiyu, and at age 30, I was transferred from a store-based role to product development at the headquarters. There, I was tasked with creating private brands, which led to my involvement in the development of MUJI products.

Later, when Ryohin Keikaku was established as a separate entity, I was seconded and eventually transferred to become a full employee of Ryohin Keikaku. I experienced the launch of MUJI and remained involved in the development of products other than apparel until my retirement.

MUJI products are staples in storage supplies. You have been involved in creating those products for many years.

That's right. Now that I am 70, I am focused on mentoring the next generation in the Household Goods Division. While I am not in a position to give advice on tidying up like the two of you, I have been involved in the development of various household goods.

After graduating with a major in psychology from the Faculty of Letters, I worked at a company and then resigned when I got married. I was part of the first generation under the Equal Employment Opportunity Act, but it was still an era when many women quit their jobs upon marriage. I have always liked tidying up, and having more time at home gave me the chance to enjoy thinking about storage even more. After being a full-time homemaker, I started a job I could do while raising children a few years later.

The catalyst for becoming a tidying advisor was about 15 years ago when a fellow mother asked for my advice. Knowing my love for tidying, she asked, "It's messy and embarrassing, but could you take a look at my house?" She always seemed very put-together, but she was also deeply troubled by her son's rebellious phase, who was in the upper grades of elementary school at the time. When I visited, she was living surrounded by all sorts of things in a 3DK apartment. She had even kept her own baby clothes, and the floor was almost invisible.

She must have been someone who cherished things very much.

Exactly. So, over the course of three days, the two of us tidied up while the children were at school. On the first day, the son came home looking grumpy, but on the second day, he showed a smile for the first time in a long while, saying, "So this is what color our floor was." On the third day, he asked his mother with a smile, "What should I display on my desk?" and the younger daughter was also delighted, saying, "Now I can invite friends over like everyone else." Seeing how the children's expressions and family relationships changed in just three days, I realized I had to make this my job. At the time, there was a boom in food education, but I became convinced that the home environment was more important.

I originally wanted ten children, so I got married early after graduating from the Faculty of Business and Commerce. I thought it wasn't realistic to work outside while giving birth to and raising children, so I thought about what kind of work I could do at home to earn money. I entered the Faculty of Business and Commerce because I had a desire to start a business, and I thought that "organizing tidiness and money"—utilizing my strengths in saving/growing money and tidying up—would be useful to the world.

"Organizing tidiness and money" is very easy to understand and sounds great.

My catalyst was also a fellow mother. When I first gave advice, I intended to do it for free, but I received a cash gift as a thank-you, which gave me the confidence that I had done work worthy of being paid for.

The fact that I can work while raising six children is largely due to the house being tidy. In my work as a financial planner, besides individual consultations, I write serialized columns and serve as a seminar lecturer. People who see my columns apply for interviews or consultations, and my work is expanding like the "Straw Millionaire" story.

People who are struggling with money are often also people who are struggling with tidying. People who come for money advice also ask for tidying advice, and those who come for tidying advice also ask for money advice. My work currently revolves around both.

Do you actually visit their homes?

For tidying consultations, I do visit. For money consultations, I have them come to my house, and when they see my home, it sometimes leads to a request for tidying.

Tidying must be difficult with six children. How old is the youngest?

Three years old. Since there are many little "mess-makers," I created a system for tidying up in our house. Making a mess is a child's job, so that in itself isn't a bad thing. What's not good is not being able to tidy up afterward. If I say "tidy up" and they can do it properly, that's okay. If I say a guest is coming in 10 minutes, everyone tidies up together on the count of three.

MUJI doesn't have many products specifically for children, right?

That's true. We have many products for mothers, but we don't actively develop products where the usage scenario is limited, like toys.

Other companies offer brightly colored storage goods for children. I think they are designed from a child's perspective, but storage doesn't need to be bright red, blue, or yellow. Simple colors like MUJI's make a room look much neater.

MUJI storage can change its purpose as a child grows and can be used forever. I'm grateful that it fits various uses for everyone from children to adults.

To us, everything that holds tools is "storage." If we label something as "for XX," we have to create as many products as there are uses, but if the shape is highly versatile, it can be changed depending on the user.

Since color preference is subjective, we initially made them transparent. The light gray products we sell now are more recent. While some said transparency was good because you could see the contents at a glance, the colored ones ended up selling better. Apparently, transparency is "noisy."

Because the contents are visible.

Exactly. Many people use them in offices and want to keep visible areas looking neat, and partly because we use recycled materials, we added color. Instead of increasing color variations, we unified them into a light gray with a "concrete-like tone."

MUJI storage cases have great colors, and I recommend them too. The file box with the slanted front is a staple. This is useful because you can turn it around when guests come so the contents aren't visible.

It seems many people use those file boxes in the kitchen as well.

Yes. They are also convenient for storing frying pans and such.

From those users, we also get requests to remove the "hakama" (the front partition part). Though the hakama is also there to maintain strength.

True, when using them inside a shelf, the hakama makes it harder to put documents in and out. But when using them on top of a shelf, it looks better with the hakama.

I want both (laughs).

MUJI has an underlying premise of not increasing product types too much. One type of chopstick stand, pen stand, or toothbrush stand is enough. The key is whether the customer can imagine various uses from it. We try not to create single-purpose items.

In our house, we use the same products for many different purposes.

People who can use highly versatile products are people who can tidy up. People who can't tidy up assume they need a specialized item, and as a result, their belongings increase. Being able to repurpose simple items is also a secret to tidying.

The reason the world is so overflowing with things might be because people don't think much about how they want to design their own lives.

I often use things differently from their original purpose, like using a planter for something else, but people who are bad at tidying tend to choose specialized items. Since the COVID-19 pandemic, I've started giving advice online, and I've had more opportunities to see homes abroad. I feel that Japan has a lot of things relative to the size of the houses. Also, the awareness of "home" is different; especially in Europe, I get the impression they use old things and what they already have very skillfully.

I also feel that Japanese people have too many things. And they are all things that are "convenient to have." But those are mostly low-versatility, "specialized for XX" items. As a result, they often can't tidy up, and I always say, "You won't be in trouble without things that are just 'convenient to have'" (laughs).

Apple peelers, garlic peelers... there are many homes where the kitchen is overflowing with such things.

They are all specialized for one thing. I wonder if they plan to collect tools for every single ingredient.

On the other hand, there are things you only realize because you were someone who wasted money like that. Even someone raised by a mother who has loved MUJI since childhood won't understand some things without experiencing them. I think it's okay to waste money until around age 20. As a result, you might notice something and come to understand the pleasantness of not owning many things.

In my lectures, I say that private rooms like children's rooms don't have to be tidy. Children might want to vent stress in their rooms when they reach puberty. What's important is that the living and dining areas are reasonably tidy. What's not good is a parent scolding a child to tidy up when the parent hasn't tidied up themselves.

The purpose of tidying is not the act of tidying itself but to live comfortably, so if the person says they want colored storage, that's fine, and if the result is comfort, then that's good.

However, it is definitely easier to do housework and easier for children to play if it's tidy. I think it's fine to have a mess as long as there is a tidy state to begin with. This is my personal opinion, but basically, it's better to be organized.

At Ryohin Keikaku, we previously adopted a routine of wiping the tables with a cloth when arriving at work in the morning. Since it ends quickly if there's nothing on the desk, it resulted in a habit of leaving nothing on the desk when going home. We would put stationery and such in drawers and leave with the desk empty. Then the next day, after a quick wipe with a cloth, we would take out the necessary items and start work. We started this compulsorily. Then, gradually, the feeling of having to go out of one's way to tidy up disappeared.

Wonderful. It became the norm.

At first, everyone found it a hassle, but from a certain point, people decided it was good and started doing it spontaneously. It might be okay to turn it into a rule to some extent.

It's training. I really want the basics of tidying to be taught in home economics classes. We are in an era where both husbands and wives work and everyone must do housework regardless of gender. Tidying isn't taught in school, so you have to do it your own way. But just like housework, it's something you do every day, so I want this to be taught properly in school.

I think so too.

Tidying is necessary for both work and life, and if you can tidy up, work, housework, and studying should all progress better.

That's right. Even if you can do the cloth-wiping because it's a company rule, it's not very effective when a mother says it at home. If it's taught in school, awareness might change.

I want it to be taught systematically if possible. Until now, tidying has been intuitive, and there was no awareness of circulating items. Even though "mottainai" is said to be Japanese culture, all sorts of things are commercialized and everyone buys in bulk. They can't release the things they've bought, and the rooms overflow. I think everyone would find life easier if they were taught the system all the way through to disposal.

I always prepare the garbage sorting chart for that region when I give a lecture. When I check it with everyone and say, "It's this easy to throw away," or "Things put out on 'resource' days don't become trash," they are surprised. When they learn that old clothes are reused for second-hand clothing, work gloves, felt, etc., they are convinced and think, "In that case, maybe I'll put them out." Knowing the circulation system seems to lower the hurdle for letting go of things.

I also tell people that if they let go of unnecessary items as soon as possible, they will be useful to someone else. If you feel it's inconvenient, rather than enduring and continuing to use it, let go of it quickly because there is surely someone else who wants to try using it.

People say it's a waste because it was expensive, but letting it deteriorate as it is is much more of a waste. I think using flea market apps or recycling shops is also good.

It would be fine for schools to teach that too. Plastic bags at supermarkets now cost money and straws have become paper straws, but more than that, I want people to be able to avoid buying useless things or know the system to circulate them immediately even if they do buy them.

I agree. Actually, the term SDGs doesn't really click with me.

Me neither.

I don't think everyone thinks it's good just because you say SDGs. It's a difficult issue.

I want to say there are more things we can do in areas other than plastic bags and straws.

People who can't tidy up read many tidying books, so they have the information. But because of that, they sometimes make their children do a level of tidying that they themselves can't even do.

At a house I visited before, the mother herself was bad at tidying and the kitchen was messy, yet she asked me to do something about her junior high school son's desk. When I immediately looked at the son's desk, things were piled high. As we tidied up, a small tabletop broom and dustpan came out from the very bottom.

What was that for?

Apparently, her mother prepared it just to clean up eraser shavings. But for something like that, you could just sweep it up quickly with one hand into a trash can, or use a vacuum if it spills. It made me realize that people who are bad at tidying up are the ones who gather specialized tools and force their children to use complicated cleaning methods.

There are many people who want to own a lot of tools, aren't there?

People who are good at tidying up also tend to make their children do difficult organizing. For example, using small drawers with fine classifications and further partitions inside. But in the end, children can't keep up with the classification, and things end up left out. Originally, the inside of a drawer should be fine with a rough organization. I want people to lower the hurdle for their children's tidying.

People who come for tidying consultations say, "My husband..." or "My child...," but the cause often lies with the person themselves. Before worrying about their family, I want them to think about their own kitchen first. Like reducing the convenience store spoons and forks they've hoarded thinking they might use them someday.

First of all, it's about not accepting them in the first place.

I want people to discard the idea that the more things you have, the better.

My eldest son is in his 20s, but he has no greed and owns very little. As a parent, I can't help but wonder what he finds fun in life (laughs).

He's probably not seeking material things (laughs).

I feel that way. During the period of high economic growth, people prioritized what they wanted to do even if they didn't have money. You could call it greedy, but everyone was like that. Now that we are overflowing with things, there's an atmosphere where everyone wants to live peacefully. They say car-sharing is fine and don't even have the idea of owning a house.

I'm that type. As long as I can use something and it's there when I need it, I don't feel the need to own it.

As long as that doesn't cause inconvenience. On the other hand, we live in an era where many people are troubled because they have too many things. There are many products that people buy on impulse but end up tucking away after using them only a few times.

The fact that you can buy things easily online is a big factor. You order something because you want it, but by the time it arrives, you've forgotten about it (laughs). There are surprisingly many homes where unopened cardboard boxes are piled up.

Even though we have enough tools necessary for life, slightly improved versions keep coming out, and the way they are presented to pique the desire to buy is the real troublemaker.

On the contrary, I'm happier when a brand like MUJI continues to provide standard products. It's very helpful when I want to repurchase something I've worn out.

Yes, that's what I'm grateful for. It was very helpful to be able to get the same items when my family grew.

At other mass retailers, even if you go to buy more of the same item, it's often unavailable. Especially with storage supplies, the shapes change slightly, and you can't stack them with what you already have.

Continuing to supply the same products was also a theme when MUJI was launched. There were few manufacturers where you could get the same item as 10 years ago, and customers were frustrated that they couldn't continue using good things for a long time.

In terms of performance, MUJI products have no dead space. 100-yen shop file boxes are designed to be wider at the top so they can be stacked for display, but that creates wasted space at the bottom. As a result, they are difficult to use.

I'm also grateful that MUJI products are improved without changing their dimensions.

That is also the secret to keeping the design consistent even when the person in charge of development changes. We decided on rules at some point to make it that way, but we hadn't thought that far ahead during the startup phase.

Initially, MUJI products were conceived with the idea of just removing colors and patterns to solve user dissatisfaction. The budget was limited, so we made products by utilizing existing molds that manufacturers already had. Eventually, we decided to create storage furniture called the Steel Unit Shelf, and we unified the sizes so that the items being stored would also fit without issues. As a result, they became accepted as standard items.

All the products fit perfectly and look very beautiful.

But the trouble with storage supplies is that they sell as much as you make them. If you make a half-size box, that's also popular. But there's no end to it. It's convenient if drawers can be divided into two or four parts, but then, how many divisions should we make? (laughs).

That said, it feels great when items and storage fit perfectly.

Since around 2010, more than 70% of the people who request my services are dual-income couples. People who can tidy up can do so even if they are busy. On the other hand, those who are bad at it tend to fall apart using busyness as an excuse.

In households with children, I hope they consider "work-life balance" with the child's life at the center. At one home, I heard that even when their high school child returns in the evening, they immediately go back out and wander around town. When I actually saw the house, all three private rooms were being used as storage rooms. The high schooler had no private room and was sleeping in the same room as their younger brothers and mother. However, the parents hadn't noticed at all that this was the reason the child didn't want to be at home.

I want parents to check once more whether their home is a comfortable environment for their children. And I want them to think about "what kind of ingenuity is needed to protect the child's life even while working."

I agree. Work is important, but I think housework is just as important. Although it's a difficult era to say this, there are still roles that women must fulfill.

That's true. What I always talk about in lectures at kindergartens is, "I don't want you to feel guilty about not working." What you can do at home as a parent has a very significant meaning.

Exactly. Earning money is important, but I want people to value tidying and housework that allows them to spend time comfortably with their children.

I am in favor of women's social advancement, but I want people to be careful that children don't suffer the consequences of both parents working. While it's important for the community to watch over children, I still want the parents to be the ones who understand their children best. For that, we need an environment where couples can work with some leeway, and a childcare leave environment where they can return without rushing. And I think it would be great if there were jobs that mothers could share with each other.

But in the end, the burden falls on the mothers, doesn't it? I want them not to view it as a burden, but to actively feel it is their role. Instead of thinking "Why do I have to do housework and childcare?", I want them to think of it as "my job."

I see. I have some resistance to the term "one-op parenting" (solo parenting).

The trouble with dual-income parenting now is when a child suddenly gets a fever at daycare and someone has to go pick them up. In the end, the mother is often the one who sacrifices, which also becomes a source of family discord. Maybe things would change if men could actively choose to be stay-at-home dads.

I used to have a sense of pride and superiority, thinking that I was the one who understood my child best.

Society has become one that denies that now, hasn't it?

It's very unfortunate that even if someone dares to choose to be a stay-at-home mother while the children are small, they feel uncomfortable due to recent trends. I want the world to become warm toward both working moms and stay-at-home moms.

I often say that the root cause of not being able to tidy up is keeping unnecessary things forever. In "Danshari" (decluttering), they say to think with yourself as the axis, right? Even if something is convenient for others, if it's inconvenient for you, you don't need it. If you can judge between use/don't use/use now/don't use now, you can tidy up. And I want education that enables such judgment. Schools don't teach that now. So, to repeat myself, I want tidying to be incorporated into Home Economics.

In Home Economics, students also learn about economic activities, so while learning about the buying and selling of various things, I want to teach them not just about buying, but also that there are things that become unnecessary and that it's okay to dispose of items.

It might be good to decide on an expiration date in advance, like how long you will keep something you bought today. Aside from consumables, in the case of durable goods, think about what period it will be useful for before buying. If the period is short, sharing is an option. I think that would reduce reckless buying.

I always tell people to let go if they think "...might." Let's dispose of things we "might use" for now.

We used to have a bread maker at home. We bought it caught up in the trend. I kept it for a while thinking I might use it again someday, but in the end, I disposed of it.

Services for sharing home appliances are also increasing. At our house, we tried a Roomba through a subscription service, and since it was easy to use, we bought it.

Sharing also has the advantage of allowing you to decide where to store it before you buy it.

Exactly. Since appliances are especially determined by the location of outlets, being able to try them out beforehand is very significant.

I feel that households lacking communication are increasing lately. They might be busy and lack time, but I think if the time for dialogue increases, the rooms will also get tidied up.

It's paradoxical, but I think if you can tidy up, you can make that kind of time. We often play board games at our house, but I feel that if the house weren't tidy, we wouldn't be able to play like this. If the table is clear, you can cook with your children. Tidying is indeed important for a high-quality life.

I also talk about setting up various strategies to change the troublesome habits of children and family members. For example, if socks are left scattered after coming home, it's effective to place a basket at the entrance and put up a sign saying "Put your socks here before coming in."

If things are always left out, I also think it's good to just turn that spot where they are left into the storage location.

Speaking of storage, there was once a petition at a MUJI store saying the warehouse space was too small and they wanted it expanded. In response, the president said, "Alright, I understand," and instead reduced the area. His idea was to turn the warehouse into sales floor space and put all the inventory out. Having a warehouse was what was causing them to hold so much inventory.

I also don't think that more storage is necessarily better. I think being obsessed with storage is a Japanese characteristic, but walk-in closets are usually difficult to use, aren't they?

I agree. Since people tend not to return items to storage that is hard to access, it's important to be able to take things out and put them away in a single action.

I've been involved in the development of storage supplies for a long time, but I hadn't thought much about the act of tidying itself. But in the cycle of waking up in the morning and sleeping at night, I realized at one point that if I clean up before going to bed, I won't wake up to a mess the next morning.

It's obvious when you think about it, but there was a time when dishes were left in the sink, and that morning didn't feel good. Since then, I've decided to clear the dishes at night.

Because you can start the day from scratch. I also think a morning that starts from the previous day's mess doesn't feel good.

If you do it the day before, it's over quickly, but for some reason, it takes longer if you do it the next day. Eventually, I somehow became the one in charge of the dishes. If you wash them right after eating, you don't use much detergent, and once it becomes a habit, it's not that much of a struggle.

I also tell busy people to complete everything in one day. Since things taken out that day should only take a few minutes to tidy, I suggest trying to clear the table and floor at least once before dinner and before bed.

I spend the most time around the kitchen, and since the kitchen is the place most likely to become cluttered, I want to keep at least that area feeling pleasant.

I think Mr. Hagiwara's house must be tidy. It might be a prejudice, but many of the causes of clutter lie with men (laughs).

Is that so? But everyone does it when they live alone. I think that when there are two people, there are times when both end up not doing it. In my case, I hate having to go out of my way to decide on chores, so it's fine if the person who notices just does it, but that's not always the case. When my wife is doing housework, she might tell me to go get the newspaper because she's busy.

But I think that's proof that you're communicating. After all, I feel that homes where the woman has power run more smoothly. Households where the man takes the lead feel somewhat tense and stagnant. I think things are more open and airy when the woman is strong.

That might be true (laughs).

Isn't the problem of tidying up often caused by children? I think things increase when you have children. If there were no children and it was just the two of us, I feel like we wouldn't worry about it as much.

No, there are many people who can't tidy up even if they live alone. I believe the basis of tidying up is returning things to their designated spots, but there are many single people whose spots aren't fixed. For those people, the place where they leave things becomes the designated spot.

The vast majority of people are like that.

I said that a child's job is to make a mess, but that's instinctive, and I don't think putting things away is an animal instinct. However, if you teach them, they can return things to their original places. Children can do it at kindergarten or school.

The reason they can't do it at home is probably because the parents haven't decided on designated spots. If you can teach them that, children should be able to put things away.

I think that's the major premise as well. At kindergartens and nurseries, things are finely classified into "playing house (food)" or "playing house (pots and pans)," and they can tidy up because there are rules and others watching, but at home, it's better to be broader. Home is the place where everyone wants to relax the most, so a broad container for "playing house" is actually fine. If you make the classifications too detailed, it actually ends up getting messy.

I also think classifications at home like "toys" are fine.

It's the same for adults. Occasionally, there are homes where batteries are found in various places. This is because the storage for batteries is scattered across different locations like light bulbs or stationery. It's essential to make it easy to return things using broad classifications, like "electric-like things" or "stationery-like things," whichever works.

I suppose people sometimes forget the classifications they decided on themselves.

What surprised me at one home was that the towel shelf was labeled with polka dots, stripes, and solid colors. Of course, the contents were a mess. I suggested peeling off the labels and grouping them under "towels."

In the kitchen, some people label transparent containers with "flour" or "XX powder." It certainly looks beautiful, but a month later, they run out in the middle of cooking and open a spare bag. Rather than failing because they miss the timing to transfer it, I recommend deciding on a storage spot and storing it in the bag as is.

Making it easy to put things away is important for living comfortably. Tidying up is just a means to that end. Especially when you have many children, making it easy to put things away becomes a top priority. In my house, the children are in charge of putting away the laundry, but they just toss their clothes and towels into the drawers without folding them. Since children end up rummaging through them to find clothes anyway, there's no need to fold them. Being simple is truly important.

It's also important to know that tidying up doesn't end in one go. Experts often say, "This is the end," but in reality, it's a repetition of putting things away after using them, so you first need to understand that you have to keep doing it. To continue putting things away without it being a burden, I think it's good to first decide what is needed and what isn't. If you can make this judgment, you should be able to tidy up.

And it's important to create an environment that's easy to tidy. Getting a professional to help is also an option.

That's true. Once you try asking for help, you understand how to do it.

MUJI also holds seminars on organizing and storage. Our interior advisors are involved in such initiatives. For example, I think there are often messy fathers, and in those cases, it seems easier to solve the problem by having a third party tell them rather than trying to handle it within the family.

That makes sense.

If a family member says it, they'll be annoyed, but if a stranger says it, I think it can be fixed harmoniously.

When I ask, "Why is this here?" some people are taken aback. Being pointed out helps them realize the inconvenience they've had until now and leads to thinking about countermeasures.

It might be good to recognize that tidying up is difficult. Some people get depressed sometimes, but it really is quite difficult. There are many things, and various storage goods. I think it's important to recognize these two points: that it's difficult and that it's an ongoing process.