Japanese Organizing Techniques

A couple weeks ago I watched Shogun, a miniseries set in Japan in the early 1600s. Something about British v. Portuguese trying to control the trade routes and colonize Japan, I think, while also navigating the thousand years of Japanese fighting and politics. The story isn’t important …what’s important is how clean, neat, and serene Japanese homes and meals are – at least as depicted by this 10-part TV series.

You all know I like to learn all my history from TV and movies. 

The show stirred something inside me. No. Not that I need to read more and learn about ancient Japanese history. No. Not that I should plan a trip to visit Japan. Instead, I learned, I would like my home to be neat and tidy and I want to focus on form, function, and simplicity.

Of all the lines and scenes that jumped out at me, here was my biggest takeaway…

“…she is the best at pouring tea … she spent two years learning the art of pouring tea.”

What might seem bizarre to you… to me? Seems awesome. I like systems and processes. In my heart, I always feel like, if I’m going to do something, do it as efficiently as possible and as perfectly as possible. They say there’s a right way and a wrong way to do something, but I’m floating it out there that there’s probably also a perfect way. 

So this is my new obsession. I’m going to transform my backyard garden into a pristine, elegant, and zen garden. When I make coffee each morning, I’m going to call it my “morning coffee ceremony.”  I’m going to organize every corner of my house and design efficiencies into every chore, routine or task …but now I’m gonna do it with purpose and intention. Like everyone, I’ll start with Marie Kondo, but I’m going much further than that – truth be told, I read her book and wasn’t as inspired as I was by watching Shogun, and my impression of her method was to talk to the things I own, thank them for making me happy once, and then throwing them away. Don’t throw tomatoes at me … I’ll read it again (actually, I’ll listen to the audiobook). 

A quick YouTube search about organizing and Japanese gardens shows this is a rabbit hole I can go waaaaaaaay deep into. I’ll start with this list that I quickly put together from a few Samurai Matcha vids, a book called The Clutter Remedy, and some of my own ideas that’ve been bubbling around in my brain for years. It’s all about getting a little better every day.

• Clean the toilet every day.
• Organize your shoes.
• Find a 100% habit.
• Everything is a tea ceremony <—that’s my own
• Change and create a mindset habit.
• Heal your gut. (Eat healthy)
• Cold shower.
• Meditation (or prayer …intentional prayer) … as little as three minutes.
• Gratitude journal.
• Always be aware of your posture.
• Start clean. End organized.
• Treat things like your lover (aka slow down when you handle objects and handle them gently and with love… like a baby or a puppy).
• Allow yourself to slow down and notice the world.
• Finish tasks. Have the end in mind. Don’t start something unless you see the start, the path, and the finish line <–this is mine
• Give yourself your morning hour – me time.
• Put things away. Always. <– this will get easier as I organize my world
• Create ritual – that is, practice not feeling rushed. Slow down.

There you have it … and here’s an amazing AI tip … that list above … I wrote it, with a pencil, in my daily journal and then took a picture with Gemini and told Gemini “transcribe the words off of this photo” …and then copy/pasted those into this Blog entry. 

You came here for the Shogun review, but got so much more. You’re welcome.