Original subtitles

-Ah! -[woman] She looks excited!

I'm so excited because I love mess.

[man] It's a never ending battle to fight the clutter.

Oh!

I want things to be more simple. I don't know how to fix it.

With the baby coming, it's gonna be more chaos.

[gasping, squealing]

[man] Oh, my God! We have too much stuff!

Hello, I'm Marie Kondo.

[in Japanese] My mission

is to spark joy in the world through tidying.

Ching!

[narrator] Best-selling author and world-renowned tidying expert

Marie Kondo is dedicated to inspiring the world to choose joy

with the KonMari Method.

[in Japanese] The KonMari method is unique because

I organize by category rather than by location. In the KonMari method

we tidy five categories in a specific order.

[in English] First, is clothing.

-[Marie grunting] -[laughter]

I can't reach.

Next, is books.

[Iida] Giving them a little shake and wake them up.

Then, paper.

[man sighs] I can't do the papers.

[deep groan]

The largest category is komono.

Komono is kitchen, bathroom,

and garage.

Everything miscellaneous.

Finally, sentimental items.

It's kinda hard to let it go, 'cause I really like this one.

[sniffling] This is kinda hard.

I don't want to just, you know, dump it.

But I want to be thoughtful about it.

[man 2] From the moment she set foot in our house,

she had this presence to her.

She wants to see this place turned around.

Marie brought a whole bunch of joy upon our home.

This is amazing.

[girl] You're so cute! I love you!

You're so cute I love you, too. [laughing] These are, like, happy, happy tears.

Thank you for what you've brought to our home, really.

[in Japanese] When you have young children

maintaining a tidy household is a struggle.

In this episode we meet a couple who have two young children

and are struggling to keep their house tidy

Rachel and Kevin.

The cluttered house seems to be affecting their relationship as well.

I would like to help this couple focus on what matters most to them,

time with their family.

[peaceful music playing]

[Marie speaking Japanese] [Marie, in Japanese] Big umbrellas are really great.

[Kevin] Jaxon.

[Kevin] Good job walking.

...seven, eight, nine, ten!

[indistinct chatter]

One, two, three, four, five, six,

-seven, eight, nine ten! -[knocking]

-[Rachel] Guess who's here. -[Kevin] Come here. Let's go see.

-Who is it? -[Marie] Hi!

-Hi. -Nice to meet you!

-Oh my gosh, can we hug you? -Hi.

-Hello, I'm Marie. [squeals] -I'm so happy you're here.

-Hi! So cute! -This is Ryan.

Say, "Hi, Marie."

-Hi. -Hi, I'm Iida.

Can I hug you, too?

Nice to meet you.

-This is Ryan, I'm Rachel. -Nice to meet you.

[Rachel] This is Kevin. Jaxon, say hi.

-Oh, nice to meet you! -[Kevin] Say hi.

-He can be shy, he can be shy. -[Iida] You're shy?

Coming over. [Rachel and Kevin] They came over!

[Kevin] They came over to see us.

Do you want me to hold you?

[Rachel] You want to go to her?

[Ryan] Wanna go to her.

-Oh! -Wanna to go her.

I feel so happy!

-[Kevin] Good. Oh, good. -[Rachel] We're excited, we're excited.

-We're the Friends. -We're the Friend family.

That's our-- Our last name is Friend, we're the Friend family.

We're friends, too, but we're also the Friend family.

Yeah.

And what do you wanna say about us, babe?

I don't know, we're...

Uh, we're fun.

-I'm fun. -We get--

-He's fun, too, though. -Thank you.

[Kevin] We were married five years ago.

[Rachel] Kevin's like a natural romantic and he's super thoughtful. What I love about him is that if I'm really passionate about something,

or want to get something done, like, he's on board with me.

[Kevin] Rachel always has one thing on her mind and that's enjoying her life.

She's super quick-witted,

always wants to laugh, always wants to make you laugh.

I love that about her. She's a great mom.

[Jaxon] I want the yellow!

Oh...

[Kevin] She's, uh... She's pretty amazing.

She's got amazing eyes.

[laughing]

-[Rachel] Okay, then fine, I want-- -♪ W, X ♪

Hold on.

♪ Y and Z ♪

-We're almost there. -Okay.

[kids singing] ♪ Now I know my ABCs... ♪

[Kevin] We have two kids, two great kids.

-Four and two. -[Kevin and Rachel] Jaxon and Ryan.

[Rachel] We had wanted kids, we planned for 'em.

But...

kids and work, ever since that, things are hard to do.

[Kevin] I feel like our house is a home,

but I feel like it's a constant struggle to be.

[Rachel] This place that we originally really liked and we moved into,

we find that there's just kind of so much stuff

and we end up getting frustrated about it.

[Kevin] Yes.

He's definitely cleaner than I am. Okay?

I'm-- Okay, I'm not a super dirty person,

but when it comes to throwing my clothes over here and letting them pile up

and leaving laundry for a while, that's me.

Kevin was definitely more organized.

So I feel like I came in and just wrecked that ship.

Right, babe? But there-- But there is so much good that came with that bad.

-Right? -Right.

-Okay. -Yeah.

We got two kids out of it.

-That's the answer for everything. -Thanks, babe.

-[coughing] -[Rachel chuckles]

[Rachel] Can you guys come in? We'll come show you, come this way.

[kids chattering]

-Come in here. -[Jaxon] This is the room.

-This is the room. -[Marie] Yay!

[Jaxon] This is the room.

[Iida, in Japanese] The children's room.

-[Marie] Your room? -So, this is the kids' playroom.

[Iida, in Japanese] This is the kids' playroom.

We have a bunch of toys.

Marie, this is also Kevin's closet.

-In the playroom. -[Marie] Ah!

So this is... my dresser drawers.

-And then this side over here... -What else?

This is where my shirts are hanging. Work shirts and then, like, coats.

And then my shoes are all down over there.

-Ah! -[Kevin laughing]

-That's where my shoes go. -She's like, "Oh, that's a big no-no!"

What? Yeah.

[in Japanese] Do the kids know how to clean already?

-Your kids, they know how to tidy already? -[Rachel] They don't.

I think if we make a game out of it sometimes, they'll do it.

What do you--? You have kids. What do you do with your kids?

[speaking Japanese]

[Iida, translating] She just watches me have so much fun tidying all the time

that she just learned from me.

All right, if we can find a way to have fun tidying up,

like on a regular basis,

I think they'll feed off that, for sure.

-[Iida] Let's move on to the next room? -[Rachel] Yes, yes.

[Rachel] Our room is small.

Here's one closet, here's this closet. Both of them are mine.

-[Marie speaking Japanese] -[Iida] Can she look inside?

[Rachel] Absolutely, you can do whatever you want.

[Marie speaking Japanese]

[Iida] So, how do you separate them? In categories, or...?

Um, I think-- So, I don't do it.

We have someone help us do it,

-like a laundry person. -[Iida translating]

[in Japanese] Oh, I see.

'Cause I hate doing laundry.

We fight about laundry.

And it seems silly when I say it,

but really, it pisses me off, like, a lot.

It's not because she doesn't do the laundry,

it's because we hire somebody to come do it.

It's not like I'm saying, "Hey...

You do the laundry, you watch the kids, you do the dishes."

-No, I know. -I'm saying, no, we gotta do this,

but let's do this as a family, like--

Hold on, babe.

-Okay, hold on a second. -I'm ready.

[Rachel] With him working more, I'm home with the kids more,

and it's freaking chaos.

My kids are just like running around and being crazy

and we never get anything done.

So I think to myself, "What's an easy resolution?"

If we don't have enough time,

then maybe we can pay somebody to do these things,

and that way we have more time.

It's because we're perfectly capable of doing those things.

Okay, time out. I'm not saying we're not capable.

I'm just saying the reason that this came up more and more

was because, babe, we don't have the time to do these,

that's where it came.

We're different.

[Iida, in Japanese] This is the kids' room.

[Rachel] So we have things under the bed.

-For them, the little bins. -[Ryan] Daddy!

-'Cause they don't have much closet space. -[Iida translates]

[Marie, in Japanese] It must be hard to find things in here.

[Kevin] Oh, yeah.

[Marie, in Japanese] I think I can make this easier to use.

I do like the rack, but I think we can fix it so that it's easier to use.

-[Rachel gasps] -[Kevin] Oh, my God!

-Was that planned -[in Japanese] Please be careful!

-[Kevin] Oh, my God. -[Rachel] Marie started tripping!

[Kevin] We have too much stuff. It's official.

-[Iida translates] -It's official.

-Did you just fall? -I just fell!

-[Rachel laughing] -I'll go food shopping.

[Kevin] Okay, you go shopping for food. Okay.

I have a real problem in here.

When I go to get clothes for the kids,

half the stuff I grab...

is not the right size.

It's either too small or too big.

But Marie, I'll tell you...

-Want my mom. -Okay, I'm coming.

-[Ryan] Mommy! Mommy! -[Rachel] Yes, I hear you.

-Yes? -[Ryan] Mom, I want boobies.

-We're gonna do boobies in just a minute. -[in Japanese] What is "boobie"?

-[in Japanese] For breastfeeding. -[in Japanese] Oh, that's what it is!

[Rachel] Yes, yes, um...

I want to sit on the floor with you. [Jaxon whines]

You can sit-- Okay.

KonMari chair.

[laughing]

[Marie speaking Japanese]

[Iida] So both of you work?

[Rachel] He mostly works.

I teach Intercultural Communication, a few days a week,

but I'm mostly home with the kids.

So, I was gonna say, ever since I had kids was when I started to get really, like,

anxious about the house being, um...

not organized.

I'm 50-60 hours a week, yeah.

And then sometimes on the weekends, um,

I'm a sales manager for a restaurant supply company.

So it becomes hectic

-and you have little energy. -[Marie] Yeah.

-And you have little time. -Yeah. And then it becomes, like,

"All right, are you cleaning this up? Am I doing this?"

[Iida translating]

The biggest fights we ever get into are money and cleaning.

Rachel and the kids are definitely not getting the best side of me.

That always has stuff piled up and that's, like, medicine...

-I know, the medicine cabinet's up there. -There's makeup over there.

-Like, none of that stuff goes there. -Okay.

There are five-- There are seven pillows on this bed!

-I know, we each have one... -Those aren't even decorative pillows.

I want to be a good dad, but I don't know.

I don't know that I'm doing that well with it.

Because I'm tired,

because I'm frustrated sometimes about the house.

You know?

Among other things. And... [sighs]

Oh,, man, that sucks. [clears throat]

That sucks to say.

That they're getting the worst of me, sometimes.

Hmm.

-It seems like everything is so short. -[Marie murmurs]

And so-- And there's not enough time for us to just enjoy our lives.

-Yeah. -You know what I mean?

[speaking Japanese]

I completely empathize, it's a busy time for you.

[in Japanese] Even my house gets cluttered sometimes.

[Rachel] I don't believe you.

[in Japanese} Secret.

-Just between you. -[Rachel] Okay.

-[laughing] -Do you want to see another one?

Let's continue on.

[Rachel] Okay come in here. Come on in.

[Marie speaking Japanese]

[Iida] American kitchens are so large!

They are? This is large?

[Iida translating]

[Marie speaking Japanese]

The kitchen in Japan, probably...

-Yes. -Around here...

-[speaking Japanese] -When I used to live by myself.

[Kevin] Wow!

[Ryan] Mom!

[Rachel] Yes, honey. [Kevin] Jaxon!

[Rachel] I mean, are your kids running all over?

Or are they just sitting saying, "Mommy, whatever you tell me to do,

I'll do it."

Nooo!

-[Rachel] So, yeah, that's our silverware. -Silverware, ah.

[Iida] What's this?

[Kevin] So, we go through a lot of dishes.

-So this is actually good. -Mhm.

-Most of the time, -[Iida translates]

there's dishes here, there's other things piled there.

[Marie, in Japanese] Does this clutter stress you out?

[Kevin] Yes.

This room is just, like, the worst room. One of the worst ones.

You walk in and it's, like, when it's not organized, it's annoying.

[Rachel] I don't know what it is about the kitchen.

Honestly, I feel like I can never keep it clean.

It was really after I had kids that everything just came full front.

I'm like, I can't do all this.

I want my Mommy!

[screaming] No!

[Rachel] Whether I'm constantly feeding the kids snacks,

and then those moments I go and bring the plates in there,

but I'm switching and they're yelling,

and really washing and putting things away is unrealistic.

And then things would, like, load up more.

I don't necessarily know how to fix it and it affects me.

So, we're on board, we want to change.

I just want it to be strong enough to change me.

[kids screaming]

[Rachel] You guys, come get comfortable.

[Marie, in Japanese] They are tired, time for a nap.

[Ryan wailing]

[Marie, in Japanese] Okay, then...

[speaking in Japanese]

[Iida] I'd love to greet your house first.

-[gasps] I love that. -I'm excited.

[in Japanese] So would you like to try it with me?

Sure.

[in Japanese] You can do it in your mind...

[Iida] All we're communicating to the house

is that we're thanking it, first of all, for always protecting you,

and that we are about to begin this process of tidying.

Now I'm finding spot.

Okay. Maybe...

[whispering] Okay.

[peaceful music playing]

-[Marie] Close your eyes. -Okay.

-[in Japanese] Okay we're finished. -[Ida] Thank you very much.

You know, what's funny is I obviously have never done that

or thought of doing that,

and it is nice to go,

"Yeah, this has been a very good home for us."

Then I also got a sense of, "Are we doing it justice?"

You know what I mean?

I don't know, like, why I'm getting emotional, but...

I think he knows, I just--

I want things to be, like, more simple, so I don't have to be so stressed,

but then..

I don't know how to fix it. It's-- You know?

So I'm, I'm happy that you're here

'cause I want to feel, like, more calm.

I want to appreciate, like, what I have

instead of needing more things, you know?

Thank you for, like, being here for us

and wanting to help us 'cause I'm ready for it.

I know that we're ready for it. [sniffles]

[in Japanese] Thank you, I'm grateful for you saying that.

[Marie speaking Japanese]

[Iida, translating] The ultimate goal of tidying

is really to learn to cherish everything that you have,

so that you can achieve happiness for your family

so that you can live comfortably.

[Marie speaking Japanese]

[Iida] So, with those visions in our hearts, let's begin tidying.

Yeah, do you want to put them in bed and then whatever we need to do?

-[Kevin] Yeah. -Okay, perfect.

[Rachel] Shh, shh, shh.

[in Japanese] What is your impression of this family?

[in Japanese] I feel they are a warm and loving family

the moment I entered the house.

[Iida] The kids are so cute as well.

[Marie] So cute! They really are soothing.

You're absolutely right.

[Iida] I think this house will become even more lovely.

It's lovely now, of course, but even more so.

[in Japanese] I know things will be better. [Iida, in Japanese] I'm looking forward to it.

[speaking Japanese]

Take all the clothes from everywhere in the house

and pile it into one big mountain.

-Oh. -Right now?

[Iida] Rachel, here, Kevin, in the living room.

All of your clothes, right now. Every single piece.

-Oh, my gosh. -I'm grabbing everything from my closets

and putting it in here?

-And your drawers. -[in Japanese] The bed is good.

-The bed would be great. Just pull it out. -Oh, my God!

-[in Japanese] Let's begin with that. -And let's create a pile.

-All right, let's do it. -Okay.

[Rachel] Oh, my God, babe, no...

Oh, my God.

It is awesome to look at this pile all at once.

I mean, I get it, Marie, you look sweet,

but on the inside you really mean business.

[Marie] Yes, I might be.

-[Rachel] You might be? -[all laughing]

[Rachel] My husband's gonna question why he married me now.

[Kevin] Oh, my gosh, this is awesome.

That's it. Those are just scarves.

[whispering] Okay.

[Rachel] Oh, my gosh.

[Rachel] This is embarrassing.

I don't know why it's embarrassing, but for some reason I have so much stuff.

-[Iida translating] -No, it's insane.

I'm just looking at things I don't even know.

One, I feel like I don't need this.

And two, I feel like there's people who don't have--

I don't know why, like, I started feeling guilty.

I actually feel kind of uncomfortable right now. I'm getting hot and cold. I really do.

It's weird.

[nervous chuckle]

[speaking Japanese]

[Iida] Only when you actually are confronted

with how much exactly you have, you start to realize,

yeah, what you need to do.

[Marie whispers] Okay. Great.

[in Japanese] So from here you will choose what you will keep.

You will only keep items that spark joy for you.

[in English] The important is to hold each item one by one.

Okay. Oh, my gosh.

When you touch the item that sparks joy for you...

Okay.

...um, you feel...

-Ching! -Okay.

Ching! Okay, okay.

All of your cells are rising.

[Rachel] Yes, okay, wow.

[peaceful music playing]

[in Japanese] Do you know what it feels like when you spark joy?

You feel it when you hold a puppy,

or when you wear your favorite outfit.

It's a warm and positive feeling.

That's how it feels when something "sparks joy."

Some of you may not know how that feels yet

but please do not worry.

Your sensitivity to joy

will be honed as you progress through the tidying process.

-Are we ready? -[girls chuckle]

So weird. This first thing you picked up,

I definitely don't really want this, I could tell.

[speaking Japanese]

[Iida] When you let go of an item, you must thank it.

-[Marie] Thank you. -Thank you for letting me wear you.

-[Marie] Yeah! -I like that, okay.

These guys...

-I like these. -Mhm.

Yes, these are really comfortable, I wear these a lot.

-So... -[Iida translating]

Okay, they spark joy.

[Rachel] Okay, I don't know what this is.

I'm already looking at it and knowing I don't want it, so thank you.

My God, I could've got rid of all of these. -[speaking Japanese] -[Iida] Be gentle, though!

-Oh, my gosh! I'm so sorry! -[Marie laughs]

Thank you, let me put this in.

-[Marie speaking Japanese] -[Rachel] These ones...

So, you continue on, and let's move on to Kevin.

-Oh. -Perfect. Good luck, babe.

-Have fun. Jeez. -Thank you.

No. Thank you.

-[Marie] And do the same thing. -[Kevin] Okay.

[Marie, in Japanese] Wow this is heavy.

[Marie speaking Japanese]

[Iida] Same thing for you, Kevin.

-[Kevin] Okay. -[Iida] Same process.

Okay, this shirt I have absolutely no attachment to.

-Thank you. -Thank you.

[Kevin] Uh-oh.

-[Rachel] Oh, really? -[Kevin exhales]

-Babe. -This is an old shirt.

-But this shirt... -[Rachel] Just stop.

...is so comfortable. I love this shirt.

When's the last time you wore it?

[speaking Japanese]

Rachel, as a rule, focus only the clothes that belongs to you.

I'm sorry. Okay. It's just hard when-- Okay.

[peaceful music playing]

[Marie, in Japanese]

When folding, it's important to convey love to your clothes

from the palms of your hands.

By doing this, you will start to like folding clothes.

[in English] Folding is not just making your clothes smaller.

It is actually an important opportunity

to talk to your clothes and thank them.

[in Japanese] By repeating this,

you'll learn to love folding.

[Rachel] Wow.

[Marie speaking Japanese]

[Iida, translating] So what you're aiming for

is to create a rectangle at the center of the clothes.

[Marie] Fold in half.

[Marie, in Japanese] After this, in the end,

fold into thirds.

[Iida, translating] And you should be aiming for this small rectangle.

-[Rachel] It's so little. -[Kevin] Wow.

[Marie, in Japanese] We will store these standing in the drawer.

[Rachel] Oh, my gosh, okay.

-[speaking Japanese] -[Iida] So, can you try with me?

-Oh! Sure, okay. -You should tuck in the sleeves first.

[Rachel] I feel like I did it too far.

[Marie, in Japanese] You should fold that back once.

-[Kevin] Oh, come back. -[Marie] Come back.

Okay, so this way? Or all the way? -[Marie speaking Japanese] -Leave a little gap at the bottom.

[Marie, in Japanese] Your folding will end up smoother with the gap.

-This looks good? -Yeah.

[Rachel] Oh, my God.

I mean, it's kinda messy.

That's better than you've ever done before.

[laughing]

[Rachel] Babe, yours looks so good!

[Marie speaking Japanese]

[Iida] Jeans, like this.

It's quite simple, just fold in half.

[Marie] And fold in half.

And fold in thirds.

[Rachel] Oh, thirds as well.

[Marie] And standing.

[Rachel] Oh.

Oh, that's gonna make me be able to see all those jeans.

-[Iida speaking Japanese] -Oh, my God, I'm excited.

[speaking Japanese]

So, you will be doing this folding method

for all the clothes you've decided to keep.

The clothes that you've folded, try stacking them in your drawers nicely.

Like, when the kids are here,

even though I want to include them,

like, how do we--

how do we get all this stuff done, like...?

[speaking Japanese]

I highly recommend doing this with your kids. They love it.

[in Japanese] Like reading a book, it's a habit to fold clothes with my children.

We often do it together before bedtime.

[in English] Of course, sometimes when I fold clothes,

my daughters crush.

[Rachel] So, what do you do in those times?

[in Japanese] I do scold them.

I ask them not to pull it out.

[Iida] Of course I tell them not to pull it out.

Well, shoot. Okay.

[speaking Japanese]

So, yeah, just try.

[Rachel] Yeah. No, we gotta to see how it works for us, you're right.

Don't let us fail, okay? Hold us accountable.

[speaking Japanese]

-I will be, don't worry. -[Kevin laughs]

Well, thank you. Thank you for coming into our home.

-Thank you very much. -Thank you very much.

You're welcome, we're gonna see you next week. I'm excited.

-Thank you. -[speaking Japanese]

I'm looking forward to seeing you.

-[Rachel] Bye, guys, be safe. -[Marie] Bye! Thank you!

[Kevin] Thank you so much.

Take care. Drive safe.

[Marie] Yeah. Bye!

Oh, my God.

[Rachel] I definitely am nervous. We have a lot of stuff.

[Kevin] Are you still focused on what gives you joy?

I can be focused and overwhelmed at the same time.

Okay, good. That's it.

I'll tell you what's not bringing me joy

is that I have to fold, I'll be honest with you.

[Kevin] Can I say something else?

Yes, I know, yours is easier than mine. -That's not-- [Kevin laughs] -I know, but okay.

I'm just gonna say it, I hate laundry, okay?

That actually gives me anxiety.

[Rachel] But I know that if Kevin and I continue our habits,

my kids are gonna be the exact same.

And so if I could think of giving them something

to allow them to take care of their lives, put it in order,

that's enough motivation for me too.

[Rachel] How about this, do you like this?

-Yeah. -[grunts] Oh, me too!

Okay, Ryan, what about this guy?

-No. -Good job!

-Say thank you. -Thank you.

-[lip smack] -We got to put it away.

[Jaxon] I wet my pants.

You would put water on your pants?

All over your shirt? Oh, is that the coffee?

Oh, man.

-You had a rough day. -I want a napkin.

[laughing] I don't think a napkin's gonna do it, man!

-[Rachel] Kev? -What?

[Rachel] Do we have a bin to put a bunch of hangers in?

I have a ton of hangers I don't want us to throw away.

Oh, oh, we got--

-You don't want to throw 'em away? -Honey...

We shouldn't get rid of hangers. Those are-- We paid money for those.

If we don't use them, we'll have one little spot in the garage.

Do you use 200 hangers with no clothes to put hangers on--?

Maybe she'll-- Will you use them? Do they bring you joy?

-Babe, you don't even know-- -A bin full of hangers brings you joy?

Hold on, do they keep you up at night that we have hangers in the garage?

[Kevin] Rachel and I, before the kids, there was a little less tension.

A little less frustration, a little more sleep.

You know, and so things were a little bit easier.

If you buy more clothes to fill that up, we're gonna have a problem.

-[kids shouting] -Hey. Okay, guess what?

[yelling, giggling]

I hope that this will get out of the way

the things that are keeping us from enjoying each other.

Because we really-- We do, we talk about it.

You know, we "talk about it."

And then there's just no time. [sighs]

There's no time or energy.

[birds chirping]

[speaking Japanese]

[Iida, in Japanese] You brought a lot of stuff today.

[Marie, in Japanese] Yes, I did. I just brought boxes from my house.

-[Rachel] Honey! -[Kevin] Don't clean your room!

Just go through the clothes.

[Rachel] What are you talking about, "cleaning my room?"

[Kevin] You don't have to get everything out.

[Rachel] That was her rule! She said get everything out onto a pile.

-[knocking] -Oop.

-[Rachel screams] Marie! -[Kevin] Hi! What is this?

-Hi! We're so excited you're here! -Hi, hi.

-[Rachel] Come in. -Good to see you.

What is this and why are you holding a box?

[in Japanese] I figured that today,

you'd need to store little things.

-Oh, my goodness. -[Rachel] What is this?

[Iida] We'll be taking care of the storage of miscellaneous items,

so I thought these might come in handy.

[peaceful music playing]

[in Japanese] Miscellaneous items include

everything except

clothes, books, documents, and sentimental items.

I always use boxes when tidying miscellaneous items.

By using boxes, you can compartmentalize

the drawers neatly.

[Marie, in Japanese]

[Iida] So I think we're gonna focus on the kitchen and the garage today.

So, how about, Rachel, you focus on the kitchen

and, Kevin, you'll do the garage.

[in Japanese]

[speaking Japanese]

[Iida] Let's proceed with utensils you use to cook with.

Little tools like this, everything. Out on the counter.

[Rachel] I'll do that first.

So I'll stay in here and then you guys take Kevin?

Yes, Kevin will tidy the garage.

Okay, good luck. -See you soon. -Bye.

[laughing]

-Bye. -[Marie] Bye.

[in Japanese] What category of things do you have in here?

yWill you give us a general idea?

[Kevin] Most of this is just random stuff.

[In Japanese] In that case, let's take everything out of here as well.

[peaceful music playing]

[in Japanese] When you tidy your garage,

you should take everything out.

Then sort the items into categories.

If you encounter sentimental items

while tidying,

I recommend that you address them last,

when your sensitivity to joy has become sufficiently heightened.

[Kevin] So your garage at home...

-[Iida translating] -How simple is it?

[in Japanese] In my garage?

[in Japanese] Just my Christmas decorations.

Wow, okay.

[Marie speaking Japanese]

[Iida] That's not to say I'm perfect. I do have a section in my garage

where I just kind of keep things

that I meant to store, but it's temporary space.

All right, I feel a little bit better, but I'm gonna go at it.

I'm gonna go after it.

[Marie, in Japanese] Let's keep moving along.

[in English] The box is for all the photos...

[Kevin] Marie, there's so much just junk here, it's crazy.

[in Japanese] These cords are all tangled.

[Kevin] Yeah.

[in Japanese] Do you wish that you had more

personal items in your house?

The only thing that I do...

definitely want in the house is picture frames of the kids,

so that's something that we keep saying,

"Okay, we got to get that, we got to do that," and we just don't.

And, so, that's something that I don't want to put off anymore.

-[speaking Japanese] -[Kevin] Wow.

These can go bye-bye.

[speaking Japanese]

[Iida] Oh, my gosh, this is so lovely.

-[Kevin chuckles] -This is from your wedding?

[Kevin] Yeah, it's the-- made a little video out of it.

-Yeah. -[in Japanese] It's so beautiful.

[Marie speaking Japanese]

Do you ever watch this?

[Kevin] Like, after our first year, first anniversary, we watched it.

[speaking Japanese]

Today's my wedding anniversary, actually.

Today's your anniversary? Happy anniversary! What? -Thank you! -Oh, wow!

[in Japanese] Today we are apart since I am working, so this made me a bit jealous.

-Oh, really? -[Iida] He's not with me today.

-Wow. -[in Japanese] I miss him.

Wow, I have not seen that in at least four years.

We were married five years ago.

[Kevin] So think maybe we watched it once, a year in,

and then it got tucked away along with pictures of my kids and...

It doesn't feel good having that stuff tucked away.

We're at a time in our life,

Rachel and I, where it's too easy to be on the go all the time

and then not realize that you're just slowly, like...

you know, sort of falling--

like, working apart, growing apart.

It's probably that time now when it's most important

to stay strong and to work together

instead of, kind of, fighting against each other...

in the midst of all of that stuff that we're dealing with.

Hi!

Hi!

[Rachel] This is where I'm at so far. So I emptied this out.

I made sure every one of them that I had, had a top to it.

[speaking Japanese]

-Very good. -Okay.

[Rachel I'm just finding a better way to organize it.

[speaking Japanese]

Yes, I do agree that this is a good spot for them.

Oh, okay.

[speaking Japanese]

Let's stand everything upright.

[Iida] When you stack them up like this,

you can see, in one shot, how much you have.

[Rachel] Standing up when possible. Yes, I like it.

To be honest,

the kitchen I'm a little nervous because I'm in here so much making stuff.

How do I really keep it up when this place is where a lot of things happen?

[speaking Japanese]

[Iida] Approach it in a lighter way 'cause it's never going to be perfect.

But with that said,

it'll help immensely if you have a designated spot for everything.

Is there ever a time where there are things out of order at your house?

-[speaking Japanese] -Of course.

[laughing]

[in Japanese] In fact, if I'm really exhausted, I'll just go to sleep.

Okay, I like this.

[speaking Japanese]

But we have a lot to cover, so...

I know, I am still excited. Okay, let's do it, let's do it.

[Kevin] Here is sort of the progress right here.

So I've got everything sort of thrown in the middle.

There's six-plus bags of garbage here.

Hey, Mom's just going through some stuff, okay?

I want boobies.

'Kay, give me a few minutes and we'll do some boobies, okay?

[Rachel gasping] Wow!

Okay? Is this okay?

[Rachel] "Miscellaneous" is like the entire house.

I'm a little nervous.

I feel like it's gonna take us some time.

And if you can't tell, I'm really tired.

We're tired 'cause we've been staying up late to do everything.

[Rachel] This is what her kitchen looks like right now.

There's stuff everywhere. Hey, bud.

I think we're on to these bottom cabinets. I think the top ones are...

Cleared out.

[Rachel] We've filled up a couple trash bins. We're on our second one now.

I will say that my anxiety...

hasn't been even high.

I think because...

Sometimes with anxiety, knowing that something might eventually get done,

even though it's not done yet, is nice,

versus "It's never gonna get done. I have no idea."

Jaxon, do you like this one? Yes or no.

-Uh, yes! -Yay!

Good job.

How about this?

-You like it? -Yes.

Are you sure? You took a second.

-You like this? -[Jaxon] Yeah.

-[Rachel] Okay. -Do you like this one?

No, do you like this one?

[Rachel] So this is my makeup drawer.

We've kind of already separated a few.

I've set Ryan up over here to do some makeup.

Can I have a towel, Mom?

-[Rachel] You need a towel? -Yeah. [Rachel] Let me see what you did.

Oh, you look so pretty.

[Kevin] As you can see,

we're kind of like in the middle of everything.

All these bags are all the clothes.

I think there's also one bag of toys.

All this is gonna be gone.

And hopefully this place is gonna be cleared out

and look a hell of a lot better.

[in Japanese] While you are tidying,

it may seem like things are more cluttered than before.

But there's no need to worry.

By following the process step by step,

there will always be an end to tidying.

[birds chirping]

[knocking]

[squealing]

Marie, yay!

-Good to see you. -I'm so happy you're here!

-Good to see you, Rachel. -Nice to see you guys.

Oh, my gosh.

-I was waiting for this day. -[Marie chuckles]

[Rachel] Can I tell you, Marie, like, during this process,

I'm already feeling good, like, waking up already.

And I'm freaking tired. I'm tired, but I still feel good.

Even with Kevin and I, like, things have changed with us.

Like, he has been more romantic and cute lately.

He says, "Oh, the whole cleaning thing is, like, sexy."

So it's just, you know-- I'm serious!

[speaking Japanese]

[Iida] That is a very American way of looking at it.

-I love it. I love it so much. -It really is.

It really is. So thank you. I'm excited.

[in English] I'm so glad to hear that.

[Rachel] Yes, thank you!

So in terms of where things go, I know you'll help us eventually with that,

but we did the best that we can. Again, if there's a better place...

[in Japanese] This is good.

I did everything.

I was like, okay, I discarded, now tell me where it goes.

[speaking Japanese]

[Iida] But it's-- It's nearly perfect.

[Rachel] No, I appreciate that.

I feel like I don't know the best way to store it, so I'm gonna--

You have to give me, like, your tips.

[speaking Japanese]

[Iida] My advice for storage

is try to keep things of the same sizes together in the same place.

[Rachel] Right, I see that.

[Iida] Another advice I have for storing is utilize tiny boxes in here.

It's easier to place back.

[Rachel] Yes, they have a spot. [Iida] To have a home for everything.

Hello, hello.

-[Rachel] Hi, babe. -I'm home.

-[Marie] Hi! Good to see you! -Hi, how are you, Marie?

Good to see you.

There's been some good stuff going on in here.

I'm excited, I wanna hear. Let me put this down.

-Oh. -What, what, what? Oh.

-Oh, I'm sorry, you too, you too. -No, babe, babe.

I'm saying there's been some good stuff going on in here.

[peaceful music playing]

[in Japanese] Rachel and Kevin have a strong grasp of what it means to spark joy

So with that,

we're moving on to the final category, sentimental items.

[Marie] Sentimental items have many categories.

For example, memorabilia, such as old letters or photos.

[in Japanese] Let's take the sentimental things into the house.

-[Kevin] Okay, babe. -[Rachel] Okay.

[in Japanese] That reminds me, I wanted to tell you one more thing about storage.

[Rachel] Okay.

[Marie speaking Japanese]

-These smaller items... -I know.

[Marie speaking Japanese]

[Marie squealing]

-[Rachel] No, Marie! -[Marie laughing]

[speaking Japanese]

[Iida] Remember how I said we often store everything

-in a way that we can't see it? -[Rachel] Yes.

[Iida] So that you end up buying the same thing over and over again.

[Rachel] Yeah, I do it all the time, yes.

[Marie, in Japanese] So, you put it in there, so that it's easy to see.

[Iida] So make sure that when you open anything,

it's readily apparent what you have and how many you have.

[Rachel] I love that. Thank you.

[Kevin] Hey, babe.

I'm just going through pictures right now.

-[Rachel] Yeah? -[Kevin] Come here, help me.

-Oh, I forgot about these. -[Marie gasps]

-[Marie] Oh, wow! -I know, these are our wedding things.

We have to put them in different frames.

[Kevin] We had such a fun wedding and, uh, her sisters and my brothers

gave the best speeches at our wedding.

And so they're all, like, here.

We have to set a reminder to look at frames.

[speaking Japanese]

-[Iida] She loves how you two are. -[Kevin laughing]

[Rachel] You guys are reminding us what we started with.

We get lost in the moment. Yeah.

[Kevin] Babe, you were super hot on our wedding day. -[Rachel] What about now, babe? -[Kevin] What's that [stammers]?

And every day since.

[Rachel] Okay, thank you.

[car engine idling]

-[Rachel] You wanna start with the bins? -[Kevin] Yeah, I'll pull 'em out.

[Rachel] Who's in that picture? Who's this?

[Ryan] Mémé.

[Rachel] Yeah, we gotta give these pictures to Mémé.

-I want the-- [yelling] -[Rachel] Oh, my God.

Yeah. If you wanna look, you gotta sit here.

Babe, I don't remember the last time I looked through these pictures.

[Rachel] We should finally put some wedding pictures up

so people don't think that we're just roommates.

[laughing]

-Hey, whatever you want to do, I'm in. -No, I'm serious.

That way when we get mad at each other we look up and see our picture

and we're like, "Oh, it's you, this is why we're doing this."

[Rachel] I love how Kevin and I are.

I've noticed a difference in him, even just his demeanor.

We haven't been nitpicking on each other and actually have been enjoying our time.

-Oh, my God. -Yeah?

I'll never forget your flavor saver when I met you.

-Oh, man. -I wanna see that for one sec.

-That's how I got you. -Babe, but your bleached hair?

[Rachel] It's almost like another bonus from her method

as opposed to the house just looking nice and feeling good,

Kevin and I's relationship,

is just in a different place.

And my kids...

maybe because they've been seeing us do it more often.

We were folding the other day

and, like, Ryan was doing things where she was patting the clothes.

Like, she's already noticing these things.

So I feel like the more that we do it,

that habit is going to be put into them.

So I'm just, like, excited. I don't know.

Literally, if you felt my chest right now,

it's like my heart's beating 'cause I'm excited.

I love that we had our date night the other night.

[Kevin chuckles]

Even though you were tired thanks for going out.

It was easy, there wasn't anything else to do. It was nice.

Times that you, like, do the dishes

and I come home or wake up and the whole kitchen's clean,

like, I love that feeling, so, thanks for doing the dishes.

[Kevin] Yep.

Rachel and I are...

[sighs] It's like it gives me the, uh, chills a little bit.

It's like we're, like, happier.

We're more at ease.

There's less--

Like, there's less tension.

When we're doing...

things in the kitchen or we're doing the laundry,

we're talking, we're having a conversation about our day and et cetera.

And it's-- It's not something that takes away

from our life anymore.

It's something that adds to our life now.

[Ryan] Hi, Daddy!

Hi, honey.

-Imma give you kisses now! -Okay!

-[Kevin laughing] -I love you, Daddy!

[Ryan] You're so pretty!

You're so pretty!

You're so cute! I love you!

You're so cute. I love you, too.

[laughing]

She's next level, man. I don't know.

We can't figure out where the hell she came from.

[Ryan] Daddy!

[birds chirping]

I really want to do this for my mom and my aunt.

-[knocking] -Oh, my God.

Open and see. Want me to hold you?

-Yeah. -Okay. Ready?

-Who's here, Dad? -Okay, let's see.

-[all] Hi! -Oh, my goodness, who is it?

-How are you? Oh my gosh, come in. -[Marie] Good!

-Hi, Marie. -How are you guys? Come in and sit.

[Rachel] I feel like now you can enjoy and sit in my home.

[Iida speaking Japanese]

Yeah, have a seat.

[in Japanese] Please sit here.

[Marie, in Japanese] Thank you.

[Marie speaking Japanese]

[Iida] The vibe is completely different from the first day I came.

Oh, my God. We feel it, too.

[in Japanese] You said you are doing your own laundry

but how often does your helper come?

[Rachel] I sent her a message.

You know, "We're going through a process right now and...

we're trying to learn to fold our laundry, so I don't think I'll be using you."

She said, "I'm so happy that you found something that works for you.

That's all I could ever--" She was actually happy for me.

-[in Japanese] I'm so happy to hear that

We're excited to show you some stuff, too.

[speaking Japanese]

-[Iida] Yeah, I can't wait! -[Marie laughs]

[in Japanese] Wow, it's so different.

[Iida] Wow.

[peaceful music playing]

[Rachel] I've never felt as good about something

in terms of, like, organizing as I do now.

I can honestly say that I'm really proud of what we've accomplished with the house

in such a short period of time.

-[Rachel] We're good? -[Marie speaking Japanese]

I'm so satisfied. This is fantastic.

[Rachel] Oh, my God, good!

[Rachel] I can't get my day started now until I make my bed.

-[Kevin] She's been making it every day. -[Marie] Every day?

[Rachel] I don't let myself get lazy.

I wanna do it because I wanna keep this feeling going.

So, thank you to you for inspiring us to do that.

I didn't realize the importance of everything having a home.

[Marie speaking Japanese]

[Iida] I can see that your lifestyle itself has changed.

-[Rachel] It's crazy. -[chuckling]

[Kevin] How's the folding?

-[Marie] Great. -[Rachel] Really? Good, I'm so excited.

[in Japanese] I can feel the spirit of this bedroom.

[Rachel] I'm so happy.

[Rachel] Okay, let's show you the kids' room.

[Marie, in Japanese] Everything you have is so cute.

[Rachel] Ooh! Thank you!

We like this room.

It's been easy to find stuff for the kids.

-[Marie] Perfect. -[Rachel] Perfect?

[Marie] Amazing!

[Marie, in Japanese] It's like a whole different closet.

[Rachel] I feel like we have the kitchen now. Go ahead.

[Kevin] This room looks...

completely different.

[Rachel] I just never felt at ease in here.

And now, like, it feels really good.

[Ryan] Who's that?

[Marie, in Japanese] It feels so different in here.

[Rachel] Opening the drawers, too, is so nice.

We know where everything goes.

We experienced doing the house,

but it's just so bright in here and so clean,

it's like-- [gasping]

[Marie, in Japanese] This is complete.

-And finally the garage. -And the garage?

-[Rachel] Kevin's going to show you. -Garage, let's do it.

-[Rachel] Okay. -[Kevin] Let's do it.

[Rachel] Kevin's excited about the garage. He worked hard on this.

Doesn't it even look different in here?

-[Marie speaking Japanese] -[Iida] It's completely different.

-Trust me. -Oh, my gosh.

[Marie, in Japanese] Everything is separated by category.

-[Iida] This is a dramatic change. -[Kevin] Good, thank you.

[Marie, in Japanese] I like the feeling in this space.

[Kevin] I do, too.

[in Japanese] Both you, Rachel and Kevin,

you worked on your entire house this time.

You had quite the experience.

Thank you. It was a lot of work,

but it was motivating knowing what the end was gonna be.

-[speaking Japanese] -[Iida] And you finished.

Yeah, which is crazy.

-With two young kids, it's crazy. -Yeah.

[in Japanese] I'm so happy.

I like you the most!

-[Marie squeals] -[in Japanese] I'm so happy!

[laughing]

[Rachel] Marie, she changed my life.

It's just insane how, like, my mentality has changed.

There's a sense of, like, relaxation and...

just doing all the things we need to do.

[Kevin] If it's laundry, okay, we do it. If there's dishes, we just do it.

Show me how you fold it.

I folded!

Even if things do pile up, it's like, "Nope, we got this."

There's no... [gasping] "Oh, my gosh, I'm never gonna get to it."

The sense of calm, like, "I could totally do this."

[Jaxon giggling]

[Kevin] There is more time to just hang with the kids,

especially for me, when I come home from work.

Is this okay that daddy kisses me?

[Ryan giggles] Daddy, do the big one kiss.

Oh, do the big one kiss? Okay.

[Kevin] We're really happy and we're just looking forward

to living this way for... for the rest of our lives, hopefully.

-Yeah. -It's, It's great, it's been amazing.

These are, like, happy, happy tears.

But I'm actually sad you're going, but I'm happy because of your method.

We actually get to, like, enjoy the home.

Thank you for showing us that, like, we could do it,

and that we just needed a little bit of help.

[in Japanese] I feel your happiness and it makes me happy.

Thank you.

Thank you for what you've brought to our home, really.

[in Japanese] Through this process of tidying with Rachel and Kevin,

I reaffirmed my feelings,

that indeed, couples can deepen their ties through tidying.

I hope that each day for the Friend family will continue to spark joy.

[pop music playing] ♪ I'm coming home ♪

♪ Back to where I belong ♪

♪ To make me feel like ♪

♪ I'm coming home ♪

♪ And I've been lost so long ♪

♪ You showed me where to go ♪