Decluttering is a good habit to have while people are working from home, Hou Kong Junior Chamber President Kira Tong Chi Wai said yesterday.
The Hou Kong Junior Chamber is affiliated with the Junior Chamber International (JCI) Macau, China.
Tong made the remarks at Wynn Palace before the group’s event “Let’s LOHAS”.
According to the statement, LOHAS means Lifestyle of Health and Sustainability. The event aimed to promote the idea of decluttering and sustainability.
Tong said with shops having special sales during the COVID-19 pandemic and the convenience of online shopping, many people tended to over-purchase. Therefore, through yesterday’s event, the group aimed to promote the idea of decluttering –only keep things that “spark joy”, according to Tong.
Tong acknowledged that the concept is not popular in Macau, adding that the novel coronavirus pandemic was probably the best time to pick up the concept of decluttering. He underlined that decluttering could be applicable in many aspects, including shopping, time management and relationships.
“Decluttering does not mean that you stop buying or stop doing one thing but prioritising things that are more valuable,” said Tong before the event.
According to Wikipedia, the idea of decluttering was popularised by Japanese organising consultant Marie Kondo. Her 2014 book “The Life-changing Magic of Tidying Up: The Japanese Art of Decluttering and Organising” was the No. 1 on The New York Times Best Seller list. Last year, her method of decluttering became a Netflix series. In her series, she always said that “the best way to choose what to keep and what to throw away is to take each item in one’s hand and ask: ‘does this spark joy?’ If it does, keep it”.
Hou Kong Junior Chamber President Kira Tong Chi Wai talks to reporters at Wynn Palace in Cotai yesterday before his organisation’s event “Let’s LOHAS”. Photo: Prisca Tang