Long before Marie Kondo’s #1 bestselling book The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up took the world by storm, another Japanese bestselling author, Hideko Yamashita, introduced the underlying concept of "Dan Sha Ri.” More than just the art of decluttering one’s closets and drawers, Dan Sha Ri teaches us how to carefully observe our relationship to the stuff to which we cling and to free our minds of attachments which do not serve us. If you were intrigued by Ms. Kondo’s book and would like to dig deeper into the ideas which inspired it, you’ll love Dan Sha Ri.

"If you have ever opened a full closet and found nothing to wear, or stayed with a boyfriend you are no longer in love with, let go of them and try danshari," Yamashita told a packed room of anxious urbanites on a recent visit to Beijing. "Get rid of the unwanted things so you can build up what you really want."