Japanese ‘homemaking master’ advises on how to arrange things in order

Minimalism is a prevailing trend these days. People who are not good at keeping things in order have lost ground in our living.

Yuko Watanabe (46), who is known as "homemaking master" in Japan, is a person who puts into practice minimalism in daily living. In her new book "Joy of home" released recently, she showcases how to arrange things in order and shares knowhow in homemaking. Here are tips that have appealed to the mind of this reporter, who is not good at both arranging things in order and homemaking.

① One trash bin is good enough in your home. When you need extra, you can use a paper shopping bag or plastic bag instead, and remove it immediately after use.

② Prepare two laundry baskets. One is meant for tops, and the other is for socks and the bathroom mat. It is also good to prepare another basket for color clothes. They will ease your efforts to classify laundry.

③ Place heavy things such as pots outside the cupboard since you tend to use same pots while not using pots kept deep inside the shelf.

④ Keep one section of your refrigerator empty so that the section can be conveniently used to keep salted or seasoned meat or fish for a short time.

⑤ If there are any leftover vegetables, you can make soup after mincing them. You add a laurel tree leaf, a bit of salt, and olive oil to the minced vegetables, put the lid on the pot, and boil them on soft fire. When juice is extracted from vegetables, you add some water and boil again. Lastly, put salt and pepper to season it.

구가인기자 comedy9@donga.com