My Husband Went on a Ski Trip—So I’m Decluttering with an Elon Musk Approach?
My husband is off on a ski trip.
Since I have absolutely no interest in skiing, I stayed behind. I just dropped him off at the airport earlier today. Last year, he went to Colorado, and this time, he’s heading to Salt Lake City, Utah, to ski with his relatives. He must really love it—after all, he’s voluntarily flying to a cold destination! He’s mentioned wanting to try skiing in Japan one day, but honestly, if that ever happens, I see myself soaking in a hot spring instead.
Back home, I decided to take advantage of the quiet time and do some decluttering.
I try to keep my wardrobe minimal, but on my way home, I made a quick stop at a store and picked up a few new pieces. Which means… it’s time to clear out things I don’t really wear anymore. As I sorted through my closet, I was listening to a podcast about Elon Musk.
I know people have mixed feelings about him, but I find his approach to problem-solving fascinating.
For example, SpaceX challenged the long-standing belief that launching a rocket costs at least a billion dollars. Instead of accepting that as a given, Musk asked: "What is a rocket actually made of?" By breaking it down to its raw materials and reconstructing the entire process, he managed to reduce launch costs to just a fraction of what they used to be—about $30 million.
His approach to Tesla’s battery production and even the massive restructuring of X (formerly Twitter) follows the same pattern: first, strip everything down to the essentials, and then build back only what’s truly necessary.
And then it hit me.
Wouldn’t decluttering be so much more efficient if we applied the same strategy?
Decluttering, Elon Musk Style
Instead of staring at my closet and debating what to get rid of, I decided to take everything out and start fresh. From there, I only put back what I genuinely wanted to keep.
And then I realized something—this is exactly what the KonMari Method teaches!
The KonMari Method Meets Elon Musk’s Thinking
I read The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up years ago, and while most of it has faded from my memory, one part stuck with me:
Before you start decluttering, take a moment to visualize how you want your space—and your life—to feel. Then, reset everything by taking out all your belongings and choosing only what truly belongs with you.
That’s essentially the same principle Elon Musk applies to problem-solving. Instead of working within existing constraints, he resets everything to zero and rebuilds from there.
My husband is naturally organized, so he never really needs to do this kind of “reset.” But for someone like me, it helps tremendously to start fresh and see everything with new eyes.
I’m not the type to hoard clothes, so my decluttering process isn’t overwhelming. But this mindset shift made it even easier. Once I laid everything out, I quickly decided what to keep, what to store for next season, and what to donate. The process felt effortless.
Decluttering Is Just Like Mental Clarity
The more I thought about it, the more I realized: decluttering isn’t just about tidying up—it’s about making intentional choices.
The same principle applies to our thoughts, emotions, and decisions.
We’re constantly choosing between:
- Feeling good or staying stuck in doubt.
- Following excitement or settling for what’s familiar.
And those choices shape our future.
Of course, Elon Musk’s success isn’t just about this one way of thinking, and tidying up my closet is hardly comparable to running a billion-dollar company. But at its core, the process is the same: becoming aware of what truly matters and choosing accordingly.
Whether it’s for a country’s future or our own lives, it’s worth being more mindful of these choices.
And on that note, I think I’ll take a break from writing and get back to my decluttering.
The Real Challenge: My Husband’s Gifts
One last thing. The hardest part of decluttering? Getting rid of clothes my husband has given me.
Even when I’m sure I don’t want to wear them anymore, if I put them in a donation bag, somehow, he always finds them and reacts with a shocked "Wait, what?!" 😂
Seriously, what’s the best way to handle this?