The most important tips I've learned so far from the book are:
1) to delve deeply into why you want to tidy your house so you can meet that objective.
2) the process of tidying should take less than six months so you can appreciate the life altering effects.
3) to tidy by category and not by location.
4) hold every item and then discard everything that does not "spark joy."
5) tidy in the correct order: clothes, books, papers, miscellany, and things with sentimental value.
Before I got to the part about the order tidying should occur in, I decided to start with my junk drawer in my night stand which is pictured above. I emptied the drawer and was able to throw away some items, decide to donate several other items, and then I sorted what was left into categories. I moved some things to more appropriate spots like the bathroom or downstairs. I made a stack of papers and cards that I know I will be adding to as I clean out other areas. I didn't discard any papers yet other than obvious outdated papers that could be recycled or shred without any thought. I also found some jewelry that I forgot about that I put with my other jewelry so I can go through all of it at one time. Although I didn't make a ton of progress, it felt good to begin the process. It's been a stressful couple of weeks for me so it feels good to start taking control of this aspect of my life.