#KonMari – The craze everyone is talking about

If you’ve been on social media in the past few weeks, I’m sure you’ve seen your feed filled with neatly folded little stacks of clothes, boxes of skillfully packed utensils, and the hashtag “KonMari” and “Spark Joy” flying around.

The Netflix show ‘Tidying Up with Marie Kondo’ has triggered this flood of sudden decluttering and tidiness, with many people claiming that her methods are bulletproof and life changing.

Let’s throw a spanner into this, shall we?

I knew about Marie Kondo long before Netflix pushed her onto our screens – I found her book “Spark Joy” whilst browsing through a store a few years ago and bought it for some light reading. I liked the idea of only keeping items that ‘bring joy to you’ and loved using her folding methods for my baby’s clothes. Her book is much more beneficial than the TV show (as always) and I feel that the show kinda fell flat – if you saw episode 1, you saw all of them. There isn’t much difference between the episodes in terms of her tidying techniques, but if you enjoy watching people and their hot messes, the show will tick the right boxes for you.

Additionally, I don’t believe her method will solve everyone’s decluttering dilemmas. For me, certain things work really well (the folding for drawer spaces is brilliant) but my shelves are odd, and I found other ways of representing whatever may be nestled in them. Also, a lot of what I have I don’t necessarily want to get rid of, despite it not sparking joy, or can’t afford to replace just yet. So, the process isn’t as instant as one might think (particularly after watching the show).

My biggest problem is managing a toddler, a newborn, working full time and still actually cleaning the house (cleanliness and tidiness are two very separate things in my life). And there is the matter of all those other little things that fill up the spaces between the above.

I would think that your lifestyle plays a very important role in “tidying up” and how tidy your house can realistically be (and how much weight you may place on that said tidiness). My ‘mess’ is not tidy, but I know where things are. Mess doesn’t bother me, and I have better things to do than constantly pack and pack and pack.

I don’t think there is anything revolutionary about the #KonMari method – there are many similarities between her method and methods presented by other decluttering gurus, however, the thing that makes her stand out is… herself. She seems to be such a wonderful and light person, smiling and well mannered. Soft spoken and sweet as honey. Her gentle way of speaking about your possessions and her attitude of gratitude is a breath of fresh air. She not only sparks joy in your life, but she guides you into a state of happiness. You feel content after completing her method of tidying up, because you realise how fortunate you are with the items that you own, and you keep the things in your life that truly spark joy for you. I love her – and I’ve adapted her methods to suit my lifestyle. I think what she has done for the world is ground a lot of people and most likely clothe many less fortunate who need it!

Have you tried the #KonMari method? If so, what is your take?

Pray & Slay,

#MotherMuses