plus Sunday With the Queen of Tidy,
The guru of all things tidy talks about letting go.
W
ith her international best-selling books, The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up and Spark Joy, Marie Kondo inspired us to toss unnecessary items, keeping only what makes us happy. This spring the new mom and organizing pro known for respecting her socks is introducing a KonMari app for iPhone based on her Japanese decluttering method.
What is your idea of a perfect Sunday?
I wake up in the morning, having no appointments or tasks for the day. I follow my inspiration and go wherever I want to go, eat whatever I want to eat, do whatever I want to do. I allow myself to do only things that spark joy.
Do you believe everyone should rest on Sundays or is that the day to get things done?
Using Sundays, national holidays and paid vacation time to tidy is highly productive— a great investment. One of my most important tips for tidying is that you should finish it all at once, as quickly as possible while still doing a good job. After you finish, you will be able to spend your future Sundays in a great way, at home surrounded only by your favorite items.
Have you always been a tidy person?
I have been interested in tidying since I was a young girl, when I would obsessively study my mother’s housewives’ magazines.
Why do you think this topic strikes such a chord with so many people? Americans in particular?
I think most people want to live a tidying lifestyle; they just don’t know how to begin, and they don’t always believe that they can become permanently tidy. People say that my KonMari Method has an impact on them that they can see, since I ask them to gather all their items and make a big pile, like a mountain, before beginning to choose what to keep. This process creates
photogenic scenes; people love to share their photos on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter. Also, the idea to consider objects as if they were living, feeling beings and treating them with gratitude seems very unique for many people in the West. People say my method reminds them of Zen philosophy.
What is the biggest challenge you face when first working with someone in their home?
The biggest challenge is overcoming client anxiety that he or she has too much stuff and can never get done with the tidying job. I teach them that by using my “Spark Joy” test they will see the giant pile of stuff become only a big pile, and then a medium pile, and so on.
How do we know when something brings us joy?
Hold the object against your body, preferably as close to your heart as possible, and if you feel a little pulse through your body, then you know that is a spark of joy. I know it sounds odd, but if you try it, you may be surprised at the result.
What does your home look like?
My home is the place where I feel most comfortable. My husband [photographer Takumi Kawahara] and I live with our new baby and we are surrounded by objects that spark joy in us.
Has your family mastered the art of tidying up?
My husband is actually very tidy. When we were married and moved in together, he only brought a few boxes of stuff with him. And even though our baby is still quite young and her stuff doesn’t get all over the house, when she is about 3 years old I will begin to teach her how to fold things and give her basic tidying information. I hope that she will see how much her mother and father enjoy their tidy spaces, and she will want to be tidy also.
Visit Parade.com/kondoing to read more from Kondo and to learn an amazing way to organize your sock drawer.