Out of Chaos an organizing newsletter
To Kondo or not to Kondo?
For more than a year now people have been asking me, What do you think of Marie Kondo? Have you read the book? Have you redone your drawers? What do you think about sparking joy?
My feelings are mixed.
On the one hand: spark joy. Really? Do car seats spark joy? Do baggies spark joy? And yet I need and use these things. On the other hand, when it comes to unnecessary objects: mementos, jewelry, art—I think spark joy is an excellent barometer and nicely put.
However, I think her instruction to hold every object would make it much harder for my clients to let go. Many of my clients are very tactile people, letting them hold each object would be like Proust’s madeleine… it would just open up a whole avenue of sense memories. I find my clients do best with a little critical distance. I hold up the sweater/serving plate/book and say: Do you need it? They are better at letting go when they don’t actually have the object in their hands.
I do love Kondo’s advice to thank clothing for its service to you when you are discarding it. Some of the people I work with do tend to anthropomorphize their clothing, and they feel like they are saying goodbye to a friend when they let go of old clothing, so to thank your clothes, or any object that you are parting with, seems to me to be a healthy approach to what can be a very difficult task for some people.
Another of Kondo’s recommendations makes sense, but isn’t really practical—at least for my clients. To do everything at once—all the clothes, all the books—most people find even half a day to be draining, so even if people can carve out a full day to work with me, I often recommend tackling the task in small chunks so that it is less overwhelming.
And then there’s the fold. I wasn’t convinced: I thought the stacks would fall over when the drawer wasn’t full, but I’ve tried a few drawers and so far that hasn’t happened. I will say, though, that my children seem to find putting laundry away with this new system more arduous than usual.
Last week I had the opportunity to hear Marie Kondo speak at the Japan Society. It was amazing to see what a diverse crowd came out to hear her. I’ll leave you with what I thought was the best and the truest thing that she said: “I consider tidying an opportunity to face yourself.”
Amen to that.