If you haven’t heard of Marie Kondo, former Shinto shrine maiden, inventor of the KonMari Method and author of international bestseller The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up, I assume that’s because you’ve been trapped under a pile of your own possessions. In which case, you definitely need Marie Kondo. Everyone needs Marie Kondo!
She is the diminutive Japanese elf who popularised the “does it spark joy” approach, in which you hold an item, ask yourself if it sparks joy within you, and if not – you chuck it in the trash!!!
Now she’s got her own Netflix series, Tidying Up with Marie Kondo, and ugh, you guys, it’s everything you’d dream it would be. Kondo, along with her cheerful translator, visits a series of Portlandia characters American families and teaches them how to jettison all their non-joy-sparking crap, leaving only a treasured selection of valued items and a sense of zen-like calm.
Obviously, this kind of novel approach to decluttering has had a resounding impact upon the citizens of the internet, particularly considering we’re in deep New Year’s resolution territory.
https://twitter.com/jackaronan/status/1080209372398145539
https://twitter.com/Juleshortstuff/status/1080281897488564224
In particular, people seem to be responding to Kondo’s technique for decluttering your wardrobe, which involves getting every single item of clothing you own and dumping it all in a pile on your bed. Mostly because, uh, many people are already employing this wardrobe storage system without any external suggestion.
https://twitter.com/Flannel_Planet/status/1080258921846063104
This is what happens when you and your husband both have ADHD and you watch the first episode of the Marie Kondo Netflix show
…there is no joy in this pile of clothes, guys pic.twitter.com/315aN4eRpr
— Kerry C. Byrne | They/Them (@kercoby) January 2, 2019
But there’s also that “spark joy” mantra, which people are taking to with gusto. And why the hell not! 2019, the year in which you only keep the shit around that actually makes you light up. Or, as Kondo says, go “kyun!”
Am KonMari-ing, and I decided that closet doors DO NOT spark joy so guess who just removed their closet doors
— Elizabeth Kidd (@libbuh) January 1, 2019
tfw you tune into that new marie kondo show and you suddenly have newly organized shelves and two large donation piles ✌🏼 pic.twitter.com/huxCxwFVT6
— Toby Cunningham (@sircrypstotips) January 2, 2019
Just went out cruising the clothing bins to drop them off and seems everyone else has been doing the same! Drove to four separate locations and they were all chokka.
— Kaz (@serenity22) January 2, 2019
Watches one episode of Tidying Up with Marie Kondo on @netflix and throws everything away.
#tidyingupwithmariekondo pic.twitter.com/Vq8rSjrO5x
— Jennifer Chung (@JenniferJChung) January 2, 2019
I watched 2 episodes of Marie Kondo’s Tidying Up on Netflix today. I then cleaned out & organized my pantry, six kitchen drawers, our home office & three closets. Every human in the house has been notified that if they mess w/ my spark they shall face my wrath. pic.twitter.com/i0oRVh4skC
— Esmeralda Bermudez (@BermudezWrites) January 2, 2019
If you haven’t already got your eyes on a copy of The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up, hop to it – libraries have ’em, and your friends probably have several copies among them. She even tells you to get rid of the book once you’re done reading it so it doesn’t contribute to your clutter!
Go tidily into 2019, my friends. We have our elfin cleanliness guide to help us follow the path of joy, minimal possessions, and vertically-folded clothing.
