After years of helping us declutter our homes, organised queen Marie Kondo has revealed she’s ditched her trademark tidying and is now embracing the chaos with her kids — much to the dismay of certain whiners who can’t fathom someone’s perspective changing.
Washington Post published a profile on Kondo last week about her life being “messier now”, where she admitted she has “kind of given up on” tidiness but “in a good way for me”.
“Now I realise what is important to me is enjoying spending time with my children at home,” she said in the interview.
Honestly, this seems like some healthy character development to me: realising that while tidiness is good for your mental health and general living habits, it’s also fine to let go of that hyper-organisation and just live in the moment, ya know? Especially if you’re a bit overwhelmed as a mother-of-three.
It’s certainly something I, as a clean-freak (which is a habit that is really just a manifestation of my intense control issues) have had to learn the hard way.
marie kondo “giving up” on keeping her house tidy after having 3 kids simply bc she realized spending time w her family literally sparks more joy for her than keeping her house tidy is so fucking sweet
— juno @ 3 days to BBWL! (@Iooneybird) January 27, 2023
However, not everyone is impressed with Kondo’s change in lifestyle.
Some people on Twitter complained about her shift because she previously made money by encouraging people — including mums with multiple kids — to have a tidy home. Even though this is, in my opinion, a gross reduction of what she actually tried to do with her platform.
The irony was the elimination of this persona’s credibility once she opened up a shop selling solutions to problems that didn’t exist (but were aesthetically pleasing) 🙃
Are we done with this sort of thing now? If so, I’ll have some cake.https://t.co/402SAVlw0y
— Nelly Leo~ (@nellleo) January 29, 2023
Unhinged behavior pic.twitter.com/cQbNp2gfZP
— Cora Harrington (@lingerie_addict) January 29, 2023
this is so…2018. And bizarre. And imbecilic. Like leave Marie Kondo alone GODDAMN https://t.co/XT9unSMFcx
— Clarkisha Kent (@IWriteAllDay_) January 27, 2023
Marie Kondo’s whole “spark joy” philosophy can be simplified into this: be honest about why you have the things you have, and delve into your feelings about them so you can make active decisions about what you want in life.
If you don’t like something and have no use for it, and seeing it doesn’t make you happy, you don’t have to have it. You have the freedom to dispose of it. It’s okay to see something, appreciate what it has done for you, and then say goodbye. If it does make you happy, keep it: even if it’s something weird or useless.
There was never any coercion involved, and for a lot of people, her advice legitimately improved their mental wellbeing.
There’s nothing wrong with realising the things you valued no longer “spark joy”, which is exactly what Marie Kondo is about. She Kondo’d herself, really, and gave up tidying because she realised spending time with her bebes was more important. I think that’s not only a testament to the fact her method is still useful, it’s also a nice reminder that people are malleable and change with time — and that’s not a bad thing.
Instead of making fun of Marie Kondo for having a less-than-tidy home now with three kids, you could see her vulnerability as another affirmation that life be life-ing sometimes and we don’t stay the same in thoughts or rhythm.
— Morgan Jerkins (@MorganJerkins) January 27, 2023
As some Twitter users have pointed out, it’s also mostly middle class white women who are outraged at Kondo for “betraying” them, which feels super weird given the racial connotations.
She’s not the fkn help and she doesn’t owe you anything!
Bc in their minds Asian women should be folding their clothes, not telling them how to?
— Cindy PikaChu ✨朱良蒨 (she/her) 🌸✨ (@iamcindychu) January 30, 2023
The hatred toward Marie Kondo is unsurprising given that even the positive reception she receives in the US is based on an Orientalist fascination with her perceived cuteness, strangeness, and aesthetic perfection, which plays on “weird Japan” tropes. https://t.co/sjcYj8dKaQ
— Erica Kanesaka 兼坂えりか 🌸 (@EricaKanesaka) January 29, 2023
Like the Alison Roman drama in 2020, it seems some people keep boxing Marie Kondo in as this dragon lady who forced American women to clean their homes, throw away their possessions and buy her merchandise for her own gain. Their disproportionate rage towards her (which has been around for years) seems insecure, as if she somehow shamed them and now they are lashing out.
You all need to get over how inadequate Marie Kondo makes you feel. She’s just a nice woman who helps people declutter. Move on
— Florence of Northumbria (@FlorenceHRScott) January 27, 2023
And even then, Kondo was invited into the homes she helped tidy in her TV show by people who wanted her advice which was genuinely impactful and change their lives. It’s not like she forced her rhetoric on anyone!
Marie Kondo gotta be the most unlikely polarising figure of my lifetime, all that lady said was get rid of shit youre not happy with and I swear the media in this country has spent half a decade trying to find new gotchas to throw at her every week, it’s beyond bizarre
— Shiv Ramdas Traing To Rite Buk (@nameshiv) January 27, 2023
Genuinely don’t understand why people are so pressed by Marie Kondo saying that she reprioritized her time. It’s a good thing, this is a good message. There are times in your life where tidying is a priority. And then there are times in your life where it is not. pic.twitter.com/a0dkJYJtX6
— Veronica Peshterianu 🌸 (@VeroHime) January 27, 2023
I honestly think given this late-stage capitalist, consumerist society, it was also pretty radical of her to suggest we buy less things.
Marie Kondo was punished and abused relentlessly online and in the media for her “spark joy” method and organisational bin line, and even though she’s left that behind, she’s still dealing with BS.
Honestly, let her live!
