MARIE KONDO

JAPANESE CLEANING CONSULTANT AND AUTHOR OF THE NEW YORK TIMES’ BESTSELLING BOOK GUIDE, THE LIFE-CHANGING MAGIC OF TIDYING UP

Portrait of Tammy Strobel
JAPANESE CLEANING CONSULTANT AND AUTHOR OF THE NEW YORK TIMES’ BESTSELLING BOOK GUIDE, THE LIFE-CHANGING MAGIC OF TIDYING UP
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Marie Kondo rose to fame in 2011 with the launch of her first book on space organisation and, since then, has published three other books on the subject. The Konmari Method, her main technique for tidying up, centres around the fundamental principle of choosing what to keep, instead of deciding what to throw away. 

In 2015, Marie was listed by Time magazine as one of the “100 Most Influential People” of the year. Home & Decor caught up with the celebrated cleaning expert to find out about the importance of keeping our homes neat. 

There are many books on organising and decluttering, so what makes your method stand out from the rest? 

It’s not the physical act of cleaning the home, but the mental awareness and change that happens when you use the Konmari Method, which makes it produce great and innovative results. Other approaches may require you to create a set sequence to the procedure, but with the Konmari method, there is no distinct order needed and clutter doesn’t have to be cleared off in one shot. 

It’s hard to convince children to give up their books and toys. What can we do to inculcate in them the habit of tidying up and keeping only what’s necessary? 

The most important point is for the parents to lead by example. When the parent is able to keep their spaces clean and neat, the children will watch and learn. It is also essential for parents to show that they enjoy the process of decluttering. Instead of persuading the child to give up an object, all you have to do is to create opportunities for them to be aware of their own possessions, by asking questions like: “Will this item spark joy (tokimeku) in your day?” or “Line up your toys, starting from your favourite piece.” 

How do you think decluttering will evolve in the future? 

When the world is able to become a place where people choose only material possessions that spark joy in them, decluttering will become second nature and the topic of living with less will not be as necessary anymore. With that, we will also see more innovative storage methods, spaces and design solutions. 

What can we do about messy electronic equipment in our lives, such as wires, cables and remote controls? 

While these loose items don’t look appealing, focus on their necessary and functional aspect. Consciously think about the object while using it, for example: “Because of the remote control, I can watch my television comfortably every day”, and in this way, you will start to realise that many objects do spark joy in your daily life. You can also apply this thinking to organising electronic content, such as digital photographs. Create folders for them and decide which ones spark the most joy in your life. This empowers you to delete the shots you don’t need. 

THE LIFE-CHANGING MAGIC OF TIDYING UP AND SPARK JOY: AN ILLUSTRATED MASTER CLASS ON THE ART OF ORGANISING AND TIDYING UP ARE AVAILABLE AT ALL LEADING BOOKSTORES. THE OFFICIAL KONMARI MOBILE APP IS AVAILABLE ON ITUNES. VISIT HTTP://WWW.KONMARI.COM/APP

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