Who is tidying expert Marie Kondo and what is her method?
The Japanese tidying guru was listed as one of Time magazine’s 100 most influential people in 2015
JAP)ANESE lifestyle and tidying guru Marie Kondo shot to worldwide fame after she scored her very own Netflix series, Tidying Up With Marie Kondo in 2019.
And now she's back for more with her new show, Sparking Joy With Marie Kondo, which dropped on the streaming platform on August 31, 2021.
Who is Marie Kondo?
Marie Kondo is a Japanese organisational consultant and author.
Born in Tokyo on October 9, 1984, Marie is world-famous for her love of tidying.
She has written four books on organising, with her 2011 offering The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up: The Japanese Art of Decluttering and Organizing published in more than 30 countries.
Marie was listed as one of Time magazine’s 100 most influential people in 2015 and claims she has loved tidying up since she was a schoolgirl.
She opened her own online store, KonMari, in November 2019.
She is married to Takumi Kawahara and they have two children together.
What is Marie Kondo's new Netflix show Sparking Joy about?
Marie's now world-famous system of tidying and organising, known as the KonMari method, is based on one simple principle - if it doesn't "spark joy", ditch it.
Marie then says everything you keep must be given an assigned place in the home.
Her newest show will see the Japanese star applying this principle to help people who are struggling to find a good balance between their work and home lives.
What are the best cleaning hacks featured in her book The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying?
Marie’s 2011 book The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up: The Japanese Art of Decluttering and Organizing has taken the world by storm.
Here are the best tips and hacks on keeping your home in top condition:
- Tackle ‘categories’ not location: According to the KonMari method, the most efficient way to declutter is to bring every single item of the same type into one room in order to truly see how much stuff you have.
- If it doesn’t spark joy, bin it: Marie claims that you should ask yourself if each item you intend to hold on to brings you joy. She adds that this method should also be applied to loungewear and pyjamas too. She reminds us that we are essentially deciding what to keep, not what to throw.
- Take a whole day to sort: Marie says that decluttering should be done over a full day and not in bursts as it ensures you see exactly what you have in one go. She adds that doing it this way has been proven more successful.
- Discard items in a set order: The most successful way to declutter is to begin with clothes, before moving on to books, paper, miscellaneous items and mementoes. Doing it in another order has allegedly proven to be less successful.
- Imagine your ideal lifestyle before you begin: Have your ideal life in mind as you begin tidying as this will help keep you focused on your goal. Marie says that when you imagine your ideal lifestyle, the tidying process marks a huge turning point in your life.
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What is the Japanese notion about cleanliness?
Japan is known to be one of the cleanest countries in the world and the country fundamentally runs on the idea that clean is good.
This thinking is instilled from childhood, starting with young children tidying their classrooms at the end of each school day.
The Japanese mentality also teaches that you should always take responsibility of your own mess and take any garbage you create home with you to dispose of.