Marie Kondo isn’t making decluttering easier…

The KonMari Method is in fact, very impractical and ineffective.

Before you go tossing everything out of your home, let’s look a little closer at the hot of Netflix’s “Tidying Up With Marie Kondo” and everything wrong with it…

This post contains affiliate links. All thoughts and opinions are 100% my own.

The “Konmari” Method isn’t even a new concept…

 

Minimalist have been promoting the idea of decluttering items that no longer spark “joy” for years.

So firstly, it’s really unfair that one person gets all the praise and adoration for something that has been a staple of the minimalism culture for quite some time.

But aside from “who did it first”, there are many aspects of Marie Kondo’s approach and philosophy towards minimalism that are, ineffective and impractical.

Let’s go ahead and break down what the Konmari Method is, and how it originated…from her, anyway.

The KonMari Method

Marie Kondo is the author of The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up: The Japanese Art of Decluttering and Organizing. *Affiliate Links*

Her mantra is basically summed us as, “If something doesn’t spark joy in your life, you don’t need it.”

Again, this isn’t any type of new concept, it’s been used by minimalist gurus for years – although she coins the term.

I have been watching the new Netflix series, “Tidy Up With Marie Kondo” since it premiered January 1st, 2019. Which is how the vast majority of people know her, and have been using her technique to declutter their lives.

However, something about the KonMari Method, just wasn’t sparking joy with this Mom.

Like all minimalist gurus, I noticed some hypocrisy with Marie Kondo herself.

 Konmari Says One Thing, Marie Promotes Another

The biggest backlash the Tidy Expert has received, is her suggestion of only owning, ideally, around 30 books, if any. Which any book lover immediately screamed out loud in protest.

Of course, she has since clarified that this isn’t ideal if you truly love your personal library, which I can actually say I only now respect her for. Because remember-Marie Kondo has a best selling book she wants you to buy.

But the hypocrisy is there-don’t own too many books, but make sure you buy mine so you can learn my secrets. But hey, at least this was addressed…

Another thing I find troubling is her new line of organizational boxes currently in the works. Yes, selling empty boxes to put the things that you find joy in.

Most minimalists preach that you don’t need possessions cluttering up your living space – and you don’t need to buy so many things.

Yet it’s pretty convenient to have a supply of super expensive empty boxes to sell to the people you convinced to throw most of their stuff away.

Sure, we all gotta make a living, and this is a nicely executed marketing strategy. But the fact remains that a brand was built on an idea of less commercialism, yet they do the very thing that the whole philosophy of Minimalism is against.

Ok, enough nitpicking – what about KonMari is actually ineffective?

The idea of decluttering is awesome – no matter who it comes from – but the practice of only keeping things that “spark joy” is just impractical, and doesn’t work.

Not every item in your house is supposed to create these warm, fuzzy feelings of happiness! My vacuum cleaner doesn’t make me fart rainbows and giggle like a school-girl. It sucks (literally). The blender doesn’t invoke feelings of euphoria – it mixes margaritas on occasion, and those are pretty euphoric, but the blender itself spends it’s life in a cupboard until it’s used.

But Jasmine, that’s not clutter!

No, but lets look at some of the things Marie Kondo’s clients on her new hit show are tossing due to lack of joy sparks…

• Clothes
• Kicknacks
• Hobby Materials

Most people toss old and unused clothes with time. A shirt tears, your pants are missing a button, or your favorite blouse has mustard stains. Sure, you should revamp your closet every so often – but we don’t always keep clothes because they make us happy. Some clothes you actually need!

Throwing out my husband’s suits isn’t going to create room for joy in his life. he’s literally going to have to buy more, because his job requires wearing a suit, whether he likes it or not.

Because it’s generally socially unacceptable to wear certain dresses to funerals, I have to keep this ugly, black ill-fitting frock n the back of my closet. It doesn’t spark joy for me, but it does keep me looking respectful.

Ok, what about useless knickknacks?

People generally collect trinkets for a variety of reasons. To commemorate a memorable vacation, or as a gift they received.

I’m not going to throw away the shot glasses my husband has collected from various travels – because when he looks at them, they remind him of fun times. I’m also not tossing the little Buddha statues my brothers have given me, for the same reason. They give me a little moment of a fun memory.

I’m not throwing away things I got from my deceased grandmother either. That’s to be passed down to my son.

Plus, things like this give people the freedom of expression, which their home lacks when reduced down to all-white walls and bare rooms.

Hobbies Are Expensive…

While you might not have time right now for scrap booking, it makes no sense to throw your materials away.

It’s more practical to make time for the things you enjoy, rather than just getting rid of them because they don’t “spark joy” at the moment.

When you do figure out you can actually start back cycling, you’ll be upset you let go of your workout gear when someone convinced you to throw it away because you hadn’t used it in a few months. And then you know what happens?

You end up buying it again. Money literally wasted.

The Konmari Method will make you spend more money…

If you’re going by the “spark of joy” requirement, don’t be surprised when you find yourself buying the very things you threw away when you have a need for them.

Not everything has to make you happy – but a lot of things make life easier. When you can effectively organize you’ll find space for a lot of things. Which is the real problem people have, not joyless things.

But if you’re striving for minimalism, the last thing you need to do is throw things away, because they don’t “spark joy.”

You should only throw them away when they are no longer useful, or don’t add any quality to your life.

Beauty Enthusiasts can read my tips for decluttering your makeup products, based on their lifespan...not joy.

Organize, don’t toss because it’s trendy…

People tend to jump on bandwagons, without realizing the long-terms effects. Which is exactly what the KonMari method has one do.

You ask yourself in that moment of decluttering, if an item sparks joy. if it doesn’t, you get rid of it. A few months later, you realize you actually want or need the thing you gave away.

If you can master organization, you won’t have clutter problems! And when you discover that the old end table in the garage would make an excellent project piece to use with all the pastel paint you found in the garage, guess what?

You won’t have to repurchase all your supplies from your DIY days, because you organized everything neatly – and saved money by decluttering smartly, not based on “feelings.”

When you declutter and toss based on “feelings” the inevitable will happen. You’ll replace what you got rid of, and the Circle Of Life repeats itself.

The problem is still there – lack of organization. Not lack of Joy.