Marie Kondo is, of course, the author of The Life Changing Magic of Tidying Up. Her Netflix show caught my attention, so I checked it out. The kindness, gentleness + positivity are lovely. I like that lots of new things are not brought into the process. There were moments when I found myself looking forward to a bit more of a transformation, but it's not a decorating show. It's a decluttering show. That is a refreshing difference to note.
A few moments that I loved:
-"The process helps you consider how you want to live."
-"We don't need a lot of things to be happy."
-"Is this something you would like to take into your life going forward?"
-"I don't ever want my son to glorify anything materialistic."
A few things I noticed:
-When our homes are bigger than our needs, our things expand to fill the spaces.
-If we consider only what we want + not if we need it...our stuff can get out of control...which makes our lives feel out of control. (Clothing seemed to prove this again + again.)
-Some people seemed to end up still feeling weighed down with a lot of stuff to maintain + organize. A strategically asked question or two may have offered further liberation.
-If we don't have time for our stuff, maybe less would be helpful.
-Sometimes the concept of sparking joy is confusing or hard to connect with. I often think that I wouldn't keep enough, if it all had to spark joy...but that would be wasteful + would spark shopping.
The process Marie Kondo offers is simple. Take everything in a category out. Go through each item one by one + decide if it sparks joy. Keep the things that spark joy. I appreciate that people receive the space to come to their own conclusions about how much to keep. Their process may continue. We hear some of their brilliant discoveries in quotes like the ones above...but not much time is spent with the discoveries. In some cases, I found myself wanting to offer a couple more things to consider. :)
A few points I find missing:
-Necessity :: What do you need? We do need some things, so we could start there. What do you need to cook in the kitchen + for how many? What do you need to wear to school or work...for what weather? Let's make sure that the necessities (which may or may not spark joy) don't get discarded unnecessarily.
-Enough :: How many whatever-the-category is enough? Of course it is not imperative for everyone to live with only what they need. Lots of things may "spark joy", however, and that may still leave one with an overwhelming amount of stuff. If we cover need first, we won't have to fear not having enough.
-Limits :: Deciding that X number of sweaters is enough or that a specific space will be allotted to sweaters might be helpful. When I exceed this space, I know I have too many sweaters + something needs to give...either sweaters or my shopping habits.
-Shopping habits :: We need to address our motives + shopping habits going forward, so that we don't end up right back where we started.
-Others :: Are we holding the things we have stacked in our basements + garages back from someone who could be using them?
-Ease :: Would less be easier?
-Tending :: This is not a one time event. Hopefully the big clean-out is a singular event, but we need to revisit our clutter, our collections, our influences and our shopping habits periodically.
Have you watched the show or read the book? What do you think?
Love,
Jane
A few moments that I loved:
-"The process helps you consider how you want to live."
-"We don't need a lot of things to be happy."
-"Is this something you would like to take into your life going forward?"
-"I don't ever want my son to glorify anything materialistic."
A few things I noticed:
-When our homes are bigger than our needs, our things expand to fill the spaces.
-If we consider only what we want + not if we need it...our stuff can get out of control...which makes our lives feel out of control. (Clothing seemed to prove this again + again.)
-Some people seemed to end up still feeling weighed down with a lot of stuff to maintain + organize. A strategically asked question or two may have offered further liberation.
-If we don't have time for our stuff, maybe less would be helpful.
-Sometimes the concept of sparking joy is confusing or hard to connect with. I often think that I wouldn't keep enough, if it all had to spark joy...but that would be wasteful + would spark shopping.
The process Marie Kondo offers is simple. Take everything in a category out. Go through each item one by one + decide if it sparks joy. Keep the things that spark joy. I appreciate that people receive the space to come to their own conclusions about how much to keep. Their process may continue. We hear some of their brilliant discoveries in quotes like the ones above...but not much time is spent with the discoveries. In some cases, I found myself wanting to offer a couple more things to consider. :)
A few points I find missing:
-Necessity :: What do you need? We do need some things, so we could start there. What do you need to cook in the kitchen + for how many? What do you need to wear to school or work...for what weather? Let's make sure that the necessities (which may or may not spark joy) don't get discarded unnecessarily.
-Enough :: How many whatever-the-category is enough? Of course it is not imperative for everyone to live with only what they need. Lots of things may "spark joy", however, and that may still leave one with an overwhelming amount of stuff. If we cover need first, we won't have to fear not having enough.
-Limits :: Deciding that X number of sweaters is enough or that a specific space will be allotted to sweaters might be helpful. When I exceed this space, I know I have too many sweaters + something needs to give...either sweaters or my shopping habits.
-Shopping habits :: We need to address our motives + shopping habits going forward, so that we don't end up right back where we started.
-Others :: Are we holding the things we have stacked in our basements + garages back from someone who could be using them?
-Ease :: Would less be easier?
-Tending :: This is not a one time event. Hopefully the big clean-out is a singular event, but we need to revisit our clutter, our collections, our influences and our shopping habits periodically.
Have you watched the show or read the book? What do you think?
Love,
Jane
