Community Chat

[missy1]

Many make a big deal of her folding technique, because the clothes fold small and stand up.

There are many ways to compact clothes.

[Oostende]

I wouldn't describe myself as a fan either but I did rearrange a couple of drawers in my dresser using her folding method.  I can see what I have more easily than the way I had it before and I like that a lot.

I live in a large house and I learned a long time ago to let things go that no longer serve me or suit me.  It is way too easy to put something in a closet and forget about it.  If I don't make the effort to consciously evaluate my possessions, I can accumulate too much stuff easily.  Marie Kondo didn't need to teach me that.  It's self evident to me.  I like being able to see what I have at a glance and I like having space between items.  It feels more open and pleasant to my mind.  It's also easier to dust and vacuum.

It would never occur to me to thank my possessions for serving me so well or to say goodbye to them.  I believe Kondo does that.  Perhaps that is how she expresses gratitude for her possessions.  I, too, am grateful for my possessions, but I thank God rather than the items.  It's a more accurate expression of my own worldview. 

Kondo's advice seems to work for a lot of people and she seems like a very pleasant person.  I've enjoyed her in the few interviews I've seen.

[tucsongal]

I really appreciate her approach. I don’t choose to follow it completely but there are aspects I have utilized and will continue to utilize. People make fun of the “spark joy” concept, but I think it’s often taken at surface value and can be interpreted in different ways. 

[esmerelda]

I really like her. She’s on a mission to help people, help them have better lives. Even if she didn’t do that, I think she’s sweet. I would like her anyway.

On the other hand, I have no use for the TV show This Is Us. So…different strokes.

[JJsMom]

I don't agree 100% with everything she preaches, but I like most of it. I think that Americans generally accumulate too much stuff and clutter. Walk into the average American home and there's a lot of useless or unused stuff. A lot of people hang onto things for emotional reasons, so it makes sense to thank it and tell it goodbye like you are letting go of any emotional attachment you had to it. I think having clutter and too much stuff affects you mentally, and buying too much is often to fill a void. I know that it stresses me out when our home is cluttered or messy.

[ILTH]

She changed my life. I read her book and followed through several years ago (but, I didn't talk to my possessions). I'm hardly what anyone would call a minimalist.

People who knock her either haven't done her method or misunderstand it. If your possessions (call them clutter if you want) bring you joy, you keep them. Your toothbrush can spark joy because of how you feel when your teeth are clean, not because you find the toothbrush aesthetically beautiful or have a sentimental attachment to it There are different reasons for joy. If you read her book, you'll understand that she doesn't dictate anything.  You can keep everything, if that makes you happy.  She suggests living with things that you love. If you love all your possessions, you keep all your possessions. 
If you're perfectly happy with the current state of your home or self, you probably wouldn't be reading her book to begin with. Something makes you read the book.

It can take days or weeks to go through all of your possessions, depending on what you have. You have to do it her way to get the full benefit. That is, all like things at once, not one room at a time. It really makes a difference. And it's eye-opening.

For those who do thank their possessions out loud for their service, before tossing them, it's just a way to alleviate guilt for getting rid of new things with tags still on them. For understanding that you already lost money on something useless and that keeping it won't get your money back.  Or letting go of things that you feel you should keep, but that prey on your mind. Etc. Some people need that.

Her way of organizing drawers is fantastic for me. I can see everything I have at once. It's so easy to put things away, too.

I never saw her show, only read her book. 

[JJsMom]

@ILTH my brother has been using her method and has cleared out so much stuff. He swears by it. You have inspired me to tackle my closet this weekend. :-D

[SXMGirl]

I have heard of her and her methods but they don't work for me.  All of my clothes, and I have too many, give me joy.  All of my cookbooks and kitchen items, of which I also have too many, give me joy.  In fact, everything that I own gives me joy.  I live a clean but cluttered (in her opinion) life and that gives me joy.

[Sweetbay magnolia]

Yes, and I read the Gentle Art of Swedish Death Cleaning.  Just really don't even remember what it was about.  I mean, I do, but it had no impact on me.

I see my 82 year old Mom on this rampage to clear her life of possessions (who's putting the bug in her ear?) and to me it just brings her sadness.  Disrupts the equilibrium of her whole life experience.

I decided many years ago that I wanted to be able to "see" and value the things in my life.  I still do.

I'm sick today so I'm grumpy.  Of course I am glad for people who feel improvement in their lives because of MK.  I just don't think it's all that original. She just hit it at the right time in our culture.  The message is the massage, and all that.

It should be in a Tom Wolfe novel somewhere, something about the irony of "success".

[cherry]

I like neat, clean, and cozy. I really couldn't live in a stark enviroment