Marie Kondo - who or what is she? Please elucidate!

And thanks, people, for all your input. I'll watch the You tube links (thank you Trisher et al) and decide what to do next but it all fills me with a huge sense of overwhelm these days!

Well, it seems that Kondo is either loved or scorned and little in between! I have repeated attempts to de-clutter, but my efforts to sell huge mounds of excess clothing was going really well till lockdown and then it stopped. However, after a while, I resumed BUYING from eBAY bargains which I 'knew' were too good to miss, but haven't yet resumed selling as it would mean queueing at the post office with parcels.
I need to get shot of art materials which overwhelm parts of the house but I cannot bring myself to get rid of them! Pre-pandemic, these would have been snapped up eagerly by craft groups, schools etc (and were being!) but now it's hopeless to try. Maybe Freecycle.
I wouldn't say many of my things bring me 'joy'. I think my hoarding of art/craft stuff is verging on pathalogical in that I never use them but can't bear to let them go - during my years doing City and Guilds and other textiles courses we were advised to buy a wide range of materials which of course I enjoyed doing - and using. But it has to be said that many haven't been used and probably won't be. I then had a small business with a friend, dyeing and selling threads, fabrics and fibres for other textile artists. Ultimately we split (sadly it was acrimonious and very painful) and I limped on with my half for some years before deciding to quit finally. I still have the remainder in the loft, waiting to be donated somewhere - but who would want it all now?

Interesting to look at, but do not have to follow.

She thinks she invented the idea of rolling clothes to go into drawers, although many of us have been doing this for many years.

When I moved and was putting underwear,socks etc into my new chest of drawers, I was interested to see that she then tries to sell her dividers for such drawers, at quite high prices. I used the cardboard from my packing cases, cut to size, covered in some white sticky back plastic I had purchased for kitchen cupboard shelves, and these have done the same job, costing me nothing.

Do whatever works for you - but do not like her idea of getting rid of just about everything except the clothes youa re standing up in.

For anyone who doesn't know www.youtube.com/watch?v=TXzcmr2WcDA

who is marie kondo? a hoarder. ? i just packed up most of my sheep ornaments and they went to the local hospice shop. just gave away my hamster cage today...freeeee. but did get a box of chocolates in return...gradually getting rid of excess junk....

Flossie

I have a funny story about my Kondo efforts. Many years ago a bought two pottery witches which I loved. People who came to the house admired them. The trouble was they thought I was a collector so I then received witches for gifts until I had over a dozen. I am not really an ornament person but because they were given with love I did not have the heart not to display them.

Kondo opened my eyes and packed them all up for the charity shop. Then I had second thoughts about the first two. I thought that maybe I will wrap them up and put them in the garage. Now that is a huge Kondo sin. I stood them on the table ready for wrapping, but as I stood up , I knocked the table and the witches smashed on the floor.

I swear I could see Kondo with arms folded, tapping her foot and saying “I told you so”

I had so much clutter in my house then suddenly became ill and had surgery which saved my life but left me disabled and I knew I needed to make my life easier. Marie Kondo was a life changer for me as her system has been the only thing to work. She is the only person I’ve read who actually tells you HOW to go about sorting out your clutter. She advises categorising your belongings ( I’ll use shoes as an example).
I collected all my footwear and put them in a little used room with 3 large cardboard boxes - one for keepers and the other for shoes I would part with but were still good and the third for shoes that were past it and needed to be ditched.
Marie advises that you hold each item in your hands and ask “Does this spark joy”. This wording really didn’t resonate with me so I asked “Do these bring me pleasure” which worked. The weird thing is that by doing this I immediately knew which to keep and which to bin! The unwanted shoes went to the Salvation Army and my favourite charities so they all went to people who really needed them.
Because of my disability this process took me some time but it gave me purpose and I found the process extremely liberating.
Slowly I went through the whole house. Friends and relatives brought me empty boxes and I learned to fold and store my belongings the Kondo way. It has been amazing. For the first time in 70 years I know where everything is and my life is so much easier. I’ve actually got time to do things I enjoy instead of having to spend all my time trying to clean my cluttered house. My advice to you is buy the book and give it a go - I sincerely hope it will help you as much as it has helped me

I watched a couple of her youtube things. She is a bit nutty but her advice on folding clothes is the best I have ever seen and it does make it easier to find things in your drawers (they are stored sideways so you don't need to go through a pile of things. My DS thinks the folding is a bit like meditation. I wouldn't do the throwing out things which don't make you happy/give you joy. I have photos from my past family and they mean very little to me (no idea who some of them are) but they go to my DS they are part of our family history. So some of it is OK but quite a lot is not.

My loft is empty and I decluttered my garden shed around 3 years ago and it is still immaculate. A pity I cannot say the same for the house. Tidy and file are two words I do not recognise.

My house will never be minimal I'm afraid.

I asked my sister, "Do you think my house is cluttered?"
"Well, you've got a lot of books," was her reply. How dare she? Books aren't clutter, are they?

'Books do furnish a room' was written by someone famous and I'm sticking to it. They 'give me joy' as MK has said.

I have 2 Dawna Walters books also eazybee.

I enjoyed reading them, but DH commented at the time if I spent more time de-cluttering and less time reading about it!

This was a few years ago, we have de-cluttered quite a lot now, but still browse the books now and again, no, I haven’t got rid of the books!

Thanks to this thread I have spent an enthralling morning de-cluttering my chest of drawers, wardrobe and dressing table. To be fair, none of them was too bad, and every sock matched, but I am hoping it will inspire me to tackle the real clutter: books, art materials and paperwork (dreadful). I also found a book on the bookshelves by the woman who in my opinion, started it all: Dawna Walters, How to de-junk your life from the TV programme, 'The Life Laundry', about 2002. Unsurprisingly, she ran a company which sold storage furniture.

She visited people's houses with an enormous machine that sat in the front garden and ate the rubbish before it could be stealthily reclaimed, but she also presented sensible, sympathetic explanations as to why we hoard and find it so difficult to let go of certain things.

You can cherry pick a few of her ideas. I fold some of our clothes her way now and you can see what you've got more easily.

Oopsadaisy3

A local lady recently told me that she has absolutely no intention of decluttering her substantial house, she says that as her DDs will be inheriting her house and all of her money, the least they can do is clear out everything.
I have to say I’m quite envious of her attitude.

The only part of our house that is cluttered is our enormous loft/attic...........it is cluttered with 33 years of c##p from our five children!!!

I do not feel guilty in any shape or form leaving their c##p for them to sort out ??

Mrs Hinch is another one to beware of

Love all these posts!
And hasn't Marie Kondo introduced a new range of home decor?

So when you have skipped all your clutter and much loved heirlooms and your house looks like a sterile house not a home, she can tempt you with a new and tasteful Kondo range of junk.

After having to sort my mothers house out after she died I wouldnt wish that on anyone so we try to keep on top of our stuff. I read Jumping the Queue by Mary Wesley years ago and she left her house completely tidied and in good order when she went off to the beach to walk into the sea. Thankfully she didn't she met a man instead I think but I was very impressed by her leaving all the beds changed and ready for occupancy.

It all sounds wonderful, but as Mr Maizie is congenitally incapable of putting anything back in its 'proper place I think I would expend lots of energy in organising our possessions and then lots more very negative energy in being frustrated by all that work going to waste.

I think I'm in support of oopsadaisy3's local acquaintance.. Let the children sort it out.

I agree fully with Flossieturner. Using some of the Kondo methods has helped me a lot, especially when clearing out the house for moving. We gave away a lot of stuff to charity and were pleased to hear (from the local Hospice) how much our items raised for them. (Additionally we did "unearth" items which actually "sparked joy" and which we kept.) Now in our new home, DH & I both have tidy drawers/wardrobes, with well-organised clothes which we actually wear, and (hooray!) we can find things around the home, when needed.

It’s The Emperor’s New Clothes - oh and in case you don’t have enough stuff to de clutter- her brand also has its own shops so you can buy more !

When I first heard about her shop, the words, 'Oh, the irony!' immediately sprang to mind! I can't believe people will fall for it, but of course they will. Kerching!

To me she is someone who has reinvented the tidying wheel - and managed to create a cult and make a shed load of money doing it!
To call it a “message” undervalues the experience of generations who have kept things because they liked them
To claim originality in the theory “Assign each of your belongings a designated spot” - well - my granny and no doubt her granny before her subscribed to “A place for everything and everything in its place”
Oh and Spring cleaning or “having a good clear out” , talk about reinventing the wheel and creating a million dollar brand out of it.
It’s The Emperor’s New Clothes - oh and in case you don’t have enough stuff to de clutter- her brand also has its own shops so you can buy more !

Win-win!

Our local homeless shelter is always grateful for men’s shoes. Please remember them when getting husbands or partners (or teens) to declutter. Thank you.

A local lady recently told me that she has absolutely no intention of decluttering her substantial house, she says that as her DDs will be inheriting her house and all of her money, the least they can do is clear out everything.
I have to say I’m quite envious of her attitude.

MK has a brilliant message, find her on youtube and of course don`t be a sheep and follow her every word. I got rid of stuff and immediately there is a weight off. I did my underwear drawer 10 years ago and it is still neat and tidy and best of all, I can see what I have. I did my t shirts and most used trousers and skirts, in other drawers and they actually now get used more often

I never did categories, I did a space at a time ie a drawer, a wardrobe etc. The charity shops benefitted and I did too, in a major way

Flossieturner, good post. My husband actually started to use her way and tbh his wardrobe was much better than mine and that helped me no end after he died, when I had to do the sorting

MK and paperwork too, also can be called `dying tidy` very essential unless you want to leave others with a dreadful mess of sorting when it is time to pass