This news is sparking some serious joy for us.
Marie Kondo is finding a new way to “spark joy,” even if that means letting her life get a little messy. Though the queen of cleaning is famously known for helping others declutter their living spaces, she recently admitted she has let things go in her own home as she focuses on raising her kids.
“Up until now, I was a professional tidier, so I did my best to keep my home tidy at all times,” she said in a recent media webinar covered by The Washington Post. “I have kind of given up on that in a good way for me. Now I realize what is important to me is enjoying spending time with my children at home.”
This new-found mentality marks quite a turn-around for the star, who spent two seasons on her Netflix show, Tidying Up With Marie Kondo, teaching us tidying-up tips, like how to fold T-shirts into little rectangles and reuse shoeboxes to organize small items.
But it is reflective of her latest self-help book released last year, Marie Kondo Kurashi at Home: How to Organise Your Space and Achieve Your Ideal Life, which explores the Japanese concept of kurashi or “the ideal way of spending our time.” So what brought about this change and what do her fans have to say about it? We have more on why some might not be so pleased.
A new philosophy?
In the webinar, Kondo said she’s no longer striving for a perfectly organized home. Since welcoming her third kid last April, Kondo says her way of life has changed from tossing out anything that didn’t “spark joy” to finding simple ways to bring happiness to everyday things.
“My home is messy, but the way I am spending my time is the right way for me at this stage of my life,” she explained.
This isn’t the first time Kondo has spoken out about the struggles of keeping a tidy home while also trying to be a parent. In a 2019 blog post, she opened up about feeling “frustrated” with not being able to keep her home the way it was before she had small children. But, she eventually learned to ease up on herself.
“Motherhood taught me to be more forgiving of myself,” she said. “The joy that comes from parenting exceeds any satisfaction that could have come from a perfectly neat home.”
What are her fans saying?
Some fans were dismayed at finding out that Kondo no longer practiced what she preached, arguing that it was hypocritical. In a since-deleted Tweet, Women Talking director Sarah Polley asked where Kondo’s “official apology” was to parents who felt pressured by her to declutter a few years ago, though she later said it was a joke.
Still, many parents — who didn’t find her previous, five-step KonMari Method very practical — found it relatable and felt validated by Kondo’s recent comments.
Meanwhile, others praised her honesty and openness.
What’s her latest book about?
After taking the world by storm with The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up: The Japanese Art of Decluttering and Organizing, Kondo made a comeback with her second book last year, Kurashi at Home: How to Organize Your Space and Achieve Your Ideal Life. In it, Kondo shares some easy ways to transform your home into your ideal haven, and “spark joy every day and lead a joyful life.”
“Tidying up means dealing with all the ‘things’ in your life,” she writes. “So, what do you really want to put in order?”
