Marie Kondo is back – to clutter your life with her stuff
Marie Kondo is back – with her own homewares line. Photo: Getty
We all took the advice of Japanese home-zen guru Marie Kondo and threw away two-thirds of our meagre possessions.
The Kondo craze went, well, crazy this year when her series Tidying Up hit Netflix and encouraged viewers to throw away objects that don’t “spark joy”.
It stemmed from her 2011 book of the same notion; encouraging people to mindfully clasp each possession and contemplate whether it brings an amount of joy.
No joy? No room. Declutter your physical space and find true happiness, was the general gist of the cult of Kondo.
She encouraged we all apply the same philosophy to new purchases.
Tightly hold on to a possible new possession in store until you a) feel a spark of joy, or b) a retail worker calls security and you’re escorted out.
If you’re feeling a little bare, good news, because Kondo is back. With an online shop.
Does anyone feel Konn-ed yet?
“The shop came about because I always like to share how I tidy every day, and in the process of doing that, I always ask myself, ‘Well, why do we tidy in the first place?’ The answer is to live a life that sparks joy,” Kondo told Fortune.
The e-store “opened” on November 18, and stocks all corners of homewares – kitchenware, decorations and really helpful stuff like candles and scented oils.
- Related story: The downsides of the KonMari craze
But, Kondo told Fortune, shoppers should only venture onto her site when they’ve successfully gotten rid of their possessions first.
Fortune asked the natural question: Is it a wee bit hypocritical to encourage people to throw stuff out, and then encourage them to buy new stuff?
“That’s something we carefully considered, of course,” Kondo said.
“For me, the emphasis is not on trying to throw out as much as possible, but to choose what sparks joy for you.
“The ultimate goal with my method is for people to really hone their sensitivity to what sparks joy for them so they can make a considered, cautious purchase.
“It’s not my intention at all to encourage you to buy something that is redundant to you.”
Go cautiously, shoppers.
