We all have plenty on our To Do lists, but Japanese tidiness expert Marie Kondo has more ambitious aims than most.
“My personal goal is to tidy up the world,” she tells Sky News, “to take these Japanese sensibilities and in a small way, improve the world around us.”
Pic: KonMarie
Actively tidying from the age of five by putting things in order at home for her mother and in her classroom for fellow pupils, Kondo founded her own organising consulting business at 19 while still a student.
Five years working as an attendant maiden at a Shinto shrine helped hone her sorting skills.
Going on to write 11 books, her first – The Life Changing Magic Of Tidying Up – has sold more than 14 million copies in more than 40 countries worldwide, and bought her catchphrase, “spark joy”, to the world.
TV soon came calling, and two Netflix series followed. So, what, in her own words, is her approach to tidying up?
“The KonMari method isn’t about discarding as much as it is about surrounding yourself with the items that spark joy and items that you can cherish…
“It’s a huge fundamental shift in your mind and in your heart. It’s not simply about tidying up and organising your home.”
‘Is it okay for me to feel this way?’
Kondo’s admission a year ago that her home was a little messier since the arrival of her third child sparked the very opposite of joy from many fans who felt she was letting the side down, and perhaps not living the lifestyle she so enthusiastically encouraged others to pursue.
So, does such weight of public expectation – and the judgement that comes with it, particularly for a woman at the top of her game – lead to self-doubt?
Kondo explains: “For someone who’s mainly been active in Japan most of my life, it’s really hard to imagine the impact and the effect that I’ve had. And looking at what is happening worldwide, I sometimes wonder, ‘Is it okay for me to feel this way?’
“It’s very much an imposter syndrome to some degree. But what I ultimately feel is it’s more than just me. There is this need to tidy up the world, and people like the effect [the Mari Kondo method] has.
“I’m almost a communicator or a mouthpiece of this idea and concept of tidying up, as opposed to me feeling like an imposter. So that’s how I feel. I’ve almost come to terms with it.
“It’s the message that I’m delivering, more than me being an imposter of something greater.”
‘My audience is more male than you might think’
When at university in Tokyo, Kondo wrote a thesis on tidying and gender. So, does she think more men are getting on board with the tidying trend these days?
Pic: KonMari
“More recently, I think the trend has shifted where both genders, men and women, are both working [and] so both responsible for certain aspects of the home. This new mindset has become the more the norm. So, in that respect, there are more and more [men tidying]…
“I think tidying has become an activity not just for women, but gradually shifting in terms of both genders.
“Of course, if you look at just the ratio between men and women attending my consulting courses, there is still a larger number of women. But if you look at the demographics of my audience, my readers, my consumers, there is a much greater ratio of people identifying as male than you might think, especially looking at the feedback in the comments that I get online.”
Offering devotees of her techniques the chance to train as KonMari consultants since 2016, so far 16 men have completed the course, with a further 26 in training.
Will ditching our possessions lead to happiness?
Kondo first rose to fame in her home country of Japan, before becoming a household name in the US and Europe around 2014, and over the last decade the social climate has changed enormously.
Pic: KonMarie
Now juggling both a cost of living crisis and climate change, is the act of chucking stuff out still quite as appealing to the public as it once was?
Yes, says Kondo, with a slight change of perspective.
“Originally, I know we focused on what we must let go of through the method, but [doing that] shifts our perspective on to our consumerism culture.
“The act of tidying really shifts our focus and gives us a clearer lens in terms of what is important in our lives, what is most necessary in our lives, what sparks joy in our lives.”
Kondo goes on: “There was, perhaps an era where purchasing anything induced happiness, and that was the set of values through which we viewed the world. But even though we’ve increased the number of items that we possess, the satisfaction hasn’t followed the same trend.
“We are now entering an era where the items we choose to surround ourselves with, and how we co-exist and live with them, is becoming more and more apparent and obvious.”
‘I have no problem with shopping’
Kondo of course has her own online homeware shop too – selling everything from pyjamas and candles, to stacking boxes and stickers to decide what to sell, discard or keep.
But is it a bit counterintuitive to sell people things in order to help them get rid of things?
“We have no problem with, or we don’t deny the idea that certain items are a necessity, and certain items spark joy in people’s lives. So, the act of shopping itself is not the issue. It’s the idea of making sure you are aware of what you’re introducing to your personal life.”
Curating ecologically friendly items in her shop, including many from Japan, Kondo’s sustainable brand message is reinforced with a collection of trainers, which promises to plant two trees in the Atlantic Forest for every pair sold.
Kondo also encourages initiatives like a walk-only day or clothing swap with friends or neighbours.
So, is it too much of a leap to wonder whether Kondo’s swift sorting approach could inform and improve the world’s recycling?
‘My method makes you kinder to the environment’
While her home country of Japan has impressive plastic recycling rates (around 80%) it’s not so impressive in the other categories (in 2020, the total recycling rate stood at just 20%).
Kondo says: “In Japan, I think awareness is gradually increasing, people are reflecting on their own lives and adopting consumer behaviours that are kinder to the environment.
“There’s certainly a shift that I’m observing where people try not to introduce more new plastic or single-use plastics into their lives.
“And also with compost, if there is any kind of food scraps that they may have from their daily lives, figuring out how to convert that to nutrition and reintroducing it back to the world.
“I think, through the KonMari method and the process of tidying, people want to take actions that are kinder to their surrounding environment and the world at large. It really shifts.”
While some may be cynical of the message that a big old sort-out can help the world tackle its issues with over-consumption and global waste, it’s certainly true that small changes in mindset can go on to achieve big results.
Whether Marie Kondo can save the world through her tidying methods remains to be seen, but there’s no doubt she’ll be sparking joy as she gives it a damn good go.
Marie Kondo’s first live stage course in five years is taking place from 5 to 7 April in New York.