‘Kondo-ing’ your house is simply not an option for some

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Published Date 9/13/2023

She was a phenomenon. Marie Kondo, the Japanese queen of organizing, took the world by storm when she came out with her book The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up in 2014. Since then, her methods have inspired people across America to purge their closets of everything that did not, as she says, “spark joy.” TIME Magazine even dubbed her one of the 100 most influential people in the world. An organizer. Slow news day?

Realtor.com’s Cathie Ericson decided to give Kondo’s methods a try—and quickly found that it was not at all for her. She explains why. “Maybe it’s the fact that she encourages people to talk to their old socks, thanking them for their service before tossing them in the trash. Or the fact that she wrote another best-seller outlining how to fold “happy” clothes. But Ericson says Kondo’s approach is definitely not for everyone.

First off, not everything you own has to “spark joy.” Holding up every item and asking that question is supposed to convince you whether to keep or purge the object. But Ericson asks, “What about T-shirts? Do they spark joy?” She says it’s a non-starter because when she needs to get dressed to go to the park on a Tuesday, they do just fine. “Every now and then I will pull out something that I’ve had for forever and put it on. And out of the blue someone will admire it. I feel like saying, ‘This old thing?—but I don’t. I smile and say thanks, and then I feel a spark of joy—because I was able to elicit a compliment for a pair of pants that I rescued from my neighbor’s Goodwill bag or a 10-year-old dress I had first worn to a 30th birthday party and was bringing back for a 40th celebration—yes, that happened. So who’s to say what sparks of joy might lie in the future?”

Next — who has time to maintain this Kondo system? Neatly folding and putting away laundry might be soothing to some, but definitely not to Ericson. “The people in my house are lucky to have clean clothes, and they are more likely to be shoved in a drawer than lovingly folded.” She adds that watching a Kondo tutorial on folding laundry while on a conference call or simultaneously checking homework and making dinner just isn’t reality. Yet, Kondo dares to term this method “effortless.”

“Yowza,” says Ericson. “Throwing my yoga pants and T-shirt on a shelf so I can quickly grab them later is what I call ‘effortless.’”

And lastly — who trains the kids? “I can just hear the guffaws (or sobs of panic) if I asked my three boys to determine which of their action figures sparked joy, and then toss the rest,” she says. “Or their baseball cards. Or, let’s face it, the rocks they collected from the front yard or the toys that came with their fast-food burger.” Does it occur to Marie Kondo that to kids, everything sparks joy? “Given that Kondo gave birth to her first child in early 2016, this reality has probably set in by now. According to interviews, she admits that she moderated her attitude.

Organized chaos is still alive and well. And Kondo can’t inspire that scenario. Furthermore, Ericson could quickly see this becoming a valid excuse for her boys getting rid of those items they don’t really want, like shirts with collars, or raincoats. “Sorry, Mom, this tie didn’t spark joy. It’s outta here.”

As for art supplies that are no longer in vogue with her kids, Ericson sees no reason to purge them. “And there they sit in the cupboard, until someone announces they have a project due the next day. I bet you anything Kondo would have to make a midnight run to the 24-hour Office Depot. Not me. Joy is sparked when I can reveal the contents of my art cupboard to the little slacker who gave me no warning.”

Realtor, TBWS

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