There is a new celebrity in the United States. This woman is not a popular singer or a young Hollywood actress. She is an expert on organizing and cleaning. Imagine that! Her name is Marie Kondo. Some people say she ‘wrote the book’ on organizing. That means she is considered an expert on clearing away unused or unnecessary things, better known as clutter.
Actually, she did write a book on the issue a best-selling book. It is called “The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up: The Japanese Art of Decluttering and Organizing.” Her book is a best-seller around the world. It has sold more than 2 million copies. Marie Kondo says people can improve their lives by changing the way they think about all their stuff -- everything from books, documents and photographs to clothing and personal mementoes.
“When you put your house in order, you put your affairs and your past in order, too,” Ms. Kondo writes. This is not the first time an organizing expert has written a book on clutter. Other books suggest wonderful things will happen when you organize your home. One book says that if you throw out 50 things from your home, you will actually find your life -- as if it is hidden under small mountains of books or clothing. (Throw Out Fifty Things: Clear the Clutter, Find Your Life).
Another book says that if you make clutter disappear, you will also lose weight. (Lose the Clutter, Lose the Weight: The Six-Week Total-Life Slim Down). And still others promise a better job, more money and a perfect family if you simply organize the things that fill your life.
Marie Kondo makes some of the same claims. She told the Business Insider website that some of her clients have lost weight.
Your self-perception is improved by living in a clean and neat room, she said. "This can change lifestyles and, in turn, appearances." Marie Kondo teaches a method of organizing she calls KonMari. It is more of an event or ceremony. This is the part that followers say makes it more lasting. Ms. Kondo says KonMari creates a different relationship between you and your possessions. If the object meant something to you or served you well, you thank it for its service before throwing or giving it away.
In her book, Ms. Kondo suggests that you touch the item and ask one simple question: "Does it bring me joy?" If it doesn’t, you give it away so that it may give joy to someone else. One of Ms. Kondo’s clients was reported to have cut ties with her husband because he didn’t “spark joy.” So to all the men out there, you may want to start making the woman in your life happy. Or you might just be given away!
