The awkward energy that fills the room each time Marie Kondo greets a new home in her Netflix show, Tidying up With Marie Kondo, sparks a lot of joy in me. Let’s be honest, she’s taking a brief nap. I imagined my hourly paying clients wouldn’t appreciate me napping on the job but when I asked one she said, “Sara, you can do whatever it takes to get my home in shape.” Thanks Joyce, you’re a gem!  

Anyway, let’s talk about Marie Kondo. If you haven’t heard of her, you’ve definitely been living under a rock...er, I mean a pile of clothes. She’s the Japanese woman known for her home organizing and decluttering method called the KonMari method and she’s BANKING on America’s bad case of something I like to call TMS - Too Much Stuff. TMS can’t be cured from swallowing over-the-counter painkillers. Applying a heating pad to the problem area won't heal the issue either but if it could, I bet you’d have at least three to choose from. TMS requires external help from friends, family and Home Organizers like me, Shelfie.

Through books, YouTube videos, training programs and most recently a Netflix show, KonMari Media Inc. is motivating people everywhere to declutter their homes. Since the show aired on January 1st, 2019, I’ve received an influx of texts and emails from friends and clients sending me links to various articles about her. People want to know what I think of her, the show, the books and the method. So I’m here to share it with you!

The Book

In 2015, I read Marie Kondo’s first book called The Life Changing Magic of Tidying Up and at first, seriously thought this woman was completely out of touch with reality. It reminded me of another book I read a year earlier called The Rules, a book about dating for single women. While the book was completely antiquated and seemingly absurd to me, it was also totally helpful. I grasped the main ideas and bigger themes and was able to laugh at some of the details that basically tell readers a woman should never leave the house without a full face of makeup in case she runs into the man of her dreams.  If you’re in check with your emotions and reality, the overarching takeaways are pretty solid. I feel the same way about the KonMari Method.

GREAT KONDO TIPS

QUESTIONABLE KONDO TIPS

Shelfie’s Thoughts on the Show

Why I Didn’t Really Want to Watch: Typically, I avoid reality TV shows that force me to hear about other people’s problems, feel deeply sad, bad, frustrated, frightened or disturbed (Hoarders, My 600 LB life, etc.) and I place this show in that category. I’d rather watch mindless TV like The Real Housewives of New York
or anything on HGTV. My goal when watching TV is to relax and feel happiness.

More Of Why I Didn’t Really Want to Watch: Watching a television show that reflects what I do at work all day is exhausting. I LOVE what I do for work. But think about it, would a teacher want to come home and watch reality television about a teacher teaching a classroom?  

Why I Watched Anyway: It’s important to me to stay in the know on the latest hoopla in my industry.

What Happened When I Watched: I found the show boring. I don’t want to come home and watch people fold. It’s that simple. I fell asleep in the middle of the first episode and afterwards, took a break from watching.

Media OverKill: The media really knows how to ruin and oversaturate everything. When this happens, I naturally tend to move away from that subject. This was particularly frustrating for me because I’m simultaneously EXTREMELY grateful Marie Kondo’s show is shining a bright light on my industry. I’m writing this to embrace the overkill and answer lots of questions people had for me :)

What Happened When I FINALLY Finished The Series: In the end, Marie Kondo, my fellow organizing community and I all bring a positive life-altering experience to people who need it. We help to cure TMS. We bring happiness, joy, relief, tidiness, order, organization, calmness and positive energy into the homes of others. We help people - and this is what matters most. When I finished the series, I had the warm fuzzies! It reminded me why I love my work so much - but the show was still extremely boring.