I feel duped.
I don’t know why this particular issue has me so bothered and yet it does.
For many years, I have struggled with the issue of clutter. I have too much stuff and a hard time parting with most of it.
While I am not quite a textbook hoarder, in that I have never lost a pet in the mess, I can admit I have tripped over my own junk.
Truth be told, I can step over my own laundry pile for a week with no shame.
Organizational experts have always intrigued me.
Like so many of you, I turned to that cute little 'Tidying Up' expert Marie Kondo for suggestions.
I can’t believe this sweet little imp has made me so angry.
Remember how so many of us were urged to “spark joy” by touching each of our possessions and deciding if it made us truly happy or if we should toss it?
She’s been giving organization ideas for years, but I just caught on last year when her show Tidying Up hit on Netflix.
She certainly is engaging. Obviously, she has good ideas.
If she got me to fold and roll my underwear into little balls and keep them in order for almost a year, she is a genius.
The fact I appreciate her skills so much makes it so much more distressing that I am now disillusioned.
Marie Kondo has branched out into her own line of accessories.
Yeah, she’s got her own stuff! (Dust-collecting, space-hogging stuff!)
I understand she is a brand. I accept she is trying to make money.
It's not so much all the books she has written, even though she will only let us keep a total of 30 in our personal collections. Does this include or exclude hers?
Understandably, there would be organizational items like the drawer organizers and those special sized boxes she adores. (They do look handy.)
What threw me off me is the line of accessories, candles. linens and home decor, even a sign saying "Sparking Joy in progress."
Does she not sincerely want me to declutter my house and have my best life?
Was it all just a scam to get rid of some stuff to collect more stuff?
Is it only healthy if my clutter has her name on it?
Granted, she has a varied range of items from $8 to $275.
Her response to those who question is this: “I never suggest over-purchasing” anything. "What’s most important is that you surround yourself with items that spark joy. If that bowl that you’re using currently sparks joy for you, I don’t encourage replacing it at all.”
Still, you just know her bowls will be better than our bowls, right?
I don’t know what I expect.
I guess I wanted to believe that someone actually wanted me to clear my space and be open to new opportunities and I wanted them to do that without an ulterior motive.
None of this is sparking joy, but it is sparking anger and I do my best discarding when I am cranky.
Perhaps this was her diabolical plan all along.
