Does this Spark Joy?

‘Does this spark joy?’: Cleaning the Marie Kondo Way

Jake Yoder, City News Editor

Chances are, at one point or another, you’ll fi nd yourself with too much stuff. For some, it can be hard to get rid of possessions, even if they no longer hold much value to you anymore. Even though most college students live in generally small dorm rooms or apartments, they can fi ll up with clutter astoundingly fast. If you fi nd yourself with just a little too much clutter in your life, worry not; Marie Kondo is here to help.

Chances are you’ve heard of Kondo before. She starred in a Netfl ix series in 2019 titled “Tidying Up with Marie Kondo” that received international acclaim. The show sparked a tidying movement, with thousands realizing they could live more minimally than they had originally thought. Kondo’s cleaning plan, titled the “KonMari” method. sees people tidying their lives in fi ve categories: clothing, books, paper, komono (kitchen, bathroom, garage, etc) and sentimental items.

As you go through these categories in order, you need to mull over each item. When you look at it, does it “spark joy?” Do you need the item? If the answer is no, you need to “quickly and completely” discard it.

“You feel (joy) when you hold a puppy or when you are wearing your favorite outfi t,” Kondo said in an episode of “Tidying Up with Marie Kondo.” “When you touch an item that sparks joy for you, you feel all of your cells rising.”

The concept of “sparking joy” comes from the Japanese word “tokimeru,” which literally translates to English as “fl utter, throb, palpitate.” If an item that you have doesn’t give you this type of feeling, it might be time to give it up.

Kondo recommends going through “sentimental items” last, after you are “more sensitive to what sparks joy.” This will make it easier to decide if these items are still important to you, or if they may be worth parting with. Just because something was sentimental or important at one time in your life doesn’t mean it will be forever.

The next step of the process is to fi nd a place for each item and keep it there. Many people don’t have an exact place for many of the things they own, meaning they kind of end up all over the place. By choosing a specifi c place for each item to “live,” your living space will instantly become tidier.

When you decide on a place for each item, make sure to remember it and keep it there. It might not seem like this would be all that important but keeping things where they need to be goes a long way. and keep things of the same sizes in the same place and utilize tiny boxes … have a home for everything,” Kondo said. As you progress in your tidying process, things may start to look bleak. Don’t give up hope, however; a tidier end is in sight.

“While you are tidying, it may seem like things are more cluttered than before,” Kondo said. “There is no need to worry. By following the process step by step, there will always be an end to tidying.”

Though the process of tidying may be a long and diffi cult one, chances are you’ll feel more at peace in your home when you are done. A life with minimal clutter is a happy one, as anyone who has tidied using Kondo’s method will tell you. “Cleaning used to make (my wife) and I argue, but now that (we started using the KonMari method), we’re happier … we’re more at ease, there’s less tension,” Kevin Friend, someone that Kondo helped tidy in her show, said. “It’s not something that takes away from our life anymore, it’s something that adds to it.”

To watch Kondo’s tidying in action, check out “Tidying up with Marie Kondo” on Netfl ix. Kondo also has a YouTube channel with 40 videos detailing her process.

Marie Kond0 demonstrating her folding method. Courtesy of KonMari