Marie Kondo realized that being tidy is much easier when you are surrounded by objects that you love. By only keeping those items that Spark Joy™, you will find that you naturally keep tidy the rooms that are filled with items you appreciate and respect.  

Along with filling your home with items that Spark Joy™, Marie Kondo wanted to increase the efficiency of organizing the home. She had noticed that people often attempt to tidy their home one room at a time, but then become frustrated by a feeling of repetition. This led her to develop the KonMari Method™ of tidying, a method that has a person go through their belongings by category instead of location. These categories are:

1. Clothing

2. Books

3. Papers

4. Komono (miscellaneous items such as office supplies, kitchenware, tools, craft supplies, make-up, toys, etc)

5. Sentimental

In the above order, all items in a category are piled together in one location: In this way, you are forced to see how much of something you own. You then hold each item and ask yourself, "Does this item bring me joy?" If it does, then the item is kept; if it does not, then you thank the item for it's service and say good-bye. Once you have completed this process, you and I will then discuss where to store each item so that it is easy to not just retrieve, but also easy to then put away (part of the success of tidying is to find the easiest place possible)!

In this way, you are encouraged to be mindful and respectful of the objects in your home. And by stressing the importance of having a designated spot for each item, you will be motivated to keep your home tidy.

Marie Kondo began her work as a tidying consultant in Japan at the age of 19. Her first book, "The Life Changing Magic of Tidying Up," was first published in 2011 and has been published in over 30 countries since then. Other publications include "Spark Joy" (2016), "The Life Changing Manga of Tidying Up" (2017), "Kiki and Jax: The Life Changing Magic of Friendship" (2019), and "Joy at Work" (2020). She starred in the Netflix show "Tidying Up with Marie Kondo" in 2019.

Ms. Kondo has been featured in The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, Vogue, and Good Housekeeping and she was named one of Time magazine’s 100 Most Influential People in the World in 2015.

Please visit her website www.konmari.com for more information.