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Tidying Up with Marie Kondo

Why the Konmari Method may not work for you

Are you a decluttering groupie? Do you follow all the popular decluttering gurus and try every year to declutter? Ironically, I have been successful at different methods, but then something happens in my life and that method no longer works. And I have failed more often than I care to admit. Two years ago, I bought Marie Kondo’s book, “The life-changing magic of tidying up,” on a friend’s recommendation, and I began once again the process of trying to tidy up. I failed yet again, and I will detail my failure below. While I believe the Konmari Method does not work for everyone, there are bits and pieces that may be helpful for you. You may love this method, but depending on your situation, Tidying Up with Marie Kondo could be on your list of “failed methods.”

The life-changing magic of tidying up with Marie Kondo

METHODS OF DECLUTTERING I HAVE TRIED BEFORE

Before I delve into the reasons why here are just a few of the methods I have used before:

  • The Index Card Method (Side-Tracked Home Executives) – this method actually worked for me for several years. I was decluttered. I knew where everything was and had a clean house. However, when I added child number 3, we started to homeschool, and my husband started his own business working at home, this method failed to keep me on track.
  • Clutter’s Last Stand – bought the book; never opened it. I think it is in a pile of books I need to declutter.
  • Managers of Their Home – bought it, read it. Added too much stress to my life.
  • The life-changing magic of tidying up (Tidying Up with Marie Kondo) – bought it, read it, tried to implement. Gave up.
  • Decluttering at the Speed of Life – bought it, read it. Work in progress. This book that talked about clutter in a way that my brain “understood.” However, I still am a work in progress.
  • Speedcleaning’s Clutter Control – I found this book back in the late 90s. And it worked. However, with baby 4 and 5 (which meant the first kids were getting a little older), and my husband once again started working from home, I threw all organization aside. However, I do have to say, that I when I do focus on my home, this is the method that had the biggest impact on my life. Additionally, I use Speed Cleaning’s products to this day.

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REASONS WHY Tidying Up with MARIE KONDO METHOD OF DECLUTTERING MAY NOT WORK FOR YOU

  • The Entire family needs to be on board. If you have watched any episodes of the Konmari Method at work, you will notice one thing. Everyone wants to declutter! They all say, “We are ready to do this.” In my household, most of the time I have tried a new method, I was the only one ready to do it. If you are putting items into a garbage bag to give away, and another member of your family is pulling them out to save, no method will work for you. Even Marie Kondo says that you cannot declutter another person’s belongings.
My top reasons why Marie Kondo's methods don't work for everyone
  • The Entire Household Needs to Know Where Everything Belongs. Do you travel? Do you work outside the house? This method will sabotage you if every time you walk in the door. There are miscellaneous items sitting on the island, the countertops or the table because no one knows where they belong. See Problem #1 – if the family is not on board, you may have problems.
  • The Concept of Joy. I have never met a bra that sparks joy, but if I want to live in society, I will wear a bra. In fact, I hate most clothes. I like the color yellow and have some shirts that I hate, but people tell me I look nice in them. Do I keep them? It sparks joy in my life when people say, “You look nice in that color.” Books – they all spark joy for me. This is why I have over 3000 books in my house. I love the smell of them, I like the feel of them, and I don’t care if I ever read them or not. I like books! Bills do not spark joy. Can I just throw them out? Likewise with pots, pans, and dirty dishes.

[bctt tweet=” I have never met a bra that sparks joy! #konmari #mariekondo” username=”pattyoh11″]

Tidying up with Marie Kondo

MORE REASONS WHY MARIE KONDO’S METHODS MAY NOT WORK FOR YOU

  • You Need to Devote a Lot of Time to the Process. If you watch the show Tidying Up with Marie Kondo, you will notice one thing. Not only are all the families or households spending a lot of time decluttering. They also are doing it within a set time frame. In fact, this is not something you can do one day a month and make any progress. You need serious chunks of time over the course of weeks (or months) to accomplish these tasks.
  • The reality of living in a household with children. You clean and declutter the kitchen and move onto the next room. While working on room #2, the kids are playing in room #1. Room #1 now looks like a tornado came through. You sit down and have a cup of coffee and vow to return to this decluttering process when the kids are grown. 
  • Your Unique Kids. I actually had children that didn’t always play with toys. In fact, I had one child that amassed a blacktop collection. He would find broken pieces of the roadway, parking lots, etc. to bring home and save. There is no method for tidying up with blacktop, rocks, sticks, insects, frogs and animals contributing to your household! If every time you look, there is a “new discovery” waiting on your island, you may find that the discovery stays and Kondo’s book goes!
Will decluttering with Marie Kondo work
  • Life Happens. If you have more than 1 person living in your household and a family member gets sick, you will be spending a lot of time at the hospital or traveling or making food for another household. When my dad was in kidney failure, and I was taking him meals and to dialysis, and I was nursing a newborn, and homeschooling, and helping to run a business, everything at home fell apart. That went on for months and months which means that chaos happened at home. 
  • New Clutter Comes In At the Speed of Light – Today you got mail, the kids brought home papers, you received some packages for work. All of this contributes to clutter. Kondo’s method acts like once you tidy, you are done. “You can put your house in order now, once and forever.” NOPE, not reality!
  • People Hold Onto Clutter for Various Reasons. The Marie Kondo Book, KonMari method, and Marie Kondo folding do not get to the root of the problem. If the people you live with hold onto every card, every magazine, every sentimental item, you cannot pry it from their hands. Again, unless you live alone, you cannot help other people through the decluttering process. If the people you live with are not onboard, they WILL sabotage your decluttering process.
  • Sentimental Reasons are good Reasons to Keep Items. These dolls – they were actually in the donation bin several times, but something in me said “NO!” They were my daughter’s dolls, and I kept them even though she no longer wanted them. I moved them around from closet to closet, contemplated selling them at one point, but eventually, the sentimental reasons won out. And I am glad they did. My granddaughters now play with them every single time they are over. And when they leave, many times I find them in odd locations, and I smile. These silly little dolls bring me intense joy!
method of decluttering

My family has watched the Netflix original series: Tidying Up with Marie Kondo. They seem onboard with the process after watching, and I am going through my closet and clothes for the second time in 2 years. I will go through my children’s clothes with them, but it is up to my husband to go through his own clothes. Let’s see what happens!

Stay Tuned for February’s update of THE MOLITERNO’S TIDY UP.

For more decluttering, Read HOW to TIDY UP YOUR EMAIL INBOX HERE!

Read Sami’s 7 Ways to Simplify Your Life!

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1 thought on “Tidying Up with Marie Kondo? WHY THE KONMARI METHOD OF DECLUTTERING MAY NOT WORK FOR YOU”

  1. Debra

    Hi, I loved this article. I know exactly how you feel. Books are great for info, but not every method works for everyone. But it is great when part of it resonates and works for you.
    For example, I am decluttering my stuff at the moment, the Marie Kondo method of folding clothes has worked well for me.
    I do however have items that spark joy that I will never be able to use. The question is “do I still keep them?” or do I be totally practical and get rid of them?
    I think its a matter of finding what works for you and don’t stress if that means bits and pieces of methods from different sources.
    Enjoy letting go and do slowly so there are no regrets!!

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