FEMFiles: Marie Kondo
Given the start of the year, when we all feel the pull for shift and change, I figured I’d start with Marie Kondo as I’ve been on the KonMari bandwagon for quite some time. Let’s talk a little bit about this woman who has taken the world by storm. I actually read The Life-changing Magic of Tidying Up several years ago and loved it. It was a fast read, it was a simple concept, and it was something that I could do for myself. But over time, my appreciation for Marie Kondo grew far beyond the books and the great (seriously, it’s amazing) way to fold your clothes, or the newly released Netflix shows. What I started to appreciate was Marie Kondo herself. She is a force to be reckoned with.
I watched the Netflix special out of sheer curiosity to see the woman who has seriously taken over the world. Her books have been published in over 30 countries, her Netflix special is a major hit, and her followers just seem to grow by the day. In the show, we see her in the sweetest of lights - her diminutive frame, her thoughtful demeanor and her excited laugh all make her seem fun and easy going, all while impacting the lives of the families she works with. [Side note: serious props to the creators of the show for making it one of the most diverse reality shows I’ve ever seen. Their families where not one size fits all, truly showing how applicable the KonMari method is no matter your lifestyle, race, sexual preference, location, and on and on. Cheers to recognizing that families are not one size fits all, and that we don’t need to limit ourselves to what is the traditional definition of who might be interested in ‘the life-changing magic of tidying up’ might be.]
But I feel like if you think that is all there is to her, you’re seriously mistaken. I don’t know her, so I can’t say if she’s as sweet as she seems, but I can say that when it comes to business, she is where it’s at. This woman is inspirational in so many ways. She took a lifelong passion and turned it into an empire - while truly helping people along the way. Marie Kondo took her passion and studied it (she wrote her thesis on tidying and gender), wrote about it (4 books to be exact), taught it (through books but also through creating a program for those who wish to be certified KonMari consultants), and shared it (via various media appearances all culminating in her tv special). And she didn’t do it overnight. The success that often seems almost ‘overnight’ has been 15 years in the making. Kondo started what would become her company at age 19. There is so much to draw from that. For one, things we love as kids can become something we do with passion and success as adults. Another point of inspiration is that it is the slow building, and layering, of her vision that has create a solid foundation for what is a rapidly growing business. Her own net worth is reported at around 8 million USD. Not bad when you consider it started as a side hustle during college.
The KonMari empire doesn’t just inspire for what it has achieved and become, but also for what it is rooted in. I’ve always been drawn to Asian cultures and religions. My love of Asian art and furniture has been a constant in my life, but so have many of the religions underpinning the cultures of countries like Japan and China. Though I am not particularly religious, religious beliefs have always fascinated me in how they permeate our lives, sometimes without us even knowing. Marie Kondo is another wonderful example of this. Known for for the catchphrase ‘Spark Joy’, Kondo intertwines Shinto beliefs with a modern day life activity. Shintoism teaches a respect for places and objects and the ‘sacred’ that exists within all things. Not a bad way to look at the world around us. Perhaps showing gratitude for the things that have come into our lives is a necessary anecdote to this modern day fast-paced, consumeristic life we lead. What’s more, after becoming a mom of three, Kondo herself recently discussed how tidying up is not the be all and end all, and that spending time with her family has become her priority in life. This example of allowing ourselves to let go of perfectionism and change our focus as life evolves is something I admire deeply.
Information for this post were taken from Kondo’s website, Wikipedia, and the articles linked above. Photo from the Marie Kondo website.