WASHINGTON: Japanese home organizing guru Marie Kondo is small in stature, but her tidying philosophy has reached stratospheric heights.
The 34-year-old’s new Netflix show, “Tidying up with Marie Kondo” — released on New Year’s Day, when everyone is keen to reinvent themselves and motivated by their resolutions — that has everyone talking.
“I love mess,” Kondo proclaims in the show, which sees her visit American homes — flanked by her interpreter — to implement her trademarked “KonMari” method.
The idea is simple — gather your things one Kondo-defined category at a time and go through them one by one, keeping only those that “spark joy,” and giving them a place in your home.
Almost overnight, Kondo has emerged as a cultural icon — she is the subject of countless viral tweets and memes, and a flurry of think pieces unpacking the show in surprising, somewhat disconcerting depth.
Her method however is not without controversy: advice to donate old books has infuriated bibliophiles on social media.
