“Overwhelmed by too much stuff, we hire experts to help us sort things out. But what’s really behind all the clutter?”
marie kondo
Posted inCuration
The Top 5 Longreads of the Week
Featuring stories from Paul Kix, Matthieu Aikins, Matt Alt, Elisa Gabbert, and Sophie Elmhirst.
Posted inEditor's Pick
The Joy of Clutter
“The world sees Japan as a paragon of minimalism. But its hidden clutter culture shows that ‘more’ can be as magical as ‘less.’”
Posted inArts & Culture, Highlight, Quotes
This Post Was Originally 200 Words Longer But They Weren’t Sparking Joy
“Instead of homes, we live in commodities.”
Posted inEssays & Criticism, Nonfiction, Quotes
The Fabric of History
Kirsten Tranter is cleaning out her closet. But how does the Marie Kondo method work for a “depressive personality…for whom joy is often an elusive feeling”?
Posted inEditor's Pick
Spark Connection
Kirsten Tranter is cleaning out her closet. But her clothes don’t spark joy, they spark memory.
Posted inBlog Post, Books, Nonfiction
The Genius of Marie Kondo and the Evolution of Decluttering
In 1881, Eunice White Bullard published All Around the House, Or, How to Make Homes Happy, a 468-page manual on everything a head of household needed to know to keep things in order. Bullard, the wife of Henry Ward Beecher, dedicated chapters to everything from managing laundry to pickling, washing flannel, and cooking a goose.