Marie Kondo: What to read or watch first?
Ok, so you want to learn and apply Marie Kondo’s revolutionary KonMari Method® of tidying. Where is the best place to start? Should you read her first bestselling book first, ‘The Life Changing Magic of Tidying Up? Or maybe episode 1 of her first Netflix series, ‘Tidying Up With Marie Kondo’? Marie Kondo’s decluttering and organising empire has exploded. She has 5 books (including a children’s book and a Japanese-style graphic novel - The Life Changing Manga of Tidying Up - and 2 Netflix series. Not to mention online resources from her media company and a growing global network of Certified KonMari® Tidying Consultants like me.
Speaking as a fan (read the books, watched the shows, subscribe to the blog, follow her instagram, you get the picture!) here is my take. I’m a big believer in Marie Kondo’s wisdom. If I didn’t think it was life-changing I wouldn’t have become certified by her program, set up Organised Joy and use so much of her method in my own work with my clients! There’s no “should” here. Whatever helps you personally and reap the benefits of a tidy joyful home is undoubtedly the best route.
1 - Start here if you love curling up with a novel - READ The Life Changing Magic of Tidying Up
Marie Kondo’s first book explains her methods and how she came to discover them. There’s plenty of anecdotes about various clients she helped in Japan. Marie’s writing style translated into English is not only instructional. It gave me a lovely insight into aspects of Japanese home and family culture. Touring Japan on the bullet train network was already one of my all time favourite travel experiences before I’d heard of Marie Kondo. If you read it whilst slowly savouring a cup of tea in your favourite mug, all the better!
2 - Start here if you want to follow a visual user manual - READ Spark Joy - The Illustrated Guide to the Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up
I discovered Marie Kondo in 2016 when I was drawn to this beautiful blue and white patterned book in my local Waterstones bookshop (er, as they say, you may judge a book by it’s cover!) Everything Marie explained in a beautiful winding way in her first book, is laid out in a very clear structure with categories, subcategories and illustrations on how to fold and so on. There’s still lots of room for Marie’s very Japanese anecdotes but this is first and foremost a user manual. My only qualm about reading this first, is the illustrations may tempt you to jump in and start folding things before doing first steps first!
3 - Start here if you are a small business owner who doesn’t want to commit to a whole book - Netflix second series: Sparking Joy - Episode 2: The Joy Of Balance
The first Netflix series that took Marie Kondo’s fame off the charts in January 2019 was not my fave. This could be a classic book-fan attitude because my friends, family and colleagues who I’d waxed lyrical to about The KonMari Method years ago were now asking “have you seen her on Netflix?”. I was in my investment banking job back then and once I got round to watching the show, seeing it on screen could not capture the words on the page applied to my own life. I loved the recent series more. It goes deeper into people’s situations, their motivations and better captures the “life changing magic.” If you feel like you’re spinning lots of plates, work, business, family, home (after the last couple years, aren’t we all?) I think episode 2 is particularly poignant. But all 3 episodes (and there are only 3) are heartwarming!
4 - Start here if you want to visualise the method applied to your situation - Netflix first series: Tidying Up With Marie Kondo - pick the episode that best matches your situation. If you love it, watch ‘em all!
Marie helps people in the US in various life situations and the episodes are very helpfully titled like Empty Nesters, Tidying With Toddlers, Sparking Joy After a Loss, Making Room For A Baby and so on. So it can really help to see how the method can work for your own stage of life. This series cemented Marie Kondo and the KonMari Method firmly in the global zeitgeist. Each episode shows Marie following the steps of the method and helpfully recaps “the rules” as you would apply them to your own home. Every episode was educational and watchable. If I hadn’t already read the books, I’d have taken more from them.
5 - Start here if you’ve tried but don’t connect to Marie Kondo’s TV shows and books - Watch (if you’re in the UK) BBC iplayer: Sort Your Life Out. and Read: My short summary of the KonMari Method®
Here’s a curve ball. I embrace Marie Kondo’s philosophy so if you’ve been trying to get into it and it’s hasn’t worked for you, my suggestion is don’t force it! As a Brit, I often relate to seeing British homes and flats on TV shows (no gigantic pantry in sight people!) and Marie Kondo’s shows are US centric. This BBC TV show has all the watchable magic of 90s changing rooms but instead of a wild makeover, it is a systematic sorting out of the home, with the DIY-loving Stacey Solomon bringing together the most excellent helping hands including professional organiser Dilly Carter who I deeply admire. Every single item from the essential to the long-forgotten is removed from the family home and laid out in a humongous warehouse. The family decide what to keep and discard. It’s fun yet heartwarming with many opportunities to shed a tear, mainly because you witness some lovely family relationships and the dramatic impact this process has. It might be just the motivation to confront your own clutter and sort your own life out!
My own brief summary of the KonMari Method® can be read here. If you are already familiar with the method but struggle with the motivation to complete your “tidying festival”, you can also download my free printable tidying checklist. It can help to physically tick off as you make progress! You can be guided through the process in your home step-by-step by a qualified professional organiser like me. Getting the right help might save you time, money and/or stress if you’ve tried to do it all alone or simply don’t want to face it alone.
Our time is precious so in case you are looking for it, here’s the permission (that you never needed!) to cross “read Marie Kondo” off your to do list if you’ve found it a drag! She believes in making decisions based on what sparks joy. And surely this applies to choosing the content you consume and how you effectively motivate yourself!