Tidying Up Beyond What You See
Image via Netflix
Netflix has done the world a favour by launching their series Tidying Up with Marie Kondo on January 1st, the day that North Americans traditionally focus on embracing new, healthier habits. Kondo’s approach to organizing homes has been a sensation not just in her native Japan but worldwide (her book is for sale in 40 countries and is even available at Costco). However, seeing her in action, observing her clients address the impact that the lack of clarity in their home has had on their frame of mind and their relationships, and seeing how they evolve throughout the process all make her philosophy much more real.
The New York Times has just published an article quoting scientists stating that clutter causes both stress and procrastination – I am not being sarcastic when I say that I am glad to see science supporting common sense, because some of these ideas rarely get fully explored in that way. The whole concept of organizing can stress people out because it requires accountability and responsibility for things that we have grown accustomed to ignoring (this is why moving is considered one of the top three stressors). Additionally, ‘letting go’ feels like a loss.
Kondo’s approach is brilliant because it’s actually about what you keep – and keeping only what brings you joy. By addressing each item and gauging the level of joy it sparks, you can tune into your current attitude towards what you possess to see if you are HAVING it (emotionally, mentally, spiritually) as opposed to simply POSSESSING it (physically).
The work that Kondo does is a significant part of what I do in my Contemporary Feng Shui consulting, where I invite clients to consider what they own, where it is placed, and how it makes them feel. I go a bit further in helping them draw connections to some of the unintended consequences of some of the items and arrangements. If their bookcases are overfull, they clearly enjoy reading and new ideas, but they don’t have the space to easily welcome in new ones, which thereby lessens their desired experience to learn more and expand their thinking. If they want to find a partner but have artwork of single individuals throughout the space, they are unwittingly cultivating a sense of solitude instead of togetherness. The home tells countless stories about our modus operandi and life experience.
What this is all about is having a conscious relationship with everything in your personal space, and clarifying your thoughts and feelings about your possessions invites more of that clarity in your waking experience, both at home and in the world at large. When you make everything accessible and aesthetically appealing, you bring more beauty and joy into even the mundane daily tasks of your life.
I have also enjoyed watching Kondo’s program because I have had a 26-year relationship with Japan, living in Tokyo for five years in the 1990s and traveling there extensively ever since, in particular consulting throughout the country multiple times a year for the last 15 years. Seeing Kondo walk through North American homes with an interpreter is eerily similar to my own experience going through Japanese homes with an interpreter in a foreign land, and the warm welcome and deep gratitude at the changes she ushers in has stimulated my own gratitude at how graciously I’ve been invited to hundreds of homes and businesses in Japan, a country where one traditionally does not invite even close acquaintances into one’s residence, and the significant changes I have witnessed in my clients’ lives.
I hope that Kondo’s Netflix series will encourage more and more people to recognize the reality that your home is not just where you reside: it is a workshop where you incubate and cultivate every dimension of your life.
May your surroundings ever spark joy and wholeness in your being!