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Clean slate Japanese organising guru Marie Kondo’s best-selling books and hit Netflix show teach people how to tidy up and find joy in their homes. But can her super popular KonMari Method also help you tidy up your worklife? Let’s find out. TEXT LISSU MOULTON ILLUSTRATION EIJA VEHVILÄINEN
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o Game of Thrones and Chernobyl are over and, if you’re like most people, you’re probably looking for another show to binge-watch. Well look no further. The super popular Tidying Up With Marie Kondo is helping people from Tokyo to Turku use the KonMari method to tidy up their homes and think twice about how much stuff they need in their lives. If you’re new to Marie Kondo, here’s what you need to know: Most of us have waaaay too much stuff. And much of that stuff does not “spark joy,” a phrase Kondo came up with to help us figure out what we want to keep versus what we just don’t want to get rid of. Living – and working – among all that clutter is holding us back. Cleaning it all up can help propel us forward. The act of KonMari-ing is literally throwing everything you own into a big pile and going through it all by category and in this order: clothes, books, papers, miscellaneous items, and sentimental items. Hold each item in your hands and ask yourself if it sparks joy. Things that don’t should be politely thanked for their service and tossed, recycled, or given away. Things that do make you happy should be put away in a neat and orderly fashion. KonMari is awesome for decluttering your home, but believe it or not, you can also KonMari your work life (and no, you cannot use it to get rid of that co-worker who doesn’t spark joy in your life). Karin Socci is one 245 certified KonMari consultants and just five certified KonMari masters
in the world, which means she’s completed over 500 tidying sessions with over 50 clients. She’s also the co-host of the Spark Joy podcast. According to Socci, there are two big things at play when it comes to KonMari-ing your work life. One is taking stock of whether the work you do actually sparks joy. The other is decluttering your work environment – both physical and digital.
ATTITUDE OF GRATITUDE KonMary-ing is effective because it gets results. But it’s meaningful because tidying up the environments in which we live, and work creates room to think about our lives and what truly makes us happy. When helping people declutter their homes, Marie Kondo starts every session by cheerfully greeting the house and thanking it for its service. The same goes for KonMari-ing your office. Before you roll your eyes and turn the page, think about it for a second! Your office has done a lot for you. It’s where you nailed that big project, grew your business, found friends, and perhaps even love. “When you go through your office, your desk, or your emails, you don’t just clean up, you really start to ask important questions about yourself and your career,” Socci says. Thanking the devices, furniture, and objects that have been part of your success helps you reflect on what you’ve accomplished, where you’re going, and – most >
SEPTEMBER 2019 BLUE WINGS 63