Marie Kondo

Marie Kondo
Waist high portrait of woman with long dark hair and bangs wearing white jacket speaking into a microphone
Kondo in 2015
Born c. 1985
Nationality Japanese
Occupation Organizing consultant and author
Years active 1997 to present
Known for KonMari method
Notable work The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up: The Japanese Art of Decluttering and Organizing
Website konmari.com

Marie Kondo (近藤 麻理恵, Kondō Marie, born c. 1985[1]) is a Japanese organizing consultant and author.[2]

She has written four books on organizing, which have collectively sold millions of copies and have been translated from Japanese into languages including Korean, Chinese, Indonesian[3], French, German, and English.[2] In particular, her book The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up: The Japanese Art of Decluttering and Organizing (2011) has been published in more than 30 countries.[4] It was a bestseller in Japan and in Europe, and was published in the United States in 2014.[2]

She was listed as one of Time's "100 most influential people" in 2015.[5]

Background

Kondo speaking in Hong Kong in 2016

Kondo says that she has been interested in organizing since childhood.[4] In junior school, Kondo ran into the classroom to tidy up bookshelves while her classmates were playing in physical education class. Whenever there was nomination for class roles, she did not seek to be the class representative or the pet feeder. Instead, she yearned to be the bookshelf manager to continue to tidy up books. She said she experienced a breakthrough in organizing one day, "I was obsessed with what I could throw away. One day, I had a kind of nervous breakdown and fainted. I was unconscious for two hours. When I came to, I heard a mysterious voice, like some god of tidying telling me to look at my things more closely. And I realized my mistake: I was only looking for things to throw out. What I should be doing is finding the things I want to keep. Identifying the things that make you happy: that is the work of tidying."[6]

She spent five years as an attendant maiden at a Shinto shrine.[6] She founded her organizing consulting business when she was 19 and a sociology student at Tokyo Woman's Christian University.[7]

KonMari method

Kondo's method of organizing is known as the KonMari method, and consists of gathering together all of one's belongings, one category at a time, and then keeping only those things that "spark joy" (tokimeku, the word in Japanese, means "flutter, throb, palpitate"[8]), and choosing a place for everything from then on.[9][10]

Media appearances

A two-part TV dramatization was filmed in 2013 based on Kondo and her work, 人生がときめく片づけの魔法.[11] She has done many lectures and made television appearances.[2][6] She released a series of videos teaching “the best way to fold for perfect appearance”.[9]

Personal life

Kondo is married to Takumi Kawahara.[12][4] The couple has two children.[13][12]

Publications

  • Jinsei ga Tokimeku Katazuke no Maho (人生がときめく片づけの魔法).
    • Tokyo: Sunmark Shuppan, 2011; ISBN 978-4-7631-3120-1 (in Japanese)
    • German translation. 2013; ISBN 978-3-499-62481-0.
    • English translation. The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up: The Japanese Art of Decluttering and Organizing. New York: Ten Speed Press, 2014; ISBN 978-1607747307.
  • Jinsei ga Tokimeku Katazuke no Maho 2 (人生がときめく片づけの魔法2). Tokyo: Sunmark Shuppan, 2012; ISBN 978-4-7631-3241-3.
  • Mainichi ga Tokimeku Katazuke no Maho (毎日がときめく片付けの魔法), Tokyo: Sunmark Shuppan, 2014; ISBN 978-4-7631-3352-6.
  • Irasuto de Tokimeku Katazuke no Maho = The Illustrated Guide to the Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up (イラストでときめく片付けの魔法）. Tokyo: Sunmark Shuppan, 2015; ISBN 978-4-7631-3427-1.
  • Manga de Yomu Jinsei ga Tokimeku Katazuke no Maho. Tokyo: Sunmark Publishing, 2017;
    • English translation. The Life-Changing Manga of Tidying Up: a magical story. New York: Ten Speed Press, 2017; ISBN 978-0-399-58053-6.

References

  1. ↑ Stern, Claire (23 January 2016). "Who Is Marie Kondo? 7 Things You Might Not Know About the Japanese Decluttering Guru". InStyle. Time Inc. Retrieved 12 August 2016.
  2. 1 2 3 4 "Kissing Your Socks Goodbye: Home Organization Advice from Marie Kondo". The New York Times. Retrieved 26 October 2014.
  3. ↑ "Gramedia.com - Marie Kondo, "The Life Changing Magic Of Tidying Up" (Indonesian Version)". Gramedia Indonesia - Online books. 2018. Retrieved 31 March 2018.
  4. 1 2 3 Maloney, Jennifer; Fujikawa, Megumi (26 February 2015). "Marie Kondo and the Cult of Tidying Up". Wall Street Journal. Retrieved 1 March 2015 – via konmari.com.
  5. ↑ Jamie Lee Curtis (2015). "Marie Kondo". Time Magazine. Retrieved 16 May 2017.
  6. 1 2 3 "Marie Kondo is the maiden of mess". Theaustralian.com.au. Retrieved 26 October 2014.
  7. ↑ Maguire, Katy (7 July 2016). "6 surprising things about Marie Kondo and her life-changing method". Well+Good LLC. Retrieved 13 August 2016.
  8. ↑ "Japanese-English translation: tokimeku: Dictionary". kanjijapanese.com. Retrieved 1 March 2015.
  9. 1 2 "Japan's 'queen of clean' promotes benefits of a tidy home". The Globe and Mail. Retrieved 26 October 2014.
  10. ↑ "How KonMari's phenomenal book can help put your house in order". Japantimes.co.jp. Retrieved 26 October 2014.
  11. ↑ "人生がときめく片づけの魔法". ntv.co.jp. Retrieved 7 March 2015.
  12. 1 2 Fujikawa, Megumi (2017-08-09). "Should You Kondo Your Kids?". Wall Street Journal. Retrieved 2017-08-09. ...2-year-old Satsuki Younger sister Miko, 10 months, Ms. Kondo’s husband, Takumi Kawahara, 33, ...
  13. ↑ Tonya C. Snyder. The real reasons Marie Kondo’s life-changing magic doesn't work for parents. The Washington Post, 14 January 2016.
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