THE QUEEN OF CLEAN RUNS OUT OF STEAM!
Marie Kondo, the international best-selling author, self-proclaimed tidying expert, and star of not one, but two, Netflix TV series, is giving up.
Giving up her writing?
Giving up her career?
Giving up her show?
Nope. Marie Kondo is giving up - on tidying up.
Yep, that's right, the Queen of Clean, has run out of steam! The 4'10" dynamo - is no mo!
Wonder why she 86'd the 409? Curious as to why she cleaned house on cleaning house? Want to know why she gave the boot to organizing the boots? (I know, it's a reach.)
She had a third child.
In a recent interview with the Washington Post, she stated, "Up until now, I was a professional tidier, so I did my best to keep my home neat at all times. Now I realize what is important to me is enjoying spending time with my children at home."
Kondo and the KonMari method (Kondo's tidying process) are all about decluttering by tossing anything that doesn't "spark joy" — has now joined the rest of us in this messy, unkempt, slightly disorganized world.
Kondo pushed her tidying principles to make a tidy sum, but that was before the three kids—a human form notoriously opposed to cleanliness. Heck, I give Marie a ton of credit; I gave up after just two kids. And, if we're being honest, my boys don't always spark joy. My wife says they spark more joy than I do, so I tread lightly.
In her new book Marie Kondo Kurashi at Home: How to Organise Your Space and Achieve Your Ideal Life, she states that KonMari, "centers on the Japanese concept of kurashi, meaning way of life."
Now she focuses on creating not just a home that sparks joy, but a life that does. She states that when they are in conflict, focus less on the house and more on life.
And that's where I went wrong.
As a teacher and a person, I have always been a fan of tidy. Tidy office, tidy rehearsal space, and a tidy life. My theory was, "How can you clean an articulation if you can't clean a room? How can you be detail-oriented about an articulation if you aren't detail-oriented about the chairs?" A nice catchphrase and a truism for a young teacher trying to pretend he knew what he was doing.
But like my friend Marie, having kids of my own changed that.
Kids are messy. In all ways, and all things. Messy hair, messy clothes, messy rooms, messy lockers, messy emotions, and messy minds. But, as my wife quickly pointed out, messy isn't always bad.
Messy means experiences. Messy means action. Messy means memories. Messy means risk-taking. Messy means growth.
Looking back on my 16 years in the classroom, I understand that I could have straightened fewer crooked rows and more crooked pathways. I could have fixed fewer broken stands, and more broken lives. I should have worried less about the mess, and more about those who made it.
"The true purpose of tidying is not to cut down on your possessions or declutter your space," Kondo says. "But, to learn to make meaningful choices and find gratitude in everyday life and the people in it."
More children mean more mess. More mess, means more impact!
For today, let's embrace the mess and let it serve as evidence that children are present, music is being made, and you're making a difference and having an impact.
That should spark joy for you.
Have a great week.
Scott