Baby boomers, beware: we are being challenged. By a new Netflix program called Tidying Up. It is challenging us to declutter. But humor writer and professor Mary Kay Fleming of Crescent Springs, Kentucky, is throwing up her hands and won’t be carting her home’s contents to a consignment shop. Why not? Because she has learned the hard way that she must be content to let sleeping piles lie.
Maybe you haven’t heard of her, but much of America is falling hard for Marie Kondo. Years after writing her bestselling book, The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up
A few holdouts refuse to embrace the craze. Instead, they’re crawling into their basements and hugging their garbage. Sadly, my husband falls into this group.
When he retired, I begged him to reduce the contents of the basement by half. I didn’t care which half. Four days later, he produced only one trash bag. What sparked joy for this man was to straighten junk into tidier and taller piles. Better than nothing, perhaps, but barely.
To his credit, he courageously unloaded his 10th-grade chemistry notes, recognizing at last the dwindling odds of being quizzed 50 years after graduating. We all celebrated the notebook recycling except our son, who feared it was “premature.” God help our daughter-in-law.
A yard sale.
As appealing as I find Kondo’s everything-in-its-place philosophy, there are recommendations I cannot accept. For example, she advocates emptying your purse each night, placing each item in its proper home, and storing the bag on a shelf. For aging boomers like me, this guarantees I will forget half my belongings the next day. It’s hard enough to remember my purse without the cruelty of finding it empty every morning. Besides, what if I have to make a quick getaway in the middle of the night? Not that I’m the kind of person who frequently goes on the lam, but still.
Mary Kay Fleming
I also struggle with Kondo’s trademark folding methods. The KonMari master claims that everything has a favorite way of being folded— a “sweet spot”— and must be displayed upright for easier selection. This includes everything from underwear to carrots. I gave up folding my own underwear 25 years ago when I had two preschoolers, a job, and no sleep. That decision definitely sparked joy. It’s unlikely I’ll prioritize arranging vegetables vertically in the fridge.
Hosiery, says Kondo, is especially fussy. “Socks in your drawer are essentially on holiday. They take a brutal beating in their daily work… The time they spend in your drawer is the only chance to rest.” To earn their cooperation, Kondo instructs us to roll and store socks on end like avocado rolls. But many middle-aged women suffering restless nights do not want their hosiery to sleep better than they do. Let the prisoners riot.
Perhaps the only way I’ll accomplish any serious downsizing is to send my husband out of town, purge like my life depends on it, and then claim a home invasion when he returns. Admittedly, this is a hard sell because few thieves break in to clean and organize. On the other hand, I might use the testimonials in Kondo’s book to motivate him. One reader crowed, “Your course taught me to see what I really need and what I don’t. So I got a divorce. Now I feel much happier.”
Life-changing magic, indeed.
This is delightful read — loved it, and thank you for the smiles.
A true delight to read on a Wednesday morning, and you made me laugh out loud. Thank you!
Great article! Fun start to my day! Thank you.
I’ve never heard of Marie Kondo, but it seems to me that her idea of “uncluttering” and living a simpler life is a lot more hassle than it’s worth.
I hope your husband’s clutter has found other homes! A fun read.
We are downsizing our home and I have been purging like a maniac, but still so much to get rid of – amazed at just how much I have kept over the years!
We did it. Downsized to within an inch of our possessions. And moved all the way cross-country to a retirement community in California (from NJ) where we have a 3 x 4 by 5 feet tall storage locker for the seasonal items.
That’s it. NOthing stored offsite. Just what’s in the closets.
It might not be as tidy as Kondo recommends (she’s going a little nuts), but the socks are in a closed drawer, the painting we love are on the walls, and everything else has gone to a new home somewhere else.
In six months, we’ve missed nothing we gave away. Not a single thing.
Very funny! My husband and I are on the de-clutter path (sparked not by Marie Kondo, but by the desire to have a neater home). Since we retired, we don’t buy as much stuff either. When my husband finally let go of his old engineering textbooks and notes, it was really difficult. He felt like he was giving up an important part of his past… which of course he was. I get the same feeling when I get rid of “projects” that are half- or totally un-done. I know that I’ll never finish them but now their potential is gone too. Fortunately, the sense of loss lasts only moments.
Thanks for the great comments, everyone, and good luck, Antoinette!
That Marie Kondo sounds like a little rat biscuit! Let the socks have their freedom!!
My socks agree, Ric!
Haha! I loved this. I did Marie Kindo some of my drawers, but not ALL!
OH MY WORD! I live every bit of this! Every year I do a 40 bags in 40 days Lenten challenge, and I declutter most of my house– except THE BASEMENT, where my husband keeps his, um, STUFF. Tons and tons of stuff. I’m not allowed to touch it because I once culled through his tee shirts and threw out his Kermit tees. He hasn’t worn a tee shirt in the past 28 years, and it was a size large when he wears a 2 x now, but still. It was his. His KERMIT shirt. He might need it.
I now know to quickly fill bags and get them out of the house before he gets home. Good luck!
LOL, I’m taking notes on your technique, Wendy! Thanks a million 🙂