Netflix’s new original show Tidying Up with Marie Kondo has social media buzzing with stories of people all over the nation transforming their homes and lives. Kondo’s de-clutter method has touched down in San Luis Obispo and appears largely to blame for a spike in the amount of recent thrift store donations.
The organizing consultant’s KonMari method even has Cal Poly students changing the way they think about their belongings.
“I was scattered with everything,” business administration junior Dru Olson said. “You couldn’t see my actual desk itself because there was stuff all over it. It took me forever to get dressed in the morning because I had way too many clothes. I decided to simplify my life.”
Olson discovered the Konmari method a few years ago after picking up Kondo’s book, The Life Changing Magic of Tidying Up. The method involves looking at each of your belongings and keeping only the items that bring you joy and “speak to the heart,” according to Kon Mari.
Often, KonMari participants find themselves neck deep in a pile of things that do not make them happy. Kondo says to recognize the intrinsic value of those items, thank the items for their service and get rid of them.
“We all have these sentimental attachments to material items, and [Kondo] kind of introduced that these aren’t really that important,” Olson said. “You can get rid of them and here’s how to do it.”
As a result, Olson’s room is now as tidy and functional as it gets, with a small clothing rack, a well-made bed and a modest collection of books. The only items Olson cannot seem to purge are funky socks.
“Well, they bring me joy, so why not keep them?” Olson said while sifting through the entire drawer dedicated to the colorful socks in question.
Mission Thrift Manager Michelle Orradre had never heard of Marie Kondo before. But when Orradre showed up to work at the San Luis Obispo store, she quickly became well acquainted with the de-clutter craze.
“I mean we had people the other day — I think it was last Friday — there was like four or five people who came in back to back saying they watched the Marie Kondo show and dropped off their stuff. It was crazy,” Orradre said as she sorted through endless bags of donated clothes.
The Netflix original show was released on New Year’s Day and immediately prompted a nationwide movement of purging items after a season of holiday shopping and gifts. Netflix does not release streaming data, but Kondo’s popularity spike can be seen in her Instagram following. On New Year’s Eve, the organizing expert had 710,000 followers. Now, she has 2.3 million.