As the KonMari philosophy has become more and more mainstream, blog posts, magazine articles and videos have come out viewing KonMari through a critical and challenging lens.

These perspectives are sometimes based on misunderstandings or misreadings of Konmari concepts and sometimes these misinterpretations occur as missteps while practicing KonMari.

In this episode, we will discuss our thoughts on these myths and provide some practical tips on how to avoid falling into these missteps.

Spark Joy wants to hear from you! Tell us your burning tidying questions or share stories about how KonMari has impacted your life. Find us at www.sparkjoypodcast.com and click “Ask Spark Joy” to leave a question or comment for a chance to be featured on next week’s show. While you’re there, sign-up to join our Spark Joy podcast community and get notified when each episode airs. You can also join the Spark Joy podcast community on Facebook, Instagram or Twitter @sparkjoypodcast.

In this episode, you'll enjoy:

Joy Checks!
What is Sparking Joy for Kristyn today: a very cute For the Love of Tidy branded onesie for her niece who is due any day now.

What is Sparking Joy for Karin today: restoring an antique wooden doll bed for her niece’s birthday

• Learn about some common KonMari myths:

1. Konmari equals minimalism/minimalism is KonMari

2. Konmari is a selfish activity, fundamentally concerned only with material possession

3. KonMari encourages to you to throw out everything you own to the point where you are either left with nothing or you need to immediately buy new things

• Learn about some common KonMari missteps:

1. Skipping the step where you envision your ideal lifestyle and living environment

2. Forgetting to honor and acknowledge items for their usefulness especially when you are letting them go

3. Not completing all the categories

4. Thinking about storage and organization before the sorting is completed

5. Being overly concerned with the clutter of other people

• See what Marie Kondo’s home really looks like:
  Correction: It has come to our attention that the original article and photograph listed here was a parody article written for April Fool's Day and NOT a house tour of Marie Kondo's apartment. Photographs of Marie Kondo's home have not been made publicly available. We apologize for any confusion this may have caused.

• Read about what some critics say about the KonMari Method:
  Why Decluttering Guru Marie Kondo is Wrong
  Why I Absolutely Refuse to KonMari My Life
  Does It Spark Joy is the Wrong Decluttering Question
  The Life Changing Magic of Not Giving a F*

• Review the importance of the vision statement in Spark Joy Episodes:
  Episode 1 KonMari 101
  Episode 5 The KonMari Lifestyle

• Our advice to a listener who asks how to address categories when you have items within a category in hard to get to places. Does not being able to completely sort by category mean you are not doing KonMari correctly?

Gems:

“There’s no right number of things a person should have.”

“You can keep ALL of the shoes!”

“Time is the most important commodity as opposed to things.”

“You’re saying goodbye in a respectful way and you’re putting a positive message out there.”

You can find Karin Socci at The Serene Home
You can find Kristyn Ivey at For the Love of Tidy

Sarah is the founder of Tough Girl Challenges, which is an amazing platform for women who are taking on physical challenges and overcoming obstacles.

Sarah started her professional life in finance but found it lacking and wanted to do something more in line with her interest in the sporting life and Tough Girl Challenges was born.

As she built up her platform, she found that her blog, public speaking, coaching and podcast, along with three books, was beginning to grow a community of girls and women who were motivating each other to reach their goals and achieve great things.

She's based in the UK, but reaches women all over the world.

In this episode, you'll enjoy:

-You’ll learn how Sarah made the transition from a career in finance to building the Tough Girl Challenges platform.

-Her commitment to showcasing the stories of women who overcome obstacles both physical and mental to achieve their goals.

-Hear about the common experiences of girls and women in setting goals, preparing and implementing a plan to achieve the goal.

-Listen as Sarah shares her story of hiking the Appalachian Trail.

-Her technique for breaking down potential barriers into small, approachable steps.

-Learning the goal-setting strategy of trying different things to find the perfect fit for you.

-Follow the stories of 7 Women, 7 Challenges on Sarah’s podcast:
Tough Girl Podcast

To connect with Sarah, you can visit her at her website:
Tough Girl Challenges

She's on Twitter: @_tough_girl, Instagram: toughgirlchallenges and Pinterest: Tough101

Her facebook is:
Tough Girl Challenges

Her YouTube Channel :
Tough Girl Challenges on YouTube

Spark Joy wants to hear from you! Tell us your burning tidying questions or share stories about how KonMari has impacted your life. Find us at www.sparkjoypodcast.com, email us at contact@sparkjoypodcast.com to leave a question or comment for a chance to be featured on next week's show. Join us on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter via @sparkjoypodcast.

What sparks joy for Sarah:
She loves Mondays! She loves the start of new things and the adventure ahead. Sarah is excited about the inspirational stories of women she is able to bring to her audience.

Gems:
"If it doesn’t challenge you, it won’t change you.”

“People will rise to occasion to help you achieve your goals.”

"She continues to go back, every single week.”

“Nine times out of 10 it’s the mindset of how you chose to look at things.”

“If you want to do something, please just go and do it.”

You can find Karin Socci at The Serene Home
You can find Kristyn Ivey at For the Love of Tidy

Special Guest: Sarah Williams.

As the KonMari philosophy has become more and more mainstream, blog posts, magazine articles and videos have come out viewing KonMari through a critical and challenging lens.

These perspectives are sometimes based on misunderstandings or misreadings of Konmari concepts and sometimes these misinterpretations occur as missteps while practicing KonMari.

In this episode, we will discuss our thoughts on these myths and provide some practical tips on how to avoid falling into these missteps.

Spark Joy wants to hear from you! Tell us your burning tidying questions or share stories about how KonMari has impacted your life. Find us at www.sparkjoypodcast.com and click “Ask Spark Joy” to leave a question or comment for a chance to be featured on next week’s show. While you’re there, sign-up to join our Spark Joy podcast community and get notified when each episode airs. You can also join the Spark Joy podcast community on Facebook, Instagram or Twitter @sparkjoypodcast.

In this episode, you'll enjoy:

Joy Checks!
What is Sparking Joy for Kristyn today: a very cute For the Love of Tidy branded onesie for her niece who is due any day now.

What is Sparking Joy for Karin today: restoring an antique wooden doll bed for her niece’s birthday

• Learn about some common KonMari myths:

1. Konmari equals minimalism/minimalism is KonMari

2. Konmari is a selfish activity, fundamentally concerned only with material possession

3. KonMari encourages to you to throw out everything you own to the point where you are either left with nothing or you need to immediately buy new things

• Learn about some common KonMari missteps:

1. Skipping the step where you envision your ideal lifestyle and living environment

2. Forgetting to honor and acknowledge items for their usefulness especially when you are letting them go

3. Not completing all the categories

4. Thinking about storage and organization before the sorting is completed

5. Being overly concerned with the clutter of other people

• See what Marie Kondo’s home really looks like:
  Correction: It has come to our attention that the original article and photograph listed here was a parody article written for April Fool's Day and NOT a house tour of Marie Kondo's apartment. Photographs of Marie Kondo's home have not been made publicly available. We apologize for any confusion this may have caused.

• Read about what some critics say about the KonMari Method:
  Why Decluttering Guru Marie Kondo is Wrong
  Why I Absolutely Refuse to KonMari My Life
  Does It Spark Joy is the Wrong Decluttering Question
  The Life Changing Magic of Not Giving a F*

• Review the importance of the vision statement in Spark Joy Episodes:
  Episode 1 KonMari 101
  Episode 5 The KonMari Lifestyle

• Our advice to a listener who asks how to address categories when you have items within a category in hard to get to places. Does not being able to completely sort by category mean you are not doing KonMari correctly?

Gems:

“There’s no right number of things a person should have.”

“You can keep ALL of the shoes!”

“Time is the most important commodity as opposed to things.”

“You’re saying goodbye in a respectful way and you’re putting a positive message out there.”

You can find Karin Socci at The Serene Home
You can find Kristyn Ivey at For the Love of Tidy

In this episode, Spark Joy co-hosts take a look at KonMari basics and share their experiences as KonMari Consultants.

The history of the KonMari Method along with basic concepts of KonMari organization are covered.

Marie Kondo developed this organization methodology based on her experience as a professional organizer in Japan. She found that tidying could be completed thoroughly and that relapse could be avoided by following a particular order and focusing on whether an item sparks joy.

Spark Joy wants to hear from you! Tell us your burning tidying questions or share stories about how KonMari has impacted your life. Find us at www.sparkjoypodcast.com, email us at contact@sparkjoypodcast.com to leave a question or comment for a chance to be featured on next week’s show. Join us on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter via @sparkjoypodcast.

In this episode, you’ll enjoy:

• Learning how Marie Kondo created the KonMari Method, as found in her first book, The Life-changing Magic of Tidying Up

• Interesting facts about Marie and the beginnings of the KonMari Method

• How Marie’s childhood factored into her role as a future organizer:
  Marie Kondo Remembers

• How the KonMari mission to “organize the world” has expanded into a worldwide the training program to certify KonMari Consultants

• Fundamental Concepts of KonMari:

  • Tidying by category instead of location
    • Clothing
    • Books
    • Paper
    • Komono (miscellaneous items)
    • Sentimental
  • Sparking Joy
  • Once and Forever Event
  • The Power of the Pile
  • The Folding Method

• How Konmari can impact other areas of your life such as your health, finances, and maybe even your love life!

Gems:
“You don’t have to get rid of everything that doesn’t make your heart swoon.”

“It’s important to pull everything from everywhere.”

“Transferring love respect and gratitude through the palms of your hands.”

You can find Karin Socci at The Serene Home
You can find Kristyn Ivey at For the Love of Tidy

Our guest, Holly Southerland is a professional organizer who has been traveling nationwide since 2008 helping families and entrepreneurs get unstuck and find peace in their homes. Her team, Waco Home Organizers, based in Waco Texas, helps individuals and businesses with decluttering and creating organizational systems that fit their personal style. She is passionate about helping people move forward by cutting out the clutter that stands in the way. In this episode, Holly discusses the life of a travelling organizer, what it’s like to pursue an entrepreneurial dream, and some of her best insights into organizing using practical and obtainable systems and methods. Holly also shares her thoughts on being an introverted entrepreneur, the differences in American homes state-to-state, and her thoughts on the connection between clutter and depression.

Holly is offering Spark Joy listeners a Two-Day Declutter Blitz an investment in yourself, your home, your peace, your productivity, and your sanity. https://goo.gl/sLkXNp

To connect with Holly Southerland, visit Waco Home Organizers (www.wacohomeorganizers.com) or email info@wacohomeorganizers.com. You can also follow her on Facebook or Instagram at @holly_southerland

Spark Joy wants to hear from you! Tell us your burning tidying questions or share stories about how KonMari has impacted your life. Find us at www.sparkjoypodcast.com, email us at contact@sparkjoypodcast.com to leave a question or comment for a chance to be featured on next week’s show. Join us on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter via @sparkjoypodcast.

In this episode, you’ll enjoy:

• How personality type can influence your comfort level in communicated both at work and socially. You can take your own
  Myers Briggs Personality Test

• Holly's experience working with a variety of homes and the challenges of order regardless of the size

• How clutter and depression are related as she discusses in her blog post

• The great method of managing all the accumulated paper in your home that she teaches in the Sunday Basket Workshop

• How having a mentor and coach made such a huge difference in planning for her new business. Holly's coach: Lisa Woodruff, Organize 365

• Helpful hints for dealing with spam mail by visiting DMAchoice.org

• The adventures of travelling around the country, organizing homes for all sorts of families

• The benefits of organizing in a concentrated blitz

Holly’s favorite tidying tip: “Do it right now!”

What sparks joy for Holly: Her baby nephew

Gems:

• "My test for buying a new piece of clothing is: Do I want to wear this everyday?”

• “Space is a vacuum. You don’t get organized by getting a bigger space.”

• “It’s easy to get overwhelmed by big plans and big ideas, but take action on something small that’s right in front of you.”

You can find Karin Socci at The Serene Home
You can find Kristyn Ivey at For the Love of Tidy

Special Guest: Holly Southerland.

In this episode, Spark Joy explores how you can clarify your vision of the kind of life you want to lead and why it’s important step, but often overlooked, in the KonMari journey.

We discuss the why and how of identifying the vision of your ideal life and how it can help you complete the KonMari process to greater success. Your life vision will help you clarify why you want to tidy and how your life will look once the tidying is completed.

Spark Joy wants to hear from you! Tell us your burning tidying questions or share stories about how KonMari has impacted your life. Find us at www.sparkjoypodcast.com, email us at contact@sparkjoypodcast.com to leave a question or comment for a chance to be featured on next week’s show. Join us on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter via @sparkjoypodcast.

In this episode, you’ll enjoy:

• Tips for how to begin identifying your vision, making it specific, focused and intentional

• Learning how to break down identifying your ideal life into manageable parts:

  • What is your ideal day?
  • Your ideal moment that would spark joy? Picture yourself doing something delightful.
  • Begin with gratitude and appreciation - what is currently working for you in your space and in your life?
  • Imagine how you would be living your life today if money, time and obligations were not a constraint?
  • Take a holistic look at how you’re doing in each area of your life: Career, Relationships, Hobbies, Spirituality, Health, Finances, Community.
  • Check out the The KonMari Wheel of Impact
  • List the first five life goals (long- or short- term) that immediately come to mind as they relate to those categories.
  • Close your eyes and imagine you’ve reached the end of your tidying journey. Describe in detail how you envision your home to look and how you feel

• We share our own visions and visions of some of our clients from all stages of life: single people, families, couples, downsizers and empty nesters

• How to create your own Vision statement!

  • Get it out of your head and onto another media: diary, Pinterest board, website, blog, Facebook post, anything.
  • Establish a new tradition of creating a vision board and display it proudly in your home

Example of Vision Boards and Statements:
A Goal Setting Strategy That Sticks

Gems:
“The question of what you want to own is actually the question of how you want to live your life”

“I just want things to be different instead of thinking about what that different looks like.”

You can find Karin Socci at The Serene Home
You can find Kristyn Ivey at For the Love of Tidy

Our guest this week is inner voice coach, Kelly Covert. She is the host of the popular podcast, "In Her Voice", which explores ways in which women can begin to love themselves fully every single day.

Kelly Covert has a passion for helping women lay down their lifelong habits of perfectionism and chronic overachieving, so they can listen to their inner voices and break free of the past.
Through her coaching, online programs, writing and speaking, she is creating a movement of women that are practicing “worthy now” instead of “worthy if or when”.

Her work has been featured on The Huffington Post, The Elephant Journal, YourTango.com, and she has been a featured guest on many podcasts.

In this episode, we talk with Kelly and learn about how coaching has allowed her to exercise her dream of helping women while teaching her so much about herself. She shares how her inner voice work has allowed her to grow as a woman, a partner, a mom and a musician!

To connect with Kelly, you can visit www.kellycovert.com or connect with her on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter @kellycovert

You can also learn more about Symphoria here! Symphoria

Spark Joy wants to hear from you! Tell us your burning tidying questions or share stories about how KonMari has impacted your life. Find us at www.sparkjoypodcast.com, email us at contact@sparkjoypodcast.com to leave a question or comment for a chance to be featured on next week’s show. Join us on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter via @sparkjoypodcast

In this episode, you’ll enjoy:

-How Kelly found her voice and decided to help others via individual coaching Inner Voice Coaching and group coaching Inner Voice Group Coaching

-Learn about the Worthy Collective on Facebook:The Worthy Collective

-What to look for in a personal coach to meet your own goals.

-Kelly’s evolution as a podcaster and her new podcasting project, In Her Voice. In Her Voice

-How Kelly has practiced KonMari and how tidying has made a difference in Kelly’s home and family

-Kelly’s tips for balancing life as a mother, as a professional and as a creative person

What sparks joy for Kelly: Coffee! The ability to take a long, hot bath in the morning and working on my new podcast!

Kelly's parting words of wisdom:
“You are worthy right this minute. You do not have to do one thing to earn that. You were put on this earth with beautiful gifts that you need to share. And the only way that you can share is to believe that they are there and that you are good enough. So, get shining because we are waiting for your light to shine brightly!”

Gems:

“Create a space to access accountability.”

“We don’t have to do anything to be worthy. It’s just there.” 

“It comes from the action. That is how we embody that joy.”

“It’s about knowing who you really are and being 100% ok with that.”

You can find Karin Socci at The Serene Home
You can find Kristyn Ivey at For the Love of Tidy

Special Guest: Kelly Covert.

Our guest, Jenny Ning, was Marie Kondo's first employee in the US, and helped to grow the KonMari brand from mid-2015 to the end of 2016. In this episode, Jenny recalls her instant attraction to the KonMari Method and how confronting her clutter at home combined with some passionate persistence helped her attract a position on KonMari team. Since moving on from working for Marie Kondo in 2016, Jenny is now a practicing home organizer in San Francisco, and continues to introduce people to the life-changing magic of the KonMari Method. Driven by a desire to improve the status quo, Jenny also founded the startup Tummymom that helps connect all parties within the surrogacy community, making the ideal matching process easier.

To connect with Jenny Ning, you can visit her at www.jennyning.com or follow her on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter (@jennyorganizes).

Spark Joy wants to hear from you! Tell us your burning tidying questions or share stories about how KonMari has impacted your life. Find us at www.sparkjoypodcast.com, email us at contact@sparkjoypodcast.com to leave a question or comment for a chance to be featured on next week’s show. Join us on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter via @sparkjoypodcast

In this episode, you’ll enjoy:

• Why Jenny calls The Life-changing Magic of Tidying Up her bible

• How the KonMari Method shifted Jenny's attention to what she wanted to do with her life, rather than what she should do with her life

• What led Jenny to question if her job sparked joy and how the answer to that question inspired her to quit 5 months later

• How being a super fan and strategically inserting herself before the KonMari team helped Jenny land her dream job

• What steadily grew the KonMari fan base and the passion behind the followers

• How the KonMari team is inspired to make business decisions based on what "sparks joy"

• How planning the first US based KonMari consultant seminars inspired Jenny to commit to formal training

• Why cluttered living is a challenge in the Bay area, considering notoriously high rent and tight living spaces

Jenny's favorite tidying tip: 1) "Sometime means never." - Marie Kondo. Accept who you are right now. 2) The 20/20 rule: if you can replace something in 20 minutes for $20 or less, then you can give yourself permission to let it go

What sparks joy for Jenny: Her startup, Tummymom (www.tummymom.com).

Gems:

• "KonMari helped me step back and reevaluate my life."

• "With that question, does it spark joy?, you can't really avoid the answer."

• "Jenny Ning: Marie Kondo, I'll quit my job to work for you."

• "The KonMari team uses the KonMari Method to make business decisions."

• "Examining your relationship to things provides a lot of clarity about life."

• "Stop and pay attention to whether the things in your life align with your vision of what you want your life to be."

• "Even an average amount of possessions can make a tiny space feel cluttered and chaotic."

• "Are you willing to let things go in order to feel better?"

• "Sometime means never."

• "20/20 rule: if you can replace something in 20 mins for $20 or less, then give yourself permission to let it go."

• "Life truly begins only after you have put your house in order."

You can find Karin Socci at The Serene Home
You can find Kristyn Ivey at For the Love of Tidy

Special Guest: Jenny Ning.

In this episode, Spark Joy co-hosts take a look at KonMari basics and share their experiences as KonMari Consultants. The history of the KonMari Method along with basic concepts of KonMari organization are covered. Marie Kondo developed this organization methodology based on her experience as a professional organizer in Japan. She found that tidying could be completed thoroughly and that relapse could be avoided by following a particular order and focusing on whether an item sparks joy.

Spark Joy wants to hear from you! Tell us your burning tidying questions or share stories about how KonMari has impacted your life. Find us at www.sparkjoypodcast.com, email us at contact@sparkjoypodcast.com to leave a question or comment for a chance to be featured on next week’s show. Join us on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter via @sparkjoypodcast.

In this episode, you’ll enjoy:

• Learning how Marie Kondo created the KonMari Method, as found in her first book, The Life-changing Magic of Tidying Up

• Interesting facts about Marie and the beginnings of the KonMari Method

• How Marie’s childhood factored into her role as a future organizer:
  Marie Kondo Remembers

• How the KonMari mission to “organize the world” has expanded into a worldwide the training program to certify KonMari Consultants

• Fundamental Concepts of KonMari:

  • Tidying by category instead of location
    • Clothing
    • Books
    • Paper
    • Komono (miscellaneous items)
    • Sentimental
  • Sparking Joy
  • Once and Forever Event
  • The Power of the Pile
  • The Folding Method

• How Konmari can impact other areas of your life such as your health, finances, and maybe even your love life!

Gems:
“You don’t have to get rid of everything that doesn’t make your heart swoon.”

“It’s important to pull everything from everywhere.”

“Transferring love respect and gratitude through the palms of your hands.”

You can find Karin Socci at The Serene Home
You can find Kristyn Ivey at For the Love of Tidy

In this inaugural episode, co-hosts and certified KonMari consultants Kristyn Ivey of For the Love of Tidy (www.fortheloveoftidy.com) and Karin Socci of The Serene Home (www.theserenehome.com) introduce themselves and the Spark Joy podcast to the world! Kristyn is based in Chicago, Illinois and Karin serves New York City.

Spark Joy wants to hear from you! Tell us your burning tidying questions or share stories about how KonMari has impacted your life. Find us at www.sparkjoypodcast.com, email us at contact@sparkjoypodcast.com to leave a question or comment for a chance to be featured on next week’s show. Join us on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter via @sparkjoypodcast.

In this episode, you’ll enjoy:

• How Karin developed a passion for creating peaceful and beautiful environments, inspired by generations of organizational enthusiasts in her family
• How KonMari helped Kristyn uncover her true passion in life, start a tidying business, and move from Virginia to Chicago
• How Karin and Kristyn met and the moment they realized there weren’t any podcasts that were solely dedicated and centered around the KonMari lifestyle
• What the KonMari Method is all about and the book, The Life-changing Magic of Tidying Up, that sparked the KonMari movement
• How the KonMari Method is fully integrated and referenced in pop-culture
• Fun facts about Marie Kondo and what it was like to meet the Queen of Tidy
• What the Spark Joy podcast is all about, including featured guests, consultants, clients thought leaders and game changers who put KonMari principles and lifestyle into action

Gems:

• “The podcast celebrating the KonMari Method and the transformative power of surrounding yourself with joy; and letting go of the all the rest.”

• "Tell us your burning tidying questions or share stories about how KonMari has impacted your life."

You can find Karin Socci at The Serene Home
You can find Kristyn Ivey at For the Love of Tidy