Salina Yoon is a Geisel Honor-winning author/illustrator of over a dozen picture books and nearly 200 innovative novelty and board books for young children, with over 4.5 million books sold worldwide. Today she will share insights about her latest release, Kiki and Jax, the life-changing magic of friendship, which is a picture book she co-authored and illustrated with bestselling author and queen of tidy, Marie Kondo.

We want 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 at the handle @sparkjoypodcast.

Join The Spark Joy Club today!

In this episode, you’ll enjoy:

• Salina's passion for art, which led her to creating books for young children and storytelling
• Why Salina's first book, Penguin and Pinecone, published in 2012, was so special and sparked her collaboration with Marie Kondo
• Saliina's favorite topics to explore
• How Salina navigates the challenge of translating big ideas like friendships and tidying up
• The reason behind choosing as owl and a squirrel as the main characters in Kiki & Jax
• Favorite easter eggs to look out for while you are exploring the illustration
• The challenge of illustrating clutter
• How Salina's childhood influenced some of the tidying activities represented in the book
• What it's like to collaborate and work with Marie Kondo
• How KonMari tidying has impacted the Yoon household

Salina's favorite tidying tip: Finding more gratitude for each item by having less.

What sparks joy for Salina: Her family and creating books that spark joy for other families.

To connect with Salina, visit salinayoon.com or follow her Twitter or Instagram.

Exclusively for Spark Joy listeners, Salina is giving away a copy of Kiki and Jax that is signed by herself and Marie Kondo! This special copy also includes a how to fold the KonMari way origami guide! To win this special edition, email contact@sparkjoypodcast.com by January 28, 2020 with Kiki & Jax Giveaway in the subject line. The first listener to email us receives this special gift that sparks so much joy!

Gems:

• "I think relationships are so important for the development of children's emotional being and social being."
• "I think friendships are vital for simply growing up."
• "Books can help build a child's self confidence, their self esteem, their social confidence."
• "Nothing sparks more joy than friendship."
• "Tidiness comes from the parents first."
• "This book has both her heart and mine combined."
• "Find the joy in each other more than from things alone."

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

Special Guest: Salina Yoon.

This week KonMari Quick Tips episode is dedicated to tidying with kids! KonMari’ing with kids presents its own special opportunities and challenges, but it can be done and can even be fun!

So now, we want to hear from you. Tell us your burning tidying questions or share stories about how KonMari has impacted your life.

Head over to Apple podcasts to subscribe and review the show, which helps us reach others along their tidying journeys.

To extend your tidying experience, you can join the Spark Joy Club!

Visit sparkjoypodcast.com and click “Join the Club” to become a member of the Spark Joy Community or join us on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter.

Thanks for tuning in and we hope your day, sparks joy.

In this episode, you’ll enjoy:

-The question from listener Heather that sparked our Quick Tips episode.
-How to determine whether to tidy your kids clothing after your own.
-Be mindful that all your child’s things may feel sentimental to them. Respect this, but guide your child in making choices.
-The importance of age and ability in guiding your child’s tidying experience.

KonMari Quick Tips:
-Tip: Utilize your kid’s natural love of their toys in teaching gratitude for the things they keep and the things they let go.
-Tip: Use a Thank You box as a means to create a physical boundary around the sorting process.
-Tip: Your kids will have different lengths of time they are able to focus. Keep sessions short.
-Tip: For artwork, consider using services such as Artkive to consolidate and preserve the most special things. Artkive
-Tip: Work with your kids to get rid of old broken crayons and paints in favor of things that encourage creativity.
-Tip: When organizing, encourage your child to consider that space is a precious commodity and consider which item is in it own space.

We are pleased to introduce the new Joy Sparker members of the Spark Joy Club.

Welcome!
Elisabeth Swim
Jonathan Perry
Janice Mellon
Melissa Woody
Robin Porter
Marte Rieser
Marla J. Williams
Rosanna Sutherby
Chelsea Lewis

Visit sparkjoypodcast.com and click “Join the Club” to become a member of the Spark Joy Community

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

Today's guest, Beth Walker, is a single mother of three boys and a recent "empty nester." She currently works full time as a Technology Consultant, a career she began out of college, took a break from to raise her boys, and has since gone back to. Beth believes in hobbies and passions outside of her job, the most recent being a keyboard player and vocalist in local rock bands playing throughout the suburban area. In addition to music, she has a passion for all things domestic - knitting, crocheting, cooking and baking...and now tidying!

In addition to being a Renaissance woman Beth is one of Kristyn's clients! They've tidied for over 60 hours and are almost to the finish line. We take a deep dive into Beth's journey as she shares the benefits of living clutter free.

In this episode, you’ll enjoy:

• How Beth's life coach's suggestion to read The Life-changing Magic of Tidying Up led her to seek out to find the support of a KonMari Consultant (Kristyn)

• Beth's vision of her ideal lifestyle and living environment that grounded her process

• How tidying has significantly impacted Beth's life in the following areas:

  • Health
  • Career
  • Finances
  • Relationships
  • Community
    

• How Beth experienced significant shifts in her ability and confidence to maintain her tidy space

• How Beth found the accountability and customized support Kristyn provided to be mission critical to her success

• The temporary sacrifices Beth made to ensure tidying remained a priority and to keep her momentum going

• Spark Joy Ep 49 | Why Hire a KonMari Consultant

Gems:

"I've been a hopeless organizer and I could never find that one way to keep it up."

"It's so easy to think about what you don't want."

"I thought I was shooting for the moon to be honest but, I can tell you I absolutely live that life right now."

"This isn't just organizing, it's coaching. It's sitting down...goals, values, how do you want to live your life, let's do it."

"Overall, with KonMari, it's allowed me to focus on other goals in my life."

"This is the way my house is and this is the way it's going to be and this is who I am now."

"It definitely spreads from your physical world to your energetic and spiritual world in ways that you almost can't explain."

"It's shown me so me parts of myself I didn't know were there. Or, I wanted to be there."

"It was so much work, but so much fun."

"...You don't realize you are changing as you're doing it. You don't have to change in order to do it."

"I'm not doing [KonMari] because I'm supposed to or I want to. I do it because there is this part inside of me that doesn't want to do it any differently."

"You think you're hiring someone to hold to you accountable to a process in a book. what you're really doing is hiring a coach that helps you change your life."

What sparks joy for Beth: Having the time freedom to focus on goals and other aspects of their life beyond tidying.

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

Special Guest: Beth Walker.

Our guest this week is Stephanie Seferian of Mama Minimalist.

Stephanie lives just outside of Boston with her husband and two daughters.
She podcasts and blogs weekly about how the themes of minimalism, sustainability, decluttering, low-waste living and parenting intersect.

Her podcast, The Sustainable Minimalist, features eco-friendly tips and incremental strategies for cutting through clutter as a means to more fully enjoy life's sweetest moments.

Now, we want 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 at the handle @sparkjoypodcast.

In this episode, you’ll enjoy:

-How Stephanie decided to pursue a minimalist lifestyle after becoming a busy mom.

-Her Three Dimensions of Minimalism: Aesthetic, Experiential, Sustainable.

-How going down the minimalist path gave her more time to be present for her children.

-How our tendency to buy, declutter, and buy again impacts the environment.

-The challenges of having young children and maintaining a minimalist household.

-How to manage the influx of gifts that come into the home.

-Recycling old cellphones at Best Buy:
Best Buy Recycling Program

-Learn about Cellphones for Soldiers:
Cell Phones for Soldiers

-The struggle of letting go of a beloved wedding dress!
Brides Against Breast Cancer

Gems:
“We are destined to being constant consumers of technology.”

“We had the normal parent thoughts of 'When we have a yard, things will be better. When we have a place for our daughter’s stuff, we will be more relaxed.'"

“There’s no one path to minimalism.”

“It’s about getting out and getting living.”

“We emphasize experiences over stuff in our home.”

What sparks joy for Stephanie:
“The simple and often overlooked moments with my daughters and husband.”

Parting words of wisdom:
“Just take one small step toward simplification. And if it feels right, take another.”

To connect with Stephanie, you can find her at MamaMinimalist.com
@mamaminimalist on Instagram and Twitter

The Sustainable Minimalist on Facebook:

Listen to her podcast:
Sustainable Minimalist Podcast

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

Special Guest: Stephanie Seferian.

Our guest today is Meg Brunson.

Meg is a multi-passionate mama living in Phoenix, AZ with her husband and 4 young daughters. She is a serial entrepreneur and a former Facebook employee, striving to provide a better life for her family through entrepreneurship.

She is the founder of EIEIO Marketing, the host of the FamilyPreneur Podcast, and recently helped her 10 year old launch her first business.

In this episode, you'll enjoy:

-You'll learn how Meg started her business and her motivation for becoming an entrepreneur.

-Meg's tips for teaching your children critical thinking skills.

-How she and her daughter drilled down to find the perfect value statement that created Story Time with Kiki: Story Time with Kiki

-The importance of the calendar in managing a busy household with kids.

-How Meg and her husband support their girl's passion for learning.

-Meg's strong passion for helping kids set and achieve their goals.

-Using setbacks and challenges as a way to help kids be resourceful and resilient.

-Meg's favorite resources for building a great business:
A CRM platform: Dubsado
A scheduling platform: Acuity Scheduling

-And, hey, we all need a good resource for relaxing!
Winc

To connect with Meg, you can visit her at her website: www.megbrunson.com
Or her marketing website: www.eieiomarketing.com

She's on Twitter: @themegbrunson, Instagram: themegbrunson and Pinterest: themegbrunson

Her facebook is:
Meg Brunson on Facebook

She's the editor at: Phoenix Kids Out and About

And Kiki's website is: Story Time with Kiki

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 Meg:
Her kids "those happy moments, their smiles and giggles" The freedom of working from home and being able to spend spontaneous moments with the kids while pursuing her entrepreneurial dreams.

Gems:
"We should be paving additional paths for our children."

"Drill down to the thing you know the best and find the value proposition within that knowledge."

"Turn their questions back on your kids. Get them to explore the question themselves."

"If you are passionate about it, I really believe you can make it happen."

"I'm going to have those good resources. I'm just going to have to build them out myself!"

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

Special Guest: Meg Brunson.