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:

-What's Sparking Joy for Karin: The benefits of living a simpler life, gratitude for good health and an appreciation of modern medicine. Keep going, Scientists!

-What's Sparking Joy for Kristyn: The joy of living a W-2 free life, the excitement of pursuing her passion and the good health that has come along with it all.

-Best of 2018 Highlights. Hear clips from our favorite, and most impactful shows, of 2018:

• Ep 39: Closet Joy Part II: Build Your Capsule Wardrobe with Courtney Carver

• Ep 47: Nailing DIY with The Nestrs

• Ep 48: Living Life in the Front Seat with Jessica Butts

• Ep 59: Help for the Chronically Disorganized with Kristi Meyer

-A look forward: We'll be releasing encore episodes each Tuesday in December for you to enjoy during the holidays.

-Spark Joy Podcast Contest Winners!
Spark Joy has been running a contest for a signed copy of Marie Kondo’s “Spark Joy: An Illustrated Master Class on the Art of Organizing and Tidying Up”

• Tammy [T_Steinbeck]
• Dustin [Dustin Sherrill]
• Elisabeth [Elisabeth Swim]
• Monica [moniru123]
• Lynn [Hopefilled]

CONGRATULATIONS to all our winners!
If you are one of our lucky winners, you'll be receiving an email soon and your book will be on the way.

-The Spark Joy Podcast Membership Community!
We are launching an exclusive community for Spark Joy Podcast listeners! This will be a way for you to support the podcast as well as gain access to some amazing premium features. We are working out all the details but there will be tiers of support that will allow you to become a more involved part of our community, unlock exclusive content and even access personal coaching. Stay tuned to learn more!

Gems

“We love helping KonMari work for you!”

“It helped me get clear on the differences between minimalism and KonMari.”

“Why do you want to get organized? When I have clients who don’t continue the process it’s sometimes because their “Why” wasn’t big enough.”

“Singular focus around your business and having a point of view. I need to get through one thing at a time.”

“I applied this idea of zeroing-in on just 3 goals in 90 days.”

“Pick out the books that you consider your friends. Now, I’d like for you to pick out the strangers.”

“What a great supplement this podcast is to the KonMari books. I spent time over the summer going through the KonMari process and was feeling great, but, not I feel like I need to revisit some things.”

“I love listening to this show while I am going through my KonMari process…keep calm and KonMari on!”

“Having heard almost every episode of Spark Joy podcast, my life is completely different. I have a better sense of what I need in my life and what is no longer supporting my values and vision for the future.”

“If KonMari were a religion, Spark Joy Podcast would be my morning prayer (wake up and be awesome). Every episode is pure gold, the inspiration I need not only to keep my tidying festival going, but to know I can do something towards my vision: Be Better Every Day."

“If Spark Joy can do what they did and are still doing, I can do MY thing.”

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

For Sarah, it all started on the road as a world-traveling performer in hit Broadway musicals, where the only constant was her thoughtfully compartmentalized suitcase.

In 2014, Sarah teamed-up with handy hubby, Nick, to create beautiful spaces full-time at Nestrs a professional organizing, design, and handyman company.

Sarah and her husband are Airbnb Superhosts and their work has been featured on the HGTV television series, Beach Flip.

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:

• Why enthusiasm is so important for a small business owner working with clients.

• How Sarah went from theatre to professional organizing.

• Learn about the intersection between the work of organizing and work in doing renovations

• When you should do DIY, Do It Yourself, and when it’s between to leave it to the professionals.

• Learn about a great DIY project that will make a huge impact.

• What it was like to do a very cool beach project on BeachFlip, the HGTV show. Here is their episode: Sarah and Nick on BeachFlip

To connect with Sarah, visit Nestrs.com
Follow her on instagram at: @nestrs
and Facebook at: The Nestrs

Sarah's favorite tidying tip: “Think up! There’s a lot of under utilized space up high that you can make use of and maximize your space.”

What sparks joy for Sarah: Sarah and her husband have a new renovation project in Ohio that she is looking forward to diving into!

Final words of wisdom: “Being organized is so important. It saves us time, it saves us money, it keeps our stress and anxiety levels under control. And, it can be fun and creative.”

Gems:

“Is the time spent doing a project enjoyable for you?”

“We were there sometimes until midnight demo’ing a space. And there would be times when I just wanted to cry.”

"When you work together, it's important to have a way to deal with the stress and tension that will inevitably come up."

“We both love transforming spaces and helping people achieve what they want in their homes.”

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

Special Guest: Sarah Karakaian.

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, Jaye Schlesinger, is an award winning artist from Ann Arbor, Michigan, who specializes in oil paintings of common objects and abstracts. Her recent solo exhibit “Possessed” caught our attention. It includes 380 individual paintings of all of her possessions inspired by minimalism and simplified living. It sparks joy for Jaye to explore the metaphorical possibilities of painting the mundane.

Jaye gave us a peek into the lifestyle change that inspired her creative process and story.

To connect with Jaye, visit www.jayeschlesinger.com. While you’re there, peruse her portfolio and contact her to purchase high quality reproductions of her artwork in a variety of sizes.

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:

• How the movie Tiny, The Minimalists Podcast, the documentary Minimalism, and experiencing a flood in her home inspired Jaye to start letting go of her personal possessions

• What Jaye's parameters for joy are, which include usefulness and beauty

• How being led to paint the items that sparked joy kept Jaye accountable during the decluttering process

• How Jaye divided her possessions from her husband's, followed by discussions about the "ours" items

• How Jaye enjoyed the structure this project provided within her studio time. Each painting took 2-3 days to complete and the project extended over two years

• How painting things gave Jaye a chance to meditate and connect to the true meaning behind some of the objects, especially the ones that were deemed sentimental

• Why Jaye continues to return to the still life painting

• How seemingly ordinary objects connect us

• How Jaye's husband reacted to her ruthless minimization

• What Jaye did to help her minimize regret

What sparks joy for Jaye: Jaye's two grandchildren and three custom end tables she's building for her new home

Gems:

• "These things of everyday life connect us. But, they are so overlooked. We take them for granted."

• "Less is more."

• "When you decide to keep a few things, they become stronger in some way."

• "It was always more about being deliberate than being minimal per se."

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

Special Guest: Jaye Schlesinger.

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.

During the show, we play some of our favorite clips and talk about the impact they have made on us and how they influenced our work as KonMari consultants.

Creating a podcast that focused on the KonMari Method has been our shared vision since the very end of 2016. We spent the first half of 2017 researching, preparing and putting all the pieces together and finally launched on August 31st.

We are so grateful to all of our guests for their talents, wonderful stories and the amazing tips and tools they shared with us.

Our listeners have been amazing. We have learned so much via your questions, comments and feedback. Thank you for being a part of Spark 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 and 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.

Before we get to our highlights, we ask, “What have sparked the most joy this year?”

We would love to hear what sparked the most joy for you!
Email us at contact@sparkjoypodcast.com and share your most joyful moments of 2017.

In this episode, you’ll enjoy:

We share big news: Spark Joy Podcast has been downloaded over 40,000 times!

Two listeners sent us great questions:
Sara asked about how to apply KonMari principles to the ongoing struggle of paper management in a busy family.
Ep 9 | Tidying by Location is a Fatal Mistake
Spark Joy Episode 9

Kimberly’s question was about how to determine what sparks joy when it comes to seasonal items, in this case, Halloween costumes.
Ep 13 | Does It Spark Joy?
Spark Joy Episode 13

And now, on to our favorite clips!

Ep 2 | Meet Marie Kondo’s First Employee Jenny Ning
Jenny Ning, Marie Kondo’s first employee in the US, shares what it’s like to work for the Queen of Tidy and her journey from KonMari super fan to Bay area home organizer.
To connect with Jenny Ning, you can visit her at www.jennyning.com or follow her on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter (@jennyorganizes).
Spark Joy Episode 2

Ep 3 | Face Your Stuff with Dorothy The Organizer
Dorothy Breininger, author and veteran professional organizer as seen on A&E’s hit show “Hoarders” sorts out the mind-body-home clutter connection and related addictions.
To connect with Dorothy Breininger, you can visit her website, www.dorothytheorganizer.com for free tips, videos, newsletters, organizing resources for your life, home, office, and relationships. Be sure to check out her book “Stuff Your Face or Face Your Stuff” via her website or Amazon. Also, check her out on the hit show “Hoarders” on A&E.
Spark Joy Episode 3

Ep 6 | Declutter Your Path to Wealth with Tess Wicks
Tess Wicks, personal finance coach and educator, breaks down the journey to financial independence into key actions and makes the connection between our priorities, the things we acquire, and our life vision.
To connect with Tess Wicks visit www.wanderwealthy.com and join the Wander Wealthy community on Facebook and YouTube. Also, check out Tess’ podcast Words and Money.
Spark Joy Episode 6

Ep 7 | Design and the Future of Minimalism with Lloyd Alter
Lloyd Alter, architect and design editor of Tree Hugger magazine, helps us understand our changing relationship with our possessions and how the upcoming generation will view design and functionality.
To connect with Lloyd, you can visit Treehugger, https://www.treehugger.com, Mother Nature Network, https://www.mnn.com, or follow him Twitter @lloydalter and Lloyd Alter on Facebook.
Spark Joy Episode 7

The Gentle Art of Swedish Death Cleaning: How to Free Yourself and Your Family from a Lifetime of Clutter by Margareta Magnusson
The Gentle Art of Swedish Death Cleaning

Ep 8 | Make Bold Moves with The Traveling Organizer Holly Southerland
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.
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 Episode 8

Ep 11 | [Tidy] Like a Mind Reader with Jonathan Pritchard
Jonathan Pritchard, professional mind reader and author, opens his psychological toolkit to help us apply the predictive art of mind reading to reach personal goals across all areas of our life.
To connect with or hire Jonathan, you can visit www.likeamindreader.com. His book Think Like a Mind Reader is available on Amazon (http://amzn.to/2yb9WwC).
Spark Joy Episode 11

Gems

• “We are proud to announce since we launched Spark Joy on August 31st of this year we’ve received over 40,000 downloads!”

• “It starts as just a means to get the house in order, but I don’t think most of us really expect the snowball effect!”

• “The clutter never lies and the truth is often in the clutter.”

• “I remembered resistance I receive from clients around trying something a new way because obviously my way isn’t working.”

• “This idea that we honor the item by showing appreciation for what it meant to us, and making sure the item goes on to it’s next useful life.”

• “I believe that organizing is really just lots and lots of small steps and lots and lots of small decisions.”

• “It’s ok if every rule in the book is not a perfect fit for your life! If you even apply 50% of the method you’ll notice an improvement in your lifestyle, so it’s not an all or nothing deal.”

• “We’ve got an amazing line-up for 2018, more guests who exude joy and embody the KonMari lifestyle that we’ll share them with you each-and-every Tuesday.”

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

A Certified Simplicity Parenting Coach and KonMari enthusiast with over a decade of experience, Christine coaches women to create home environments that support harmony and connection.

Christine coaches from the heart, using joy as a guide and her clients find so much peace in having less, doing less, and editing their lives and their homes with intention.

In this episode, Christine will share her unique approach in helping moms find their own path in creating an intention-filled life. Christine transformed her space with the support of her husband and their young, spirited daughter.

You can follow Christine on her website, Creating Calm Coach, on Facebook at Christine O'Brien Coach or on Instagram @creatingcalmcoach. Download her Free Creating Calm Checklist.

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:

• Christine’s private Facebook group community, KonMari Method: Life-changing Magic for anyone working through the KonMari tidying process

• Christine’s virtual consulting program, From Chaos to Calm, which consists of group and individual support for making joyful transitions

• How Christine combines two powerful schools of thought to inform the way she supports moms to relax into full presence with their children: Simplicity Parenting and the KonMari Method

• Simplicity Parenting by Kim John Payne

• Re-occurring KonMari related pain points that may sound familiar:
  1) feeling too overwhelmed to start, 2) getting stuck at some point in the middle of the process, and 3) uncertainty regarding doing KonMari with a family

• How to guide a family through the process and how to find the joy click-point when you have growing kids

• How speaking to your items can “soften” and facilitate letting them go

• How focusing on the positive and the joy can apply to your vision for fitness and diet

• Learning about Brene Brown , who says that gratitude creates Joy

Christine’s favorite tidying tip:
“Tune in to your intuition and trust your joy checks.”

What sparks joy for Christine:
Her family and the transformation she has witnessed as a result of this process. She’s joyful about sharing this way of living!

Gems:

“The toys she’s interested in change all the time.”

“As you get more in tune with what brings you joy, more space develops for experiencing joy.”

“Put your oxygen mask on first and make sure you complete your tidying first before you move on to your children.”

“Different personalities come out for display when you do KonMari with a family.”

“What? Talk to my clothes? Say thank you and goodbye?!”

“The process is about connection and not perfection.”

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

Special Guest: Christine O'Brien.

In this episode, we discuss what "spark joy" truly means and how to apply it to your tidying event. We share practical tips on how to build your own personal awareness of joy and how to apply this concept to your decision-making. The term will start to become part of your vocabulary and you’ll see joy everywhere.

But first, we begin by sharing what's sparking joy for us today. We also answer a great question from a Spark Joy listener about how to determine what sparks joy when it comes to seasonal items, in this case, Halloween costumes.

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, or on Twitter at @sparkjoypodcast.

In this episode, you’ll enjoy:

• Learning the Japanese language origins of the phrase, "spark joy." The Japanese translation is Tokimeku ときめく, which means "to flutter with a little thrill" in the same way that we describe how our hearts can flutter with joyful emotion when something makes us happy or excited

• How Marie Kondo demonstrates what sparking joy looks like while interacting with possessions. See videos below:
  -- Marie Kondo: Organize the World: Design Your Life to Spark Joy - SXSW 2017
  -- Marie Kondo explains Spark Joy

• How to avoid getting caught up in how many things you're keeping or discarding instead of focusing on the joy

• Being reminded of the importance of vision, as discussed in Episode 5, to keep your thoughts future-focused and in tune with the quality of life you envision for yourself

• How to set a high joy bar by developing a criteria for what stays and what goes

• How considering the passage of time and your evolution as a person can help you understand whether something is part of your future or just hanging out from the past

• Marie Kondo states, “When we really delve into the reasons for why we can't let something go, there are only two: an attachment to the past or a fear for the future.”
  The Life Changing Magic of Tidying Up

• "If it makes you happy, then the right choice is to keep it confidently, regardless of what anyone else says."
  Spark Joy: An Illustrated Master Class on the Art of Organizing and Tidying Up

Gems:

• “The practice is to pay attention to how your body reacts when you’re holding your possessions.”

• “You want to be able to live in harmony with your things.”

• “Does this item spark joy AND fit into of my vision for the quality of life I’ve envisioned for myself in the future?”

• “This is an area I really do want to invest in instead of buying the cheapest things to just make do.”

• ”Keep your joy bar high!”

• “Objects like having a job to do.”

• "If it makes you happy, then the right choice is to keep it confidently, regardless of what anyone else says."

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

Our guest today is Lanecia Rouse Tinsley. She is an abstract expressionistic artist whose work includes photography, painting, teaching, writing, and speaking. She is the owner and creator of LARArt Studio and works out of Studio D at Hardy & Nance Streets Studios.

In addition to her own work as an artist, Lanecia partners with the Holy Family Church in Houston, TX, serving as their Artist-In-Residence, as a Spiritual Director and Consultant for the Arts for Project Curate.

Lanecia has been exploring the Japanese philosophy of Wabi Sabi and the related art forms within her own work and the work of her workshop participants. Lanecia hosts workshops exploring the related art form of Kintsugi and has written about that experience on her blog. Wabi Sabi is an ancient Japanese philosophy that honors the imperfect, the humble, the hand-made and the impermanent. It seeks to embrace the beauty found in the changing of seasons, things, nature and in our own lives.

To connect with Lanecia, you can visit www.larartphotography.com and follow her on Instagram, and Twitter @larartstudio. You can also purchase her work online by visiting www.society6.com/larart

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. You can also join the discussion on Facebook, Instagram or Twitter at @sparkjoypodcast.

In this episode, you’ll enjoy:

• Learning about the Holy Family Church HTX in Houston, TX

• Hearing how Lanecia asked for love to show up while she grieved a painful loss

• How the LAR Art Studio was envisioned and grew over the years

• How Lanecia discovered the art of Kintsugi:
  Essential Information on Kintsugi

• How Lanecia teaches the Wabi-Sabi expressive art form during her workshop:
  The LAR Art Studio Mended Wabi Sabi Pottery Art Experience

• How Lanecia's work with her students has surprised her and informed her work

• How Mark Nepo uses poetry to express feelings of being broken open

• How the process of breaking pottery into pieces and putting it back together as a new object is a powerful exercise

• How the workshop process enabled some participants to make significant life changes

• The parallels between the ancient philosophy of Wabi Sabi and the newer KonMari philosophy

What sparks joy for Lanecia: All the precious moments she spends with her husband, Cleve! Working with her camera and exploring photography as well as listening to music.

Her Parting Words of Wisdom: We all have the capacity to create beauty.

Gems:
“Art was big enough hold my tears and also to hold my vision and hopes for what could be.”

“I’m just throwing out into the universe the dreams that I have.”

“In living, life is going to break our hearts.”

“We are all more powerful and capable than we believe.”

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

Special Guest: Lanecia Rouse Tinsley.

In this episode, we begin by sharing what is sparking joy for us today. We discuss the work of Mel Robbins, of The Five Second Rule fame, along with some aspirational travel goals!

We take a look Marie Kondo’s famous quote, “Tidying by location is a fatal mistake.” What it means and how it guides the practice of KonMari. We talk about the concept in practical terms, with some real life experiences sprinkled throughout, so that you can apply the concept to your own Tidying Festival.

We also answer a great question from a Spark Joy listener about how to apply KonMari principles to the ongoing struggle of paper management in a busy family.

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 or on Twitter at @sparkjoypodcast.

In this episode, you’ll enjoy:
• Learning about the Mel Robbin’s course that Kristyn is enrolled in and it’s ground breaking, action focused plan for success: The Power of You

Mel Robbins first came on the scene with this TED talk on the Five Second Rule: The Five Second Rule

• Hear about Karin’s holiday wish for a yoga retreat in Thailand. Here is one of the retreats she is considering: Absolute Sanctuary
And here is a good resource for doing yoga retreat research: Yoga Journal

• We review the KonMari categories we described in Spark Joy Podcast, Episode 1 | KonMari 101

• Why processing each clutter category, completely and in order, is critical to long-term success

• As a review, here are the categories:

• Clothing
  
• Books
• Paper
• Komono (miscellaneous items)
• Sentimental
  

• Hear more about why the Clothing Category is the first category and how it builds your ability to determine what sparks joy

• Learning how coming to terms with the amount of things you own will help you hone your decision making process

• Why revisiting your vision statement is a helpful next step when you are struggling with a particular category. We discussed this in Spark Joy Podcast, Episode 4 | The KonMari Lifestyle

• Discover tips on how to deal with paper clutter:

• Stop paper at the source
• Use available tools to keep it from coming into your home in the first place
• Use flat surfaces for activities and not for storage
• Rethink your self-talk about time: manage your priorities and expectations

Gems:
“When items are dispersed throughout the home, you can never fully grasp the overall volume and get discouraged before finishing.”

“What does my clutter say about me?”

“Buying more organizational tools such as file folders is not always the best solution.”

“Flat surfaces are for activity not for storage.”

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