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

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, Yuno Imai, is a Japanese food and travel writer and copy editor based in LA. In addition to being one of the original translators for Marie Kondo and her team, she’s now living a life of joy and focusing on publishing a children’s book.

You can find out more about Yuno by visiting www.iknowyouknowyuno.com. Updates on the launch of her first children’s book will be made available there and you can track Yuno’s adventures and joyful lifestyle via instagram @iknowyouknowyuno.

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 Karin and Kristyn met Yuno during KonMari consultant training

• How a fascination with American movies and culture inspired Yuno to pursue translating; the most challenging job she's ever had

• What it was like to observe the message of the KonMari Method while it initially spread

• How Yuno studied up on KonMari to prepare for her big translation gig

• How translating allows Yuno to experience many industries and bridge Japan and America

• Tricks Yuno uses to memorize her client's words and provide seamless translation

• Why the gym doesn't spark joy for Yuno and the joyful way she achieves the same results

• How life, death, prison, and food inspire Yuno's writing projects

• Yuno's favorite children's books: The Red Shoes and The Rainbow Fish

What sparks joy for Yuno: Creating her children's book, Trevor and Me, based on real events in her life. Themes: friendship across generations, death and reincarnation.

Gems:

• "I just follow what I love."

• "Positive attitude brings positives things in life."

• "Do what makes you happy and go after your joy!"

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

Special Guest: Yuno Imai.

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

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.

Dr. Melva Green is best known for her work on the critically acclaimed A&E series Hoarders. She is a psychiatrist and spiritual healer specializing in REAL LIFE living. Dr. Green is the co-author of Breathing Room: Open You Heart by Decluttering Your Home, a wonderful blend of personal stories interwoven into a clear, practical guide on decluttering.

In this episode, Dr. Green discusses the importance of slowing down, taking a breath, and leading with compassion before we jump into the clutter. We also discuss the do's and don'ts associated with identifying and treating someone with a hoarding disorder and associated signs and resources.

To connect with Dr. Green, you can find her at www.drmelvagreen.com as well as Facebook, Twitter and Youtube at @drmelva. Dr. Green is offering our listeners a discounted, signed copy of Breathing Room using the following link: http://bit.ly/2qM2pVB

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.

In this episode, you’ll enjoy:

• What led Dr. Green to take a leap of faith, close her practice, declutter, and move to Costa Rica

• The moments leading up to Dr. Green getting the call to be an expert on A&E's Hoarders

• How Dr. Green's book, Breathing Room: Open Your Heart by Decluttering Your Home evolved into a collaborative project with co-author Dr. Lauren Rosenfeld

• How Dr. Green's spiritual approach to therapy broadened her client's experience and given client's permission to pursue another path and reduce shame

• The role anxiety plays in disorganization

• How being kind to yourself can shift the heart space to the self love and tenderness required to start the process

• How the SLICE method (Stop & Listen, Intend, Clearing the Energy), a three step process described in Breathing Room, can help you jump start your journey to organization

• Signs a loved one's life may be impacted by hoarding

• Why common statistics tracking hoarding disorder misrepresent the scope of the public burden due to the "hidden" nature of the problem

• How trauma is often at the core of a hoarding crisis

• How in over 14 years, only two of Dr. Green's clutter clients were so resistant to change they couldn't be helped

• How the support system of family can help hoarders successfully dig out and recover

• How Dr. Green listens to her clients and reminds them to stop and breathe to hold a clear space

• Dr. Green recommends resources on wwww.hoarders.org , including a scale to help you determine if you meet the clinical criteria for a hoarding disorder

Dr. Green's favorite tidying tip: Breathe...

What sparks the most joy for Dr. Green: Her son starting at Stanford University!

Gems:

"Most of our clutter is unconscious."

"The mess is not IN the way, it's PART OF the way."

"Clutter is the external manifestation of what's going on in our internal space."

"When we stop and breathe we're able to get a sense of what needs to go and what needs to stay."

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

Special Guest: Melva Green.

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.

Lloyd Alter is design editor of TreeHugger, a prominent media outlet dedicated to driving sustainability to the mainstream.
Living in Toronto, Canada; He has been an architect, developer, inventor and prefab promoter.
He contributes to Mother Nature Network at MNN.com, The Guardian, and Azure magazines, and is Adjunct Professor teaching sustainable design at Ryerson University School of Interior Design.

In the course of his work developing small residential units and prefabs, Lloyd became convinced that we just use too much of everything- too much space, too much land, too much food, too much fuel, too much money, and that the key to sustainability is to simply use less. And, the key to happily using less is to design things better.

Recently, Lloyd has been writing on family heirlooms and the changing culture. I found his work while researching solutions for clients who are confronted with managing the possessions of generations while downsizing. His direct approach to working with our elder parents along with his prolific writing on a lifestyle focused on less stuff and better design, was a great fit for us!

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 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 about the relationship between medicine, science and minimalism. How the fear of germs led to the minimalist movement.

• Hearing about how Lloyd confronted the generational shift in thinking about “things” within his own family.

• Discussing how our mobile lifestyles have changed the quantity and quality of things we acquire.

• Looking at the reality of emotional value vs. financial value.

• Suggestions on how to decide “who gets what” when a previous generation downsizes.

• How Lloyd used Marie Kondo’s concept of Spark Joy when deciding what to keep when downsizing.

• How Lloyd and his family held an Open House, allowing young adults to come in and take things they needed to start their own households as a means of thoughtfully discarding things.

• Discussing how to find the “right new home” for things that you are letting go.

• Learning how Lloyd defines a minimalist lifestyle.

Read Lloyd's article, "On Decluttering, Downsizing and Surviving a Green Renovation", Tree Hugger Magazine, here: https://goo.gl/cnbFvr

What sparks joy for Lloyd:
Lloyd shares his joy at looking out over the lake in his Canadian cabin, sitting at his amazing dining room table and the significant back story the table holds.

Gems:

• "Big Brown furniture: Nobody has room anymore!”

• "That furniture had absorbed the memories of our entire family."

• "You don’t know if you are an architect or a marriage counsellor."

• "Start talking to your older family when they are willing to share the history of things."

• "Do not keep anything that you don’t know to be useful or believe to be beautiful.”-William Morris.

• "We are moving to multi-family and walkable communities and less stuff.”

• "You just have what you need.”

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

Special Guest: Lloyd Atler.

Tess is offering Spark Joy listeners Free Anti-Budget Training. It's a budgeting method for people who hate budgeting. It simplifies financial management down to one simple number to use every day and is available at: www.wanderwealthy.com/AntiBudget

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 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:

• What improv, kettle bell and playing the violin have to do with personal finances

• How having financially responsible parents led Tess to be a cautious spender who avoided debt

• How to live outside of your comfort zone while taking calculated risks

• How Tess desires to be a minimalist and frugalist in most areas, but leans most towards Essentialism

• How prioritizing what is essential to you and deeming the rest "clutter" helps build awareness around spending

• How important it is to exercise your "saying no" muscle

• The lesson your sunk costs teach you

• Feeling financially overwhelmed? Tess suggests:
  1) Commit time to sit down and look at your finances
  2) Calculate your net worth (everything you own - everything you owe)
  3) Set realistic short-term goals you can accomplish in three months

• How having multiple bank accounts actually helps you avoid being caught off guard by financial surprises

• Why talking about money is so taboo

• How to initiate tough conversations about finances

• How wealthy women put their money to work for them

• How Tess pre-saves for splurges and treats herself, including the five things she won't give up

What sparks joy for Tess: She's finally living and breathing what her brand (Wander Wealthy) is by finding her freedom, taking adventures and enjoying her life while living within her financial means.

Gems:

• "I identify places where I need to grow or challenge myself and I dive into it."

• "If it brings you joy, make room in your budget to spend on that thing."

• "Separating the essential few from the trivial many."

• "Net worth = everything you own - everything you owe"

• "You don't want to be with someone who can't accept you for your flaws."

• "Anyone can achieve financial independence. The hardest part is taking action."

• "Commit and take action for one hour to decide to declutter your financial life."

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

Special Guest: Tess Wicks.

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.

Dorothy Breininger, aka “Dorothy The Organizer,” is known to millions as the fearless-yet-endearing problem solver on A&E’s Emmy-nominated hit TV series “Hoarders.” She is the author of seven books, including Stuff Your Face or Face Your Stuff. Dorothy is featured in the Wall Street Journal, Forbes, O Magazine, and appears on the Today Show, Dr. Phil, the VIEW, The Doctors, QVC and PBS.

In this episode, Dorothy helps us make the connection between the clutter in our homes and addictions we may have in other areas of our life (food, alcohol, gambling, shopping, etc.). We explore some of the barriers that prevent us from making the choices we know are best for us and how to overcome them. Dorothy also shares her first hand experience working with clients suffering from hoarding and some of the resources available to help those with this condition.

Dorothy is offering Spark Joy listeners:

1. A Free Guide on “How to Banish Clutter Creatively”
2. A Free Cancer Concierge ebook that can help you learn how to organize yourself and your life in the face of a cancer diagnosis

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 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:

• Dorothy's three life-changing experiences that helped her manage her own clutter

• What Dorothy learned about other culture's relationship with clutter after backpacking across 30 countries

• How Dorothy climbed out of $360,000 of inherited debt

• How Dorothy's work on Hoarders helped her realize her own addictive behavior around food

• Netflix documentaries: Forks Over Knives and What the Health

• Why we are looking to stuff to decide where we are going as a society

• How food addiction is similar to alcohol or gambling addiction and leads to a perverse sense of self care

• How living with an addiction or mental illness impacts our ability to make conscious choices

• The three most common barriers we create between us and the problems we face and how to overcome them

• Stuff My Face, Face My Stuff is available on Amazon and includes examples of over 30 different types of Twelve Step Programs

• Landmark Education

• How to apply a questioning method from Byron Katie's process, The Work, can tell you about what your clutter is saying about you

• Lessons Dorothy's learned from working with extreme hoarding clients

• The power of apologies

• How to identify someone who hoards and common indicators

• The connection between perfectionism and hoarding

• What it was like to spend a night in a hoarder's home

• What happens during a hoarder's aftercare and its similarity to a food addiction maintenance plan

• Where to turn for hoarding help: Turn to www.dorthytheorganizer.com for tools and resources including a virtual therapy group for hoarders

Dorothy's Favorite Tidying Tip: "Left to right, top to bottom."

"Even if you feel sure you are right, never assume you know what’s best for another in terms of stuff. Simply re-arranging someone else’s stuff or worse yet getting rid of it without permission truly breaks the bonds of trust (especially with children)."

What sparks the most joy for Dorothy: Surprising friends, family, and strangers.

Gems:

• “What does your clutter say about you?”

• “We all have stuff.”

• “I got rid of the stuff so that I could create something bigger for myself.”

• “People hoarded stuff in their homes, but I was hoarding sugar and flour on my body.”

• “We’re looking to stuff to decide where we are going as a society.”

• “We are teetering near 14 million people who hoard.”

• “Barrier to facing our stuff: We blame others.”

• “Barrier to facing our stuff: We refuse to look at our own mistakes.”

• “Barrier to facing our stuff: We isolate instead of reach out for help.”

• “Overcome the barrier: Dare to admit we are fully responsible for the things that we own."

• “Overcome the barrier: Take a fearless moral inventory of yourself.”

• “Overcome the barrier: Be with a group of like-minded people to help you get out of isolation.”

• “Apologies created the path to clearing out the clutter in their house.”

• “Even if you feel sure you are right, never assume you know what’s best for another in terms of stuff.”

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

Special Guest: Dorothy Breininger.

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