SPARKING JOY

Marie Kondo Has a ‘New Tidying Threshold,’ and It’s Not Perfection

“As long as the living room floor is clean, then that is what the new tidying threshold becomes,” Kondo told The Guardian.

Marie Kondo, Netflix star and the bestselling author of The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up, built her brand on the concept of her KonMari method, which requires ridding the home of any belongings which fail to “spark joy.” Years after becoming the undisputed queen of minimalist organizational strategies, Kondo, who’s now had three children, told The Guardian in a new interview that her perspective has shifted. “I realized always maintaining the perfect state of tidiness was not my goal, but spending time with my kids is,” Kondo said. “That’s what really sparks joy.” The author, along with many other working parents, has embraced the idea that “as long as the living room floor is clean, then that is what the new tidying threshold becomes.” Kondo also elaborated that her previously strict edicts—that every item should have a correspondingly particular place to be stored—have relaxed: “I have shifted my mindset to the idea that everything being at least inside a box is satisfactory.”