Marie Kondo has been a big hit for a long time with her millions of copies sold of The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up. Now, with her new Netflix show, she is gaining even more popularity with those who would rather watch her on TV than read the book.
Although Marie Kondo is an organizing genius with a ton of good ideas and lessons learned, I don’t necessarily follow everything she suggests in her book and on her show.
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Here are the things I ignored from Marie Kondo:
I don’t empty my purse daily
Marie Kondo suggests emptying your purse daily.
By doing this, you are constantly tracking your receipts, know how much money you have in your wallet, and get rid of the trash that naturally occurs there when you have children. My youngest actually hands me trash while out and laughs while saying “Here you go, trashcan!”
While I think this is a great concept to get rid of all of the clutter and trash in your purse daily, it isn’t realistic for me or many moms.
Here’s what I see happening if I were to empty my purse daily as suggested by Marie Kondo:
I would be all inspired on day 1. I would think this isn’t hard, and I would even consider getting a smaller purse. Then, the next day, we would be late for the school bus.
Since they missed the bus, I would need to take the kids to school. I would forget to put my wallet back in my purse and think my purse is just lighter from cleaning it out.
Next, after dropping off the kids, I would think, “Hey, I’m out, let’s go to the grocery store.”
An hour later, as I was standing in the checkout line at the grocery store 25 minutes from my home, I would realize with dread and anxiety that I didn’t have my wallet.
Instead, I try to clean out my purse weekly. It’s a noble cause and not one I fulfill every week, although I really want to.
I still have too many cards in my wallet, an occasional toy, and more sucker sticks than I can count.
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I don’t thank the things I get rid of
I don’t thank the items I get rid of, as suggested by Marie Kondo. Now, this is no hit on those who do. It is merely a cultural difference in how I let go of my things.
In a way, I guess I do thank them in that I relish in the memories an item may have brought me, which explains the guilt we all feel sometimes when we let go of things, but I don’t actually say “thank you.”
One thing this concept did teach me though was to be thankful for my ability to purchase items and not to waste that ability.
I am now much more thoughtful in my purchases, and I try to only buy things that add joy or value to my life. I try to not be wasteful by buying a shirt on sale that I really don’t need.
That’s how I thank my belongings I guess. I only buy the belongings I truly need or cherish.
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We don’t thank our shoes
Again, another cultural difference. There is nothing wrong with thanking one’s shoes. I just don’t do it, so I overlooked this part of her book.
Something I like to do is buy shoes that make my feet happy. If shoes give me blisters, they don’t survive the cut anymore. I’m also very practical in my shoe choices.
Sure, I have those cute heels that make me feel like a million bucks, but l don’t wear them often and I probably should just get rid of them. They make me miserable if I have to wear them longer than a couple of hours!
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I don’t spend my small change
Marie Kondo suggests using your small change, not collecting it or storing it in random places around the house.
While I agree one should not store small change in random places around the house, I also don’t like to put it in my purse to spend.
First, who uses coins anymore? I can’t remember the last time I counted out change to pay for something.
Secondly, I like having a piggy bank.
If you don’t have a piggy bank, go get one. It can be cute, or a pig. It can be a not fancy mason jar. However, watching your loose change build up to a hundred dollars or more is nice.
I save my loose change for two possible reasons:
1 – A super emergency. Like I’ve already cleaned out all my reserves and there is nothing left to do but to count pennies. (I started this practice in college.)
2 – Selfish spending money on our next family vacation. It might only be enough for dinner or a new swimsuit, but it will be something to spoil me for our next vacation. Best thing, it is pennies, so I don’t feel guilty about it!
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I don’t (always) use recycled drawer dividers and storage containers
I love Marie Kondo’s not fancy approach to storage containers. In fact, that is one of the lessons I learned from Marie Kondo and use in my application for organizing.
However, sometimes a girl wants something pretty to hold her things. I love cute jewelry dividers you can put in a drawer and house all your earrings, bracelets, etc. in full view for getting ready in the morning.
I also love clear, plastic shoe boxes. They are perfect for storing small, like items together in a way that you can still see them on a shelf.
I don’t store bags inside of bags
Marie Kondo suggests storing bags inside of bags. Rather, I suggest having fewer bags.
Marie Kondo probably suggests this too, but I’ve never owned enough bags to have to store one inside of another.
Instead, I store my two extra purses on a shelf in my closet. I have one smaller purse that I often use for travel and a formal clutch I use for fancy nights out.
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We have way more than 30 books
There is the (not so nice) meme going around suggesting Marie Kondo would be horrified if you had more than 30 books. Rather, she suggests this as a nice number for those who need a concrete rule on how many books they should own.
Depending on how often you read, you may need no more than ten books!
I have an avid reader in my family. We have hundreds of children’s books. I think Marie Kondo would be ok with it though.
Each book brings my child joy. When she gets too old for a book, or if she finishes a chapter book she doesn’t intend to read again, she happily puts it in the giveaway pile.
Again, I kind of skipped over this piece of advice from Marie Kondo, making sure to keep only books that bring me or my family joy!
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I didn’t declutter in the morning
Marie Kondo suggests often to declutter in the morning. For many people, this would be a great time to declutter, as your energy is higher and you can check off a big task before the day even gets started.
However, if you are anything like my husband and can’t function in the morning without coffee, waiting until the late afternoon might be a better plan.
Non-morning people don’t want to have conversations about getting rid of their stuff. Those conversations are better saved for a more energetic time of day!
For me, I decluttered at night, after my kids went to bed. I would often set a 30-minute timer and do only what I could accomplish in that time. It gave me relief to see my progress and let me sleep easy at night.
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I don’t fold most of my clothes
I LOVE me some Marie Kondo vertical folding. It quite literally changed my enthusiasm for folding items like underwear, socks, and PJs.
Even though I love the KonMari method for folding, I still like to hang up as many possible items that can fit in my closet.
I don’t know why, but I like to fully see everything I could possibly wear for the day. I like to flip through the items, and see them hanging up, like they would hang on me. Personal preference I guess!
I didn’t purge all at once
Marie Kondo says to purge all at once and be done with it.
In theory, ripping off the band-aid and purging everything at once sounds miraculous. For some people, a weekend purging sounds heavenly.
For others, slow and steady wins the race. Trying to do it all at once may be overwhelming and make you want to quit before you even get started. If this is you, then don’t do it all at once.
Take baby steps, and give yourself a break! If you have small kids, a job, or anything really that also takes up your time, it’s ok to bite off small-sized pieces. Find what motivates you.
It took six months to fully declutter our home. I wanted to quit several times, but the slow and steady work was worth it.
If I was tired, I would pick one box, one shelf, or one drawer. I would not try to tackle a room all at once. It was too much emotionally. Some days, we did half a box. That’s ok. It was progress.
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Read the book, hear the advice, then do what you want!
Some of the best advice I got after becoming a parent was from my mom.
She said, take in all the advice people give you. Nod your head and listen to everything they have to offer. Then, do what you want. You know your situation better than anyone else, and you are the one in control.
If Marie Kondo says declutter all at once, and that’s your thing, then go for it! If that thought sends you into a panic attack, then find a different method.
Either way, if you read the book The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying-up, or if you watch her new show, I bet you will learn something, even if you ignore all the rest!
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This was a great read and great advice! Proud of you.
Thanks for these tips! I don’t think I would be able to get my book stash down to 30 either! 🙂
Thank you for making this post! I feel way less incompetent now. Declutter is difficult for me even though I love Marie Kondo.