{"id":4100,"date":"2016-06-21T19:05:48","date_gmt":"2016-06-21T13:35:48","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/13.201.39.237\/?p=4100"},"modified":"2016-06-21T19:05:48","modified_gmt":"2016-06-21T13:35:48","slug":"tidying-up-with-marie-kondo-mess","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/13.207.105.184\/?p=4100","title":{"rendered":"What I Learnt About Being a Mess From Marie Kondo, the Queen of Tidying Up"},"content":{"rendered":"\n\u00a0\n

O<\/span>n the first day of the new year, I morosely lay in bed, watching the adorable Marie Kondo teach Americans how to clean on her new <\/p>Netflix<\/span><\/a> show, <\/span>Tidying Up with Marie Kondo<\/span><\/i>. Based on her bestselling book <\/span>The Life Changing Magic of Tidying Up<\/span><\/i>, the Netflix self-help show follows our eponymous heroine as she teaches clueless adults how to declutter and organise their lives using her signature \u201cKonMari Method\u201d. In case you\u2019ve been living under a rock, the KonMari method involves separating one\u2019s possessions in predefined categories and then holding each item, looking it in the eye, and evaluating its expiry date based on whether it \u201csparked joy\u201d for you.<\/span>\n\nThe timing of a show that encouraged Americans to be better (just at cleaning \u2013 don\u2019t get too excited) wasn\u2019t a coincidence: Being more organised seems to be a popular <\/span>New Year\u2019s resolution<\/span><\/a>, if sales for calendars, organisers, and bullet journals are anything to go by. Traditionally, annual resolutions have always stemmed from a searing bout of self-hate after we realise that something is terribly lacking in us: Losing weight. Scoring higher marks. Getting that raise. Getting abs. Dropping a banger album. Writing the great Indian novel. Each of these resolutions focuses on the things that remain unaccomplished \u2013 year after year \u2013 invariably determined by an unrealistic desire to keep up with the Sharmas. But more than anything, these are the kind of resolutions that exist to make us feel bad about ourselves.<\/span>\n\nI\u2019m no stranger to the seductive draw of the #noexcuses, #hustlehard grind. It\u2019s basically how I found myself watching the first episode, where Bret scream-asks his <\/span>wife<\/span><\/a> if 200 hangers sparked joy in her life. The calm that Kondo promised with her presence and cute organisational innovations, was nowhere to be found. I began to wonder whether these resolutions \u2013 aimed only to cement our public reputations rather than fulfill our personal growth \u2013 were just a big fat scam. <\/span>\n\nLook, I don’t want to sound like this is a case of sour grapes, but here\u2019s my main grouse with these grand resolutions: Everyone around us makes it seem as if they can be fulfilled overnight. We become so busy and impatient chasing an ideal of <\/span>perfection<\/span><\/a>, that we end up believing that the only things that need a limelight are our glaring flaws. <\/span>\n

But more than anything, these are the kind of resolutions that exist to make us feel bad about ourselves.<\/blockquote>\nIt wasn\u2019t like being cleaner hadn\u2019t been a resolution of mine before. I\u2019d secretly harbour that desire every year, regularly <\/span>inviting friends<\/span><\/a> over so that I would be forced to shed my \u201cgrime girl\u201d aesthetic. And 2019 seemed no different \u2013 I started the year by decaying in a sea of my own filth all morning during my Netflix marathon. I\u2019d done more than enough to guarantee that I\u2019d feel bad about myself for the next 30 years.<\/span>\n\nBut as I began to pay more attention to Kondo herself, who gleefully exclaimed \u201cI love mess,\u201d before tackling folding, I wondered whether all of us should be less hard on ourselves. I stared at the pile of <\/span>clothes<\/span><\/a> at the end of my bed that had yet to be put away: I was a hot mess. But if Kondo loved mess, who am I not to?<\/span>\n\n\u201cWhen you are folding, it is important to convey love to your clothes from the palms of your hands. Folding your clothes is not just an opportunity to make your clothes small, but it is actually an important opportunity to talk to your clothes and thank them,\u201d Kondo gently explained as she smoothed down a tank top. If that sagging grey rag could be accorded that much love, what is stopping us from directing some appreciation toward ourselves? I know #NewYearNewMe is the perfect <\/span>Instagram aesthetic<\/span><\/a> but how about <\/span>pulling a Snoop Dogg<\/span><\/a> and thanking #OldMe for all the hard work, for never quitting, and for just being a bad motherfucker this past year?<\/span>\n
But if Kondo loved mess, who am I not to?<\/blockquote>\nI\u2019ll keep it real with you: My own shame-pile of clothes might have reduced in height, but it still hasn\u2019t completely migrated to my closet. It\u2019s currently hanging out on that one convenient catch-all chair in my room. But I\u2019m appreciating myself for all the little healthy habits I\u2019ve subconsciously managed to sneak in, like going to bed at a decent hour one weekend, <\/span>drinking a bottle of water for a whole week, and being kinder to my filthy flaws. <\/span>\n\nIt\u2019s hard, but it seems to have been more helpful than any resolution I\u2019ve made so far. <\/span>If it takes KonMari-ing my <\/span>emotional<\/span><\/a> well-being to be able to thrive this year, I\u2019ll do it.<\/span>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

In Netflix\u2019s \u201cTidying Up With Marie Kondo\u201d, Kondo\u2019s method involves gently folding each item, looking it in the eye, and asking whether it \u201csparks joy\u201d. If a sagging grey tank top could be accorded that much love, why can\u2019t we direct some appreciation toward ourselves?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":330,"featured_media":4101,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[82],"tags":[1127,7421,3678,7472,7473],"class_list":["post-4100","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-pop-culture","tag-instagram","tag-marie-kondo","tag-new-year-resolutions","tag-the-life-changing-magic-of-tidying-up","tag-tidying-up-with-marie-kondo"],"yoast_head":"\nWhat I Learnt About Being a Mess From Marie Kondo, the Queen of Tidying Up<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"In Netflix\u2019s \u201cTidying Up With Marie Kondo\u201d, Kondo\u2019s method involves gently folding each item, looking it in the eye, and asking whether it \u201csparks joy\u201d. 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