Photo of Marie Kondo licensed by KonMari Inc.
By Anna Lascols, Organizing Geneva
Now that I am an officially certified KonMariTM Consultant (yay!), I thought it would be appropriate to discuss this exceptional advice by Marie Kondo: Choose joy. Why? Because it changed my life, and I firmly believe the world would be much more beautiful if everyone followed her guidance.
So why is there such a hype around sparking joy? What does joy actually mean? It’s not tangible, it’s abstract, it’s vague. Is it?
The official definition of ‘joy’ is: “A joy is something or someone that makes you feel happy or gives you great pleasure.” Still abstract, right? Most of my clients take quite a while to determine if the green shirt they picked up from their pile of clothes is actually making them happy. Happy as in ‘my husband gave it to me’ or ‘I was so happy when I bought it’ or ‘it’s comfy to wear at home’? or ‘I might be happy next time I wear it’? Are these elements defining happiness, pleasure and joy? Should I keep the shirt or discard it?
This is where Marie steps in, with her new definition of joy. She is the first to add a very clear and tangible aspect to joy, because according to her you can actually FEEL it. When an items sparks joy to you, your body should first react to it, not your mind. She describes it as if every cell in your body rises, whereas you feel tired, negative and sinking when an item does not spark joy. The first time my clients experience this feeling, by picking up their favorite shirt and comparing it to another, they start grasping the idea. Others describe it as fizzy champagne, beautiful colors or shining stars. Whatever you call it, you should feel the sensation.
You probably wonder how this feeling actually changed my life? Here is the secret: because I started applying the joy checks to ALL the aspects of my life. Not only my clothes. I am talking about all my possessions but also my house, my work, my relationships, my calendar, my commitments, my holidays, my projects…and so on. And by doing that you realize that it brings you back to the basics, back to who you are and who you desire to be. If you progressively let go of all the things in your life that do not spark joy, you will be left with things that represent your real values. It will free you from external pressures, from what others believe is right or wrong, from conventions. It will give you back a lot of time that you can spend on things that are actually important to you.
If we are honest, we spend most of our lives pleasing others, competing against others, getting more likes on Instagram, spending money and working to get it back and obviously worrying about all this. By choosing joy, you can live in the present and appreciate the things you own, the people that you love and every second you spend.
Life is too short to be wasted on clutter, choose joy.
Author's Bio
Anna Lascols is the founder of Organizing Geneva and your decluttering expert.
Her mission as a professional organizer is to improve people’s lives by coaching them how to set up and maintain efficient systems to keep their time and space in order. Anna helps her clients to visualize their ideal lifestyle and works side-by-side with tem to reach their goals. These can range from redesigning their closet à la Marie Kondo to getting their paperwork under control, improving their time management skills or preparing for the arrival of a baby.
Anna is a KonMari Consultant and a member of the Swiss Association of Professional Organizers (Swiss-APO). She works in and around Geneva and provides her services is English, French, German and Spanish. She offers personal organizing sessions, virtual coaching and organizes workshops on various organizing and zero waste topics.
To learn about Anna, please visit her website: https://organizing-geneva.com
