15 Facts You Don’t Know About Marie Kondo (2024)

It seems like everyone is obsessed with superstar organizing consultant Marie Kondo (us included). Google her and you’ll find article after article touting her hyper minimalist decluttering and organizing method, coined “KonMari,” in which she encourages you to discard everything that doesn’t “spark joy.”
It might sound odd at first, but the result of accurately following the KonMari method is a permanently organized and spacious home in which you’re surrounded by only happiness.

“Surrounded by happiness.” Sounds nice.

“The Beyoncé of Organization” also has some fascinating idiosyncrasies — not the least of which is thatshe actually loves clutter. Here are 15 surprising facts about the most organized person on the planet.

1. Marie Kondo is influenced by Shintoism.

In The Life Changing Magic of Tidying Up, Kondo states that the goal of tidying up is to transform your home into “a sacred space, a power spot filled with pure energy.” She also recommends that you set up a mini shrine in your home that displays your sacred objects.

As it turns out, Kondo worked part time at a Shinto shrine when she was 18 years old and sold lucky charms at a kiosk. “It [Shintoism] influences me, but not as strongly as you might think,” Kondo said in her Reddit AMA.

2. You can keep items that don’t spark joy, but only under one condition.

A fan on Reddit asked “What do you recommend to your clients when something does not bring joy, but is necessary and can’t simply be discarded? For example, a winter coat if you live in a cold climate, or a set of dishes.”Kondo replied, “Those things are helping you every single day. So you should appreciate how they are contributing to your life. Change the relationship with those items, by appreciating their contributions to your life.”

3. Marie Kondo’s last name is a verb.

How do you know when to call mom and dad to tell them that you’ve made it big?
When your name becomes a verb. And your work, a social media phenomenon.

4. Marie Kondoadjusts her tidying advice based on the culture of her Konvert, err, client.

“Japan has more limited space, maybe some people in America might not have that space issue, so maybe they need a different way of thinking to de-clutter the space,” wroteKondo on Reddit.
She also told Fast Company “Children in the U.S. have more toys, and that makes it harder for my American clients to tidy up.”
(Pssst … there are some toy storage solutions to help with that.)

5. Marie Kondo is married. She and her husband have a daughter.

See Also

30 Inspiring Organizing & Decluttering QuotesMental Health Benefits of Cleaning and DeclutteringNew Year, Clean Slate: The Psychological Benefits of a Thorough Clean-Up | Martijn Van LithHow decluttering improves your life (and tips to get started) | HCF

Marie Kondo is married to Takumi Kawahara, and sheannounced in this blog post on July 17, 2015that shegave birth toa baby girl (check out People Magazine for more photos).
How soon will she teach her childthe ways of KonMari?
When her child is 3 years old, apparently.
“[Once]children are over 3 years old, they have some ability to figure out if it [an item] sparks joy or not,” wrote Kondo on Reddit. Although we’re pretty sure that we found joy in things before we were three, such aschewing on everything we could find.

6. Marie Kondo doesn’t like pants.

While shopping at Anthropologie’s flagship location in Rockefeller Center, Kondo told The New Yorker that she doesn’t wear pantsbecause “several years ago they stopped bringing her joy.”

7. Marie Kondo chills with Emma Watson and Twitter.

8. Marie Kondoalways wears white. Always.

Search “Marie Kondo” on Google Imagesand you’ll see that she’s ALWAYSwearingwhite. Why?
Because it’s associated with cleanliness.“It is part of my brand,” she told The New Yorker. We imagine that she of all people wouldn’t have a hard time keeping her wardrobeclean.

9. Marie Kondo (secretly) loves clutter.

Contrary to what you’d expect from “The most organized woman in the world,” clutter gets Kondo excited “because it is a good feeling for me to imagine how this person can declutter,” she told one Redditor who asked how much it bothers her to see a cluttered and messy house.

Kondo isa true testament to following your passion in life.

10. Marie Kondoloathes a certain type of mess.

Bad smells. AKA the mess of the nose. AKA scent mess.

“If a room has some garbage, like stinky garbage, old food and stuff, yes it does bother me sometimes. But not because of the amount of clutter, it is just the smell,” she admitted.

11. Marie Kondo likes to keep a low profile.

Even through all the fame and attention she’s received from her philosophy of tidying,Kondo maintains a very low profile. Despitethe hundreds ofhomes that this professional organizer has worked in, Kondo has never invited a reporter into her own home.

12. Marie Kondocan organize anything, including your messy underwear drawer.

Take notes and studythe master at work.

13. Marie Kondo released two new books.

Just when you thought Marie Kondo changed your life, the world-famousorganizing consultant and best-selling author isabout to do it all over again with not one, buttwo new books:
Life-Changing Magic: A Journal, which wasreleased on December 29, 2015 andSpark Joy: An Illustrated Master Class on the Art of Organizing and Tidying Up, which wasreleased on January 5, 2016.

14. Marie Kondo is releasing an app.

Tidying up? There’s an app for that.
Using the KonMari app, you’ll be able to:
* Track and photograph your progress tidying each of the KonMari method’s five categories— clothing, books, papers, komono (miscellaneous items), and sentimental items.
* Set due dates and reminders.
* Follow and motivateother Konverts, and getfeedback from them.
* StalkStay up to date on everyone’s tidying action through your dashboard and community feed.

15. Marie Kondo owns a media company.

As you declutter thanks to Marie Kondo, consider MakeSpace for any items you can’t part with but don’t want around anymore.