Marie Kondo – does tidiness really equal a clean mind?

If you haven’t heard of Marie Kondo yet, it won’t be long before you do.

Thanks to her new Netflix programme, the Japanese tidying guru has become January’s “It girl”. Chance is, you already know someone who is using her “KonMari” method, which promises not only a de-cluttered house, but also a clean mind.

“When you put your house in order, you put your affairs, and your past in order, too,” Kondo explains in her 2014 book, The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying. “As a result, you can see quite clearly what you need and what you don’t, and what you should and shouldn’t do.”

But is it really as simple as asking whether everything you own truly “sparks joy” and then throwing away anything that doesn’t?

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For Joseph Ferrari, a professor of psychology at Chicago’s DePaul University, this kind of response makes sense. In fact, he would argue you should maybe go further than Marie Kondo recommends when clearing out your home.

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