The Life Changing Magic of Accepting that Life with Kids is Different

 
 

This sparks joy:

Clean and Tidy Queen Marie Kondo, who taught us how to purge unwanted belongings based on how much joy they sparked, says she’s “kind of given up” now that she has kids.

Which leads me to wonder, Did I not think to ask if she had kids before?

Kondo’s 2010 book, The Life Changing Magic of Tidying Up might not have been so sensational if all of us parents had known Kondo really only had to worry about herself. Turns out she was single and childless when she wrote it. Throw a spouse and some kids into the mix, add maybe a pet or two and every parent knows we “tidy up” all dang day. And it doesn’t feel very life changing.

The whole kidless thing should have come with a disclaimer:

The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up*

*By the way, if you have children, tidying up won’t feel like magic, it will feel like an annoying hourly chore.

Because, listen. If someone wants to tell a parent how to live a decluttered life of peace and tranquility, they better have a middle schooler who refuses to remove the three-week old sandwich from under her bed and a toddler throwing a board book at her skull the whole time.

That is a book about cleaning that I would read.

I remember the day I ALMOST bought Kondo’s book. My son was 4, my daughter 2, and I happened across the book under the Staff Picks section at The Book Exchange. Some hilarious staffer had tucked The Joy of Leaving Your Sh*t All Over the Place next to it. I’m sure you can imagine which book I took home.

Kondo’s most recent book Kurashi at Home is a bit more grounded. Parenthood humbles us all. In it, she encourages readers to visualize what they want their life to be like and make intentional choices toward that goal throughout the day. She says to ask yourself, “Does it spark joy?” and apply that question to attitudes, activities, and behaviors. One of Kondo’s examples — when she asks herself if tidying sparks more joy than playing with her three children. Most often, the answer is no, so playing gets her attention.

And parents are loving it.

It’s comforting to hear that even Clean Queens allow let their castles get untidy sometimes. And that Kondo is most likely living like the rest of us: with homes that are somewhere between the Minimalism documentary (which was partially filmed in Missoula by the way) and Hoarders.

With a baby this adorable, we can all understand why she chooses snuggles over spotlessness.

Inspiration, Lifestyle, ParentsTiffany WilliamsMarie Kondo, Konmari, Tidy, Tidying Up, Cleaning, Books, Netflix, Netflix show, Netflix with kids, hoarders, minimalism, minimalistComment