Marie Kondo says she's given up on tidying

Her tidying methods may have sparked joy across the world, but Marie Kondo has thrown in the towel when it comes to keeping her own home neat.

The ‘KonMari’ icon became a household name thanks to her chart-topping 2019 Netflix series Tidying Up with Marie Kondo and her best-selling book ‘The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up’.

But now, her life has changed, and a new kind of magic has taken over: the joys of motherhood.

“Up until now, I was a professional tidier, so I did my best to keep my home tidy at all times,” she told The Washington Post last week.

“I have kind of given up on that, in a good way for me. Now I realise what is important to me is enjoying spending time with my children at home.”

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The 38-year-old queen of clean is now proud mum to three children, the youngest of whom arrived in 2021. And as any parent will know, trying to clean up after a toddler is a fruitless task at best.

However, back in 2020, Kondo admitted that she’d underestimated how hard it would be to keep her home immaculate.

“I firmly believed that tidying was possible, even with children,” she told The Telegraph. “But after I had my own, particularly when my daughters were one or two years old, and they were completely out of control and would overturn the shelves and make a mess, that’s when I realised it is really very difficult.”

Her latest book, released in November last year, invites readers to explore how to achieve their “ideal life”.

In the book, titled ‘Marie Kondo’s Kurashi at Home: How to Organize Your Space and Achieve Your Ideal Life’, she sets out simple ways to combat stress and invite calmness into daily life, including cleaning out your purse or wallet every evening.

Her tips extend beyond the realms of tidying – Kondo says she wants to help people find activities that give them peace on a deeper level and help them to create their dream lifestyle and home.

All we can say is, given her TV and literary success, we imagine she can probably afford to employ someone to keep her home looking pretty dreamy.

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