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Marie Kondo started organizing as a university student, but her work gained international traction with the rise in popularity of her book “The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up” and her Netflix show “Tidying Up With Marie Kondo.” Kondo’s influence earned her a spot on Time Magazine’s list of 100 Most Influential People in 2015, as her driving compass of joy helped people all over the world rifle through closets and clean up personal belongings. Kondo’s organizational principles, called the KonMari Method, can also be applied to maximizing the heart of the home, as kitchen cabinets, drawers, and pantries can be tidied up using her same classic question: “Does this spark joy?”
According to Kondo’s process, seekers of order are invited to think about particular objects and notice any associations with those pieces. If a pantry item or cooking utensil is not one that sparks some sort of contentment for the holder, it must go — with gratitude, per Kondo’s beliefs. Not only can this sentiment help clean up a kitchen, but the same principle — asking the question “how can I bring more joy to this space?” — can be applied to kitchen storage and decor. For instance, Kondo suggests placing dry goods into containers that have the kind of aesthetic that brings a bit of brightness to your day, whether that be the color, design, or shape of the jar.
Looking for ways to invite joy into the kitchen
In addition to moving about the heart of the home with mindfulness, Kondo encourages neat-and-clean seekers on Instagram to envision a feeling of lightness when walking into the kitchen and imagine what would foster it if it’s missing. She suggests bringing fresh flowers to the space as an easy way to invite joy into the room, and explains that storing products out of sight to create a clear, uncluttered environment can help bring a sense of calm to your culinary space. Toasters, dish racks, and spice jars are the kinds of items that can be tucked away instead of left out on countertops.
Kondo is also an advocate for the kitchen organizational hack of vertical storage and arranging items according to the frequency of use and accessibility needs. This kind of orderly display can contribute to a sense of ease in your kitchen, and Kondo’s KonMari Method can even be applied when deep-cleaning your refrigerator. She also encourages a daily surface clean up so that the next morning you’re faced with less mess as you step into the kitchen to start your day with a freshly brewed cup of coffee. If small actions like wiping down kitchen counters can contribute to a happier week, we’re all for giving it a try. And while you’re putting Kondo’s ideas into practice, Martha Stewart has 13 great kitchen organizing tips of her own.
