Years ago when Marie Kondo’s “Life Changing Magic of Tidying Up” first came to the US, there was a lot of discussion about the “spark joy” mantra of the method. There was also a lot of nit-picking and dismissing of the whole concept by being overly pedantic about the meaning of the phrase, and declaring that it was too simplistic because “how could a toilet brush spark joy?”
But the point that a lot of people missed, and something that I still apply in my every day life, is that the “joy” of an item is not necessarily that it is the prettiest, or shiniest, or favorite thing.
Being able to use a functional, suitable item to perform a necessary task with minimal inconvenience, pain, or delays means that necessary tasks actually get done, and by getting done they reduce the stress and burden of the never-ending to-do list that goes with life.
I’ll pick on the toilet brush example that so many people like to bring up when the discussion of Marie Kondo’s method comes up. Because have you ever used a bad toilet brush? I have, and it is very, very unpleasant. Sometimes they don’t clean, or they bend so using them is awkward, or the handle is poorly shaped which makes your hands hurt, especially for someone who might already be in pain from chronic health issues. A good toilet brush cleans quickly, is not uncomfortable to hold, and the “joy” from having the functional brush means the unpleasant task of cleaning a toilet is over more quickly, thus more likely to be done when needed.
This concept spirals out and can be considered for every aspect of life. Having a functional cleaning kit means the house is cleaned more often, which makes our living spaces more pleasant to be in, which can help improve our mood and lower our stress, making us happier overall. It can also lead to financial improvements, because once you have that one, functional item that you need, you no longer have to keep purchasing more of them over and over in an attempt to solve the problem and instead can put that money towards savings, retirement, or housing. (There is, admittedly, an assumption of privilege being made here, that one has the funds to purchase said properly functional item and is not forced by circumstance to make do with lesser items because income cannot keep up with the current cost of living. That issue is a whole other, larger discussion beyond the scope of what this blog can cover.)
With the calendar recently turning to a new year and thus the arbitrary “reset” of life that comes with the changing date, there has been a lot of discussion in social media circles about cleaning out, purging, paring down, and simplifying. And of course, there is a big marketing push along with that to sell boxes, bins, shelves, and other organizing systems that often just result in shuffling the same unused, un-joyful items around to a different storage place.
Instead of rushing out and buying a new storage system to organize all the things you don’t really need, or purging your closet just to follow up with buying a new wardrobe, take some time to slow down and focus on each item, section, task, and need. Think about why you originally got the item, why it hasn’t suited its purpose, and if you need to replace the item what would be a better, more functional choice. Taking that time to evaluate why you’re getting rid of something and why you might need to replace it is a big part of the overall solution to stopping the flow of unnecessary goods in and money out that causes the whole purge/buy/organize/purge cycle to keep repeating.
I’ll wrap this up with an example of how I apply consideration and joy to a functional item, and the inspiration for this article: when I bought my house five years ago, I’d been living in managed rentals for years and had a very minimal tool kit. Among the tools was a big, old, low-powered cordless drill that just wasn’t up to the task of minor repairs around the house (but still works great for drilling garden pots!) So I did a little searching, not nearly enough, and bought into the marketing and sales for a big, heavy, powerful cordless drill and impact driver set, with two huge boxes of every drill bit anyone could ever possibly need along with a set of rechargeable batteries. They arrived, I admired them, and stuck them in the bottom of the storage closet where they languished for so long that one of the batteries died and wouldn’t charge. Because while those were, I’m sure, perfectly nice tools, they were much too heavy and complicated for my small projects and small hands. Last summer when I did the annual sorting of the storage closet, I took a few minutes to think about those drills, and all the projects that weren’t getting done because I didn’t want to use the big, heavy, too-powerful drill. And I decided that the best solution was to find that set of tools a new home where they would be used and appreciated, and replace them with something that was more in line with what I needed. My brother was happy to have a new set of tools for his workshop, and after some research I settled on a small but just-powerful-enough cordless drill and bit set that is just the right size for me. This morning I used it again to install some shelf supports in a closet, and was reminded how much easier it is to get my projects done now that I have the right tool for my needs. With the project list dwindling now that I have the tools to complete them, I am a lot less stressed about all the things which need to be done around the house!
