Marie Kondo (also known as “KonMari”) is a Japanese organizing consultant, author, and entrepreneur.
I first became aware of Marie Kondo following her appearance as a guest on The Tim Ferriss Show Podcast.
I enjoyed the episode and my interest was piqued, so I downloaded the audiobook version of her book The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying on Audible.
I was already deep into the process of simplifying my life, after watching the Minimalism documentary on Netflix. Marie Kondo’s KonMari method helped me to refine and streamline further.
The KonMari method encourages tidying by category – not by location – beginning with clothes, then moving on to books, papers, komono (miscellaneous items), and, finally, sentimental items. Keep only those things that speak to the heart, and discard items that no longer spark joy.
Since the launch of her Netflix series Tidying Up With Marie Kondo, minimalism has been brought to a new wider main stream audience.
After adopting minimalism, one of the biggest changes was to my wardrobe. Whilst losing weight and improving my health & fitness, over the course of a year, I slimmed down from wearing an XL to a medium.
This meant donating the clothes that no longer fit me. My body was changing at pace so it didn’t make sense to replace the clothes quickly. I became more intentional with the clothes I wore and purchased.
I now own less than 30 items of clothing (see Courtney Carver’s #Project333). My clothes now are mostly dark, neutral, keeping things simple and avoiding colours requiring additional items to match. Investing in quality over quantity.
I’ve wore exactly the same running top since I’ve started. Repurchased & replaced as I have lost weight throughout the year.
I eventually removed the full size wardrobe & draws and scaled down to a simple clothes rail.
I am in no doubt that keeping things simple has significantly helped my running progress.
