A new millennial trend has people thanking their clothes before throwing them into the nearest donation bin, packing their purchases into neat little squares and decluttering their cupboards.
A popular Netflix’s series, released in perfect time for those looking to tackle New Year’s resolutions, Tidying Up with Marie Kondo features a tiny Japanese woman whose aim is to declutter your house and spark joy in your life.
While some critics argue that books should not spark joy, which is the basis of Kondo’s argument to keeping items, and therefore should be kept, the series touches on a deeper problem plaguing Western households — the collection of crap.
In the show, garages are rendered useless for cars as piles of boxes clutter the space, never to be looked at until Kondo’s visit.
We want bigger houses, double door garages, green lawns, yet don’t take into account that the lifestyle we lead is set up for the accumulation of stuff.
The one good thing that the Okanagan’s crazy housing market is doing for millennials is forcing us to utilize our space, as we move into townhouses, apartments, and take advantage of community dog parks and gardens.
And to the naysayers that argue books shouldn’t spark joy and should be collected, how often do you read all those books collecting dust on the shelf in your living room?
Maybe if people visited the library more often, West Kelowna’s second library would have books and not just fancy gadgets.
As we transition into a world where the green lawns of our parents are too expensive, so too must we start thinking about space differently.
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And it’s not just millennials that are keeping crap, how often have you read your 500 some odd books, or parked your car in a garage that wasn’t stacked to the ceiling with stuff?
There’s a lesson to be learned with Kondo, develop an appreciation for what you have, respect your space, tidy it up and buy less crap.
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