Your Tidying Up Companion

It’s time to share my latest project! I’ve spent the past year talking about The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up with almost everyone I know, and many people I don’t know. Your Tidying Up Companion is my ode to the KonMari Method, a reflection on the ways it has changed my life, and a call-to-action that will hopefully help others commit to their own “tidying marathon.” 

My guide is not only a summary of the technique but an account of the following:

• how I applied the complete KonMari Method of Tidying Up to my home
• answers to commonly asked questions (and commonly raised objections) about the method
• when I decided not to follow instructions and why
• personal roadblocks (the hardest things to let go)
• additional categories, including digital tidying
• how KonMari changed my life in ways I had no idea it would change

Although I generally agree with Marie Kondo's recommendations, I've considered each and every one of them thoroughly, and I offer my own perspective of our impaired approach to clutter. Through conversations, book clubs, and tutorials I've given on tidying, I've learned a lot about people's feelings on the topic, why we avoid it, and how difficult it can be to confront our stuff. My companion offers a clear and simple approach to the method, because I truly want you to get it done. 

Of course, your best bet is to buy The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up, follow the instructions, and do it yourself. And yet, I’ve come across too many people with reservations and questions to leave it all to one book, one path. Maybe my perspective doesn’t add much, but if there’s a chance that someone will see the method differently because of the way I describe it, I wanted to try. I thoroughly believe in the KonMari Method's ability to create positive change, even though I neither sought nor expected it for myself at the time. I was a skeptical reader who became intrigued by Kondo’s cheerful and confident voice, and I decided to trust her as I went along for the ride. 

I consider this my chance to pay the magic forward. I hope I can prove myself handy as a real-life example of someone who has faced each step of the tidying process. Sometimes it’s hard to take the leap from reading the instructions to action, so I’m offering my perspective and support as a companion for your journey. 

Your Tidying Up Companion is available on Amazon Kindle here. This is my first book, but it won’t be my last. I hope you like it. 

Tidy, Baby, One More Time

In honor of my one year tidying anniversary, I did it all again! I just finished the first draft of the tidying guide I've been writing, which I'm now calling Your Tidying Up Companion, and I thought it would be helpful to read along as I tidied to see if my instructions made sense. Marie Kondo says after you've had completed your tidying marathon, you’ll never have to do it again, and she’s right. My stuff was nowhere near its former state, and I would have been fine with “maintenance tidying." Nevertheless, I was curious to see how I felt about my prior decisions, particularly as I noticed items that felt dormant in their homes.

Pulling my things together again, one happy sight was that my piles were much smaller. I never felt overwhelmed by the sight of it all in one place. The items were already categorized and clicked together nicely, only beckoning for some TLC.

Starting with Clothes, I got into spark joy mode right away, and since there were hardly any sparkless items, each category was like a good vibes session. “You’re doing great! Keep it up! Aw, I know I haven’t worn you lately, but you’re awesome.” (Yes, I said these words aloud to my clothes.) Sure enough, several dress shirts in, I stopped. It was a shirt I used to wear a lot; after saving it last year, the shirt hadn't moved off its hanger once. Instead of struggling with my feelings, the words just popped out of my mouth: “Thank you.” I folded my shirt and set it aside.

Finishing clothes, I set aside 33 items to discard. Again, the pile felt right. I knew everything in it was ready to go. They were mostly items I was on the fence about a year ago, and I had let tidying errors (value, need, sentiment) factor into the decision. The items I chose to keep went back to their homes, and again they clicked into their happy little teams. Because I didn’t discard 200 items, my closet didn’t look much different than before, so there's not this huge transformation to bask in. My closet is what it is, I had confidence in my decisions, and I was glad to send some clothes to a better home.

Books didn’t take too long, but I slimmed my library down by 15 books. Papers were more of a slog; over three hours, I took out another 20% of what I had left. Getting back into the groove of selecting items that bring me joy, I was ready to take on the rest of my Komono.

Movies and music were my most dormant items. Even slimmed down, they took up a lot of space, emitted a lot of visual/textual clutter, and I just wasn’t using them. The biggest red flag was my temptation to buy new storage for them - that is, hide them. I struggled as I did last year for much of the day trying to figure out what to keep, but in the end I discarded almost everything. I decided if I really wanted the movies again, I would find them, and the music was already backed up digitally in the cloud. I didn’t need the physical copies lying around, so off they went.

This decision emptied what was left of my CD tower and most shelves of my entertainment center. This was a really big deal for me in terms of moving on. I felt like a big hole had been unplugged, and I proceeded to send the rest of my A/V equipment with it. I’d been watching a lot less TV over the past year, so I didn’t really need this second set-up in my office. Without the equipment or media, I didn’t need the furniture to store it either. Poof! A 6’x6’ section of wall opened up.

I proceeded to buy a FJÄLKINGE shelving unit from IKEA, which replaced six pieces of furniture: three bookshelves, a file drawer, entertainment center, and CD Tower. I reserved the top shelf as my "personal shrine," two shelves for books, and the bottom shelf for my writing and memory box. I placed my valuables and office supplies in one drawer, and my electrical equipment/gadgets in the other. A year after my tidying festival, my Clothes were happy in the closet, Household Items were in their proper homes, and my other komono, Books, Papers, and Sentimental items were all together in one place. Unbelievable!

While my first tidying marathon took a couple weeks, Tidying 2.0 was not even two days. It was helpful to go through the paces to clarify my writing for the guide, but I don't think it's necessary for you to revisit all five categories each year. I will say, though, that your tastes continue to change, and it's important to keep checking in with your possessions to see if they still spark joy. I think it’s a good idea to pull out a category once in awhile and hold your items again to see how you feel.

I was glad to take some time to recognize my first tidying anniversary, and think about all that's happened in the past year. Now that my things are even further reduced, I need to get editing if I want to publish my guide before the end of this year!

Meeting Marie Kondo

I sometimes play up my affection for celebrities I admire (Oprah!), but despite working around Hollywood, I am not a selfie-hunter. I just figure they're people too, trying to go about their day, and posting a photo of me with someone famous doesn't make them my friend, or me more important. The few conversations I've had with actors are virtually the same as I'd have with anyone else. I might mention a performance of theirs, but I prefer learning about their lives in a way that grounds them in the same world we both live in.

This was not the case when I met Marie Kondo. I was excited when I secured tickets to hear her speak as part of her book tour for Spark Joy, though I didn't expect to be more than another face in the crowd. As the date approached, I began to think that I should find a way to thank her for writing Tidying Up, which changed my life. I decided to write a letter and give it to her or one of her handlers at the event. I jotted a couple drafts, and copied the final in my not-so-good handwriting to two sheets of stationery. I also researched and included the customary kanji for opening and closing the letter. Ready to press my luck, I also brought a copy of Tidying Up in case I could ask her to sign it.

Arriving to the auditorium of about 700 attendees, the energy was electric. I was happy to chat with the other excited tidiers, though I was surprised to learn that no one around me had actually started tidying. They were fascinated to hear about my experience, which I shared until the lights came down. Through a show of hands, the announcer confirmed that about half the attendees had read the book, but that only 15 people had completed the KonMari Method. The finishers got our own little round of incredulous applause.

When Marie Kondo was introduced, my adrenaline went to 11. I nodded through her presentation, which was an abbreviated version of the instructions I already knew by heart, and I chuckled at her performance of what "spark joy" feels like. As the session wrapped up, the announcer casually asked everyone to line up for the book signing. It sounds silly and obvious that she would do a signing since she was on a book tour, but I couldn't believe it. I was suddenly extremely nervous!

The crowd slowly inched our way toward the front, and everyone started making deals to snap photos with each other's smartphones. I had my thank you letter ready to present, and I tried to pull together what I would say. Finally, it was our moment. I'll never forget looking into Kondo's sparkly eyes (they really did sparkle), and connecting for those few seconds as I gave her my thanks. Kondo was absolutely sweet and gracious as she took my note and thanked me as well. It was praise all-around, but it was sincere.  

I assume someone on her team coined the term #konvert to designate us KonMari tidiers, but I've never used it because it sounds cult-y to me. I do not worship Marie Kondo, because in the end she's another person like everyone else. In fact, I have this joke where I envision Kondo walking into her perfect, tidy home and greeting her perfect, tidy things, only to open a door and throw her bag into a room piled sky high with junk. I think it’s my way of bringing her down to earth a bit. That said, she also brought me down to earth through tidying, getting me out of the material sphere I'd constructed for myself and allowing me to move on to so much more joy in the present moment. Even if she didn't read the letter, I'm glad I had the opportunity to tell her so.

CES 2016: The "I" in Team

CES continues to inspire me to think big. First off, the literal growth of ZeroHour Innovations, the start-up I’ve worked with for the past couple years. We've gone from standard 10'x10’ booth among hundreds of start-ups to our first 20-footer, fully-furnished and branded! Those extra ten feet made a real difference. While we’re nowhere near the size of the small cities erected by Samsung or Panasonic, we felt great about our presence. I worked my magic PR fingers and, with the help of the CES media team, we received several hits on local broadcasts covering hot products from the show. So many attendees came by and told us “I saw you on TV!” I may have to audition for American Idol next, except this is their last season and I can't sing.

The cherry-on-top was definitely CNET: I happened to recognize a reporter passing by, which led to an invite to meet with one of their editors, and boom! CNET featured us on the last day of CES. Two years into this process, I know how hard it is to stand out and get media interested in you when there are a million other products out there, so I’m really proud whenever we inch along the path of discovery. Of course, it all starts with a cool product, but I still exhaustively research media opportunities, and I think it really helps to be direct and keep our pitch simple when I reach out.

Benefit of having the same name as your father: his high school friends know how to find you!

CES also reminds me how much I miss working on a team. I'm typically brought into projects to solve problems in the absence of a team or outside a team's regular duties, and I conduct most of my work from my home office. But I'm social! I love talking to people and learning about others, and I think I have a knack for conducting myself well in team environments, even when they're stressful. I recognize that we're all in it together and don't get bogged down in politics or posturing, and when the wheels run smoothly, I like to be part of making the machine glide along. I have this experience to a degree in my consulting work as it's project-focused, but working a huge event like CES really lets me dive into the action.

Fall Premiere Week: Watercoolerboarding

Television is now a year-round enterprise of “whenever, wherever” (per Shakira), yet I'm still excited to watch the broadcast network premieres each September. After several years of evaluating programming and putting these schedules together, I have a pretty quick reaction to what I’m watching.

Part of this is understanding the track record: most shows fail, and I watch fully aware that most new shows won’t make it past their first season. Critics become jaded because they've seen too many that don't work, and I'm also easily frustrated by shows that feel manufactured, flailing their plot and music wildly to keep a rock afloat that’s simply meant to sink. But I also remind myself that they started as an idea in a writer’s head, an idea they expanded into a story and then a world with characters they hoped would live on in the public’s minds as well. For every nameless cop drama there's Twin Peaks and Breaking Bad, for every groaning sitcom there's Seinfeld and Friends. The fact that multiple companies spend billions of dollars a year to create stories for people to enjoy, even if it’s for commercial reasons, is amazing.

And while we move toward the moment when Netflix downloads full series directly into our brains, I still enjoy watching television unfold around the watercooler (and the internet), week-by-week. If we've learned anything from social media, it’s that people like to share themselves, but they also like to share excitement. That doesn’t happen when ten million people post selfies, it happens when ten  million people decide which image, video, article, music, movie, or show they like. People even get excited to not like content (internet, meet trolls), as long as they do it together.

I won’t be rooting for shows to crash, even if I know which ones will, and I’ll be giving each one a fair shot, even if that means I meet thirty sets of characters I’ve seen many times over. The odds are against success, but the odds are also for it once in awhile. I like to be there for those moments, to marvel at the ability of a creative team to once again reinvent the wheel, put some fancy rims on it, or when we’re really lucky, throw the wheels out altogether and give us a hoverboard.