What’s wrong with the “spark joy” standard and the KonMari method?
Well… for starters, they certainly don’t spark joy for the earth.
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I have Marie Kondo’d the heck out of my underwear drawer. I absolutely love an organized closet (but rarely have one). I thinking dumping it all out, getting rid of what no longer serves you (physically and emotionally) and then putting back in what does is the best way to minimize, organize, and assess a dresser full of clothes.
With the new Netflix special, people are going KonMari crazy, once again! And while I wholeheartedly stand behind an organized closet (links to assess) and honoring our possessions (link to taking care), I take issue with quickly throwing away anything and everything that doesn’t “spark joy.”
I have an issue with the “spark joy” standard. A big one.
I think it creates unnecessary clothing waste and gives us an excuse to buy even more.
There are things in my wardrobe that will never spark joy, (likely yours too), but that I still need. Do my Spanx spark joy? Certainly not! I would rather have my pre-baby, twenty-something body that never needed sucking in. But, I don’t have that and likely never will again. Do I need and wear my Spanx from time to time? You bet I do.
Does my not very well-made, seldom worn, somewhat dated winter coat spark joy? Of course not. I don’t like it much at all and would rather have a new, beautiful, updated coat. But am I going to get rid of it only to have to replace it when I visit my family next winter? No. Definitely not. It serves its purpose two or three times a year, and then goes to the back of my closet not to be thought of until the following winter. I will keep it until it falls apart or no longer fits. And then I will replace it with another seldom worn, but likely better made coat (although this time, I will likely look on Poshmark or ThredUp).
And this describes my first issue with the KonMari method. If I were to decide to get rid of my coat, I don’t think I could swap it with a friend. It isn’t well made, beautiful, or really in that great of shape. I could probably donate it, but I live in Southern California and this coat is overkill for our winters. I have never once worn it here, so it probably wouldn’t sell at Goodwill (only 5% of donations do).
It would likely end up in a landfill.
Next winter, I will head up to my parents’ house during Christmas. And need a coat. So, off to the mall I would go, to pick up another, not that well-made, likely to not get worn very often coat.
See the problem?
The KonMari method encourages us to dispose of things that somewhat hastily. We are then given an excuse to replace those items with things that spark joy now, but for how long? When will we discard them again.
KonMari Does Not Equal Minimalism
While people are cleaning out their closets in the name of minimalism, they are heading to the malls and fast fashion shops with the intent to buy more things that “spark joy” today, but are the clothing waste of tomorrow. Literally, tomorrow, as we wear and discard our clothing so quickly that it is garbage almost as soon as it is purchased.
Once KonMari’d, are we filling our closets and bookshelves back up?
Rather than KonMari’ing our closets, why not avoid buying things we don’t need in the first place, keep our closets neat by regularly responsibly disposing of things we no longer need (while they are still in good shape) and taking care of what we have.
I do love the idea of paring down what we have, loving it while it serves us, and taking care of it. I think that it is missing two key points: conscious consumerism and ethical disposal.
Practicing An Ethical KonMari Method
Conscious Consumerism
The first step to practicing a more ethical KonMari method is to stop buying what you don’t need. Simple as that. Buy things that are well made and shop mindfully. Reducing what you own today will not keep your closet neat if you continue to stuff it with new clothing. You’ll just be in the same position as you were when you started the book.
New storage containers and solutions are still consumption. Try to use what you already have to store your clothes. Buying more, neater, color coded bins is consumption. It is important to remember that the point of the Marie Kondo method (and minimalism in general) isn’t to organize, but to pare down what you already have. More storage is still more.
Start by minimizing at the source
Once you have minimized your wardrobe, consider a capsule wardrobe or a uniform made of high quality, timeless pieces that you absolutely adore, that fit well, and make you feel good about yourself. Invest some time in developing your personal style to prevent buying things that don’t work with your life.
And keep it small. Now that you’ve organized, minimized, and decided what to keep, work hard to keep your wardrobe small, well-loved, and neat.
Try not to get rid of clothing or household items with the intent of replacing it (unless of course it is damaged beyond repair).
Proper Disposal
The KonMari method does not address proper disposal (or at least I am not aware of it). KonMari enthusiasts talk gleefully about how many large bags of clothing they got rid of (I am guilty of this). Some is sold, some is donated, much is thrown directly into the trash. And if we aren’t throwing it in the trash ourselves, our “donations” are ending up there anyway.
Getting rid of our clothes, products, and housewares needs to be done properly.
One woman’s trash is not another woman’s treasure in most cases.
The idea of clothing “donation” as a good thing is often false. When we clean out our closets and bring bag after bag of used clothing to Goodwill or other charities, we often pat ourselves on the back for our good deeds. Unfortunately, when we dump our clothes at the Goodwill, we aren’t necessarily doing anyone any favors.
Btw, Goodwill and others are asking us to STOP bringing our items to them. They have enough. As a result of all this KonMari minimalism, their bins are overflowing.
Properly disposing of our clothing is one of the more important things we can do in creating an ethical wardrobe. (Update: I wrote an entire post on how to dispose of your clothing here) but here are a few keys to eliminating as much clothing waste as possible (in order of earth friendliness):
- Buy fewer things. Of course.
- Sell or gift what no longer works for you. If you have something in your closet that no longer fits, or just doesn’t work but is in good condition, try to give it to a friend that you know will use it or sell it.
- Donate it. If it is in good condition, and you can’t sell it or gift it, donate it. But please (seriously, please!) don’t donate anything that is stained, has holes or other markings, or is in any way unwearable.
- Upcycle it. If it isn’t in great shape, try to make something useful out of it. Pillow cases, shopping bags, and kids clothes are all great examples of things you can make out of your old clothes. A quick Pinterest search will give you tons of ideas.
- Turn it into rags. We can all use extra rags around the house, right? Old t-shirts make great reusable makeup removers, baby wipes, and cleaning rags.
- Recycle it. Most clothing can be recycled. Click here to find a recycling center near you.
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I love minimalism, dressing purposefully, and really loving what we own. If we only purchased high quality, timeless clothing that we love, and then took good care of it, we might not find ourselves throwing away so much.
We need to start at the source. We need to be minimalists while shopping rather than after the fact. And we need to ask clothing manufacturers to do the same, although that is another post altogether (link to letter writing campaigns).
And when we do need to throw something away, which we will all inevitably do, we need to be conscious about how we are doing it, and work to divert as much clothing waste from the landfill as possible. While working to spark joy in our own homes, we need to make sure that we are also treading lightly on the earth!