Marie Kondo

Marie’s fascination with tidying was first piqued at just five years old. Her enchantment with the pages of her mother’s home and lifestyle magazines – from their beautiful interior decorations to their strategic cleaning tips – led Marie to spend far more time organizing her dolls than actually playing with them.

In her youth, Marie was especially close with her grandmother, Noriko. Her effortless tidying and careful, considerate regard for her home inspired Marie to cherish what you own and to live with intention and care. 

At 15, Marie was captivated by the craft of organization after reading “The Art of Discarding,” a bestselling book in Japan at the time. She started to explore tidying seriously and read every book on the subject she could get her hands on. At that point, Marie felt that tidying meant discarding. Though she tidied and tidied, her room seemed gray and dull and never looked organized.

During a particularly difficult tidying session, Marie’s body became heavy and she passed out on the floor. After two hours, she came to and thought she heard a voice telling her to “look at the items carefully and closely.” To her, the items looked like they were glowing. In this exact moment, she realized that instead of looking for reasons to discard an item, she should look for reasons to keep them – and the “spark joy” concept was born. 

After starting her tidying consultant business as a 19-year-old university student in Tokyo, Marie began honing her tidying craft. From her years of research and experience working with hundreds of clients emerged a unique approach to tidying: The KonMari Method™️. Designed to help you never revert to clutter again, Marie’s teachings are centered by the Method’s one-of-a-kind selection criterion – if something brings you joy, keep it!

Marie Kondo has authored nine books in Japanese on tidying and organization. Her first book “The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up” has been translated into 44 languages, including English, Chinese (Simplified and Traditional), French, German, Italian, Portuguese, Russian and Spanish just to name a few, which collectively have sold more than 14 million copies worldwide.

Her first television show, “Tidying Up With Marie Kondo” was Netflix’s #1 non-fiction release in 2019 and earned 7 award nominations – 2 Emmys, 3 Critics Choice Awards, 1 Realscreen Award and 1 TCA Award.

In 2015, she was also listed as one of Time Magazine’s 100 most influential people. 

Marie has been featured in Time Magazine, The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, The London Times, Vogue Magazine, Jimmy Kimmel Live!, The Late Show with Stephen Colbert as well as on numerous major Japanese television and radio programs.