Summary

The author of the article advocates for keeping personal belongings and questions the sustainability of the minimalist trend popularized by Marie Kondo.

Abstract

In the article "Why I’m Keeping My Stuff!", the author challenges the minimalist philosophy of decluttering by discarding items that do not "spark joy," as suggested by Marie Kondo. The author argues that the concept of joy is subjective and can change over time, making it an unreliable criterion for deciding what to keep. Instead, the author suggests that belongings should be valued for their practicality, sentimental value, and the memories they hold. The article humorously criticizes the extreme measures of decluttering, such as reducing one's possessions to a bare minimum, and instead promotes a balanced approach to organizing one's home. The author emphasizes that possessions are a reflection of one's life and experiences and should not be discarded carelessly.

Opinions

The author believes that the minimalist approach to decluttering by only keeping items that spark joy is impractical and short-sighted.
The article suggests that decluttering for the sake of appearances, such as when selling a house, is reasonable, but should not extend to getting rid of functional and sentimental items.
The author pokes fun at the idea of extreme minimalism, questioning whether proponents like Marie Kondo practice what they preach in real-life scenarios such as hosting dinner parties.
There is a critique of the minimalist trend as a fad that may lead to regrettable decisions, such as discarding items that one may later need or want.
The author values the personal history and stories that belongings can represent, advocating for keeping items that have been part of one's life.
The article promotes a more relaxed approach to decluttering, suggesting that organization should be periodic and that items should be assessed on their usefulness and emotional significance rather than a fleeting sense of joy.
The author emphasizes that joy is brought into our lives by people, not things, and therefore objects should be kept and enjoyed for their utility and the pleasure they bring through use and remembrance.

Why I’m Keeping My Stuff!

And you should, too!

Okay, you’ve heard the rallying cry of the Marie Kondos of the world. Cover your ears and don’t be lured by the siren, not even if she appears on Late Night!

Downsize, throw out, purge, and declutter until you’re sitting in your living room with your best recliner and three books to your name. You may even have your cat at your side, but even the cat was on your hit list at one point in your frenzied attempt to strip your home of any personality.

Stop the madness! We don’t need to purge or just keep stuff that evokes joy. Joy is such a relative thing anyway. What gives me joy today might want to make me puke tomorrow. So, unless I’m so in tune with the universe that I’m going to predict joy for the next month, year, decade, etc., throwing stuff out that doesn’t inspire joy might be the most idiotic thing I do today.

Decluttering is a good idea, though. I’m definitely doing it before l sell my house. This way when people come through sizing up the place, they can imagine themselves cooking in my galley kitchen and looking out of freshly Windexed windows.

My kitchen will hide the fact that I ever cooked a huge Thanksgiving dinner and splattered grease all over the ceramic backsplash, staining it with a stringy little stain that now seems to blend in with the subtle design of the tiles. It used to be light blue with daffodil impressions. Now it’s light blue with the essence of yellow grease.

Decluttering would just mean I’ve got to throw out half my cutlery and dishes. Nope, no chance. Who knows, Covid-19 might be a thing of the past soon, so how will I entertain without my steak knives and serving plates for 12?

Does Marie Kondo even have more than three people over for dinner at a time? Does she go on a shopping spree every time people show up in clusters of five or more?

Maybe she just sponges off other people and gets herself invited over to their homes. Now there’s an idea for keeping your kitchen sterile, just eat at someone else’s house on major holidays. Imagine all the stuff you won’t need!

Minimalism is definitely in. Maximalism, not so much.

I’m not immune to the glossy, sleek look of long empty countertops and strategically placed pods of white couches and matching rugs, but seriously, you can keep’em!

I’ll keep my weathered leather couch with the nice dip where our mighty shepherd joins us for Netflix and a couple of glasses of wine. Plus, should I spill a drop here or there, no worries, it’ll blend right in with the rest of the decor.

I bought a new ottoman when we first decorated our living room. It used to be charming, now it’s pretty ragged as it has been our cat’s scratch post for the last decade. I’ve thought about having her declawed, but even the term conjures up medieval torture, so she scratches on.

Don’t get me wrong. You should organize every so often, six months works for me. At that time, I get a bunch of black garbage bags and start throwing all sorts of stuff in there that my husband and kids haven’t used lately and is in my way.

I leave the bags out for them to inspect before dragging them out to the Salvation Army. Usually, they’re too busy to care and only notice stuff is gone when summer approaches and they have no flip flops or shorts.

Sometimes I err on the side of does the item annoy the living daylights out of me? Or maybe I’ve washed it so many times by accident as my sons didn’t put the laundry away and I just keep washing the same blue sweatshirt.

If it does inspire rage, then it’s for someone else to enjoy!

Luckily, they are all good-natured about this and attribute the loss of certain items to absent-minded weekends spent outside our home. They must have left that favorite sweatshirt with the skulls on it at a friend’s house. I nod approvingly and refrain from commenting. Sometimes I even get brownie points for not scolding them about losing it. My system is not as polished as Marie Kondo’s, but it works for me.

Enjoy your stuff. If it made it past the front door, you must have wanted it for some God-forsaken reason. If you’ve forgotten the reason, then just let it sit and exist right there, it’ll come to you.

Whatever you do, don’t use the spark joy test. It will lead to hasty decisions you will ultimately regret. Believe me, I know, I’ve got to go out and buy a whole bunch of new planters ’cause the ones I had didn’t spark joy last year. Now I’ve got to spend good money on planters. The new ones are staying put, no matter how little joy they give me.

Bottom line is that we bring joy; the stuff we buy doesn’t bring a thing.

It’s all on us.

So buy what you can afford, use it to within an inch of its life, and just enjoy your stuff.

There will be plenty of time for your kids to haul it out to the dumpster when you’re gone, but for now, it’s yours. Keep it, enjoy it, don’t let it go until you have to.

If you enjoyed my Marie Kondo meltdown, you may enjoy this fictional piece as well. Thank you for reading.

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