Do you know KONMARI, a Japanese organizing consultant who is now trendy by Netflix in the USA?
She has visited at a client home with lots of clutters, then helped her or him to declutter, changing life.For me as Japanese, I have known her since 2010 when her first book was released in Japan. Her essence is simple,
The Japanese spirit to focus on LOVING ‘feeling-spirit’ rather than ‘thinking-mind’ can work for decluttering.
It is not minimalism but simplicity influenced with Japanese ZEN and SINTO as well as Asian BUDDHISM. It is, however, not religious but spiritual and scientific/practical. Never think too much. Think a little, but Just feel and make it happen.
As far as I know, she is the third charisma of decluttering (Tidying home) who introduced such ‘feeling-spirit’ concept and have become popular in Japan. Their booming books are;
2005 Karen Kingston- ‘Decluttering withFeng-shui (Chinese geomancy)
2009 Hideyo Yamashita-‘Danshari’ based on Yoga service
2010 Marie Kondo (Konmari as nickname) ‘Life-changing magic’ based on the spiritual (told by Konmari)
Karen was English who loved Asian cultures so much that she moved to Indonesia power spot, Bali. Hideyo created the three Chinese letter words, Dan-Sya-Ri which means Refuse-Despose-Separate as yoggi terminology. Konmari loves to use the ‘magic’ which implies a bit suspicious spiritualism for Japanese people.
All of the three have common factors of
- focusing ‘feeling-spirit’ rather than ‘thinking-mind’,
- saying that decluttering can change even our lives to be positive,
- being influenced by Asian spiritual services and/or religions.
I have done all of these, but could not change my bad cluttering habit until 2016.
I could completely understand and like what was written in their books, but just my body, mind and spirit could not move to make it happen.
★Especially at Kitchen/Food, I could not throw away any food nor kitchen tools/plates because cooking/eating are my ‘deeply-loving hobbies’ rather than necessities. Konmari told to pick up only what you love, but I love everything at my cluttered kitchen/food!
However, in 2016 when I have awakened to get Aha! moment, I have come to deeply understand how to control my spirit/mind then body. Therefore, I have finally mastered their spirit-driven-organizing essences, then have developed my own holistic gourmet method specialized in tidying kitchen/food.
The three charisma ladies told about Kitchen/food, but were not so practical nor enjoyable to me, a food-loving vegetarian chef/counselor. I would like to share my holistic method with the same Asian food lovers, then to keep developing the method together in social and sustainable living/meetups/classes.
