From the beginning, Kondo made clear that her style wasn’t about minimalism or holding your home to some kind of bizarre standard of tidiness — it was about joy. If you liked a type of pen, buy more of that type of pen. If you wanted your living room to be filled with pinball machines, do that (a woman she helped on her show did exactly that.
Now she’s got three kids and her joy is sparked by spending time with them rather than tidying up.
May we all have as much intentional joy in our lives as Marie Kondo. I used to feel guilty about the clutter and tchotchkes that we have in our condo — about half our home decor comes from Spirit of Halloween — but she made me realize that all the weird skulls and spooky stuff is what makes me happy in my own home. To Hell with minimalism, I’m gonna be the weird Halloween house 24/7/365.