Why Marie Kondo Has "Kind Of Given Up" on Keeping Her Home Tidy

Marie Kondo is not tidying up at home as much these days. In fact, the Netflix star says it's now "messy." Find out why.

By Corinne Heller Jan 28, 2023 7:20 PMTags
Watch: Marie Kondo Confesses She Has "Kind of Given Up" on Tidying Up

While she's still sparking joy, Marie Kondo is not tidying up at home as much these days. Why? One word: Kids.

The life of the Japanese organizing consultant—creator of the KonMari Method of tidying and star of Netflix's Tidying Up with Marie Kondo—changed in more ways than one after she and husband Takumi Kawahara welcomed their third child, a son, in 2021.

"Up until now, I was a professional tidier, so I did my best to keep my home tidy at all times. I have kind of given up on that in a good way for me," she said through an interpreter at a recent media webinar and virtual tea ceremony, The Washington Post reported Jan. 26, "Now I realize what is important to me is enjoying spending time with my children at home."

Marie, also a mom to daughters Satsuki, 7, and Miko, 6, also said, "My home is messy, but the way I am spending my time is the right way for me at this time at this stage of my life."

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Cutest Celeb Kids on Instagram

While pregnant with her first daughter, Marie made great efforts to organize her home to prepare for the baby. "When we found out we were having a child, my husband and I went through a decluttering festival by reviewing things we had," she told The Wall Street Journal in 2017. "And we discussed how much space—for example, how many drawers—we could give to our daughter."

Emma McIntyre/BAFTA LA/Getty Images

In 2016, Marie told Good Housekeeping that after Miko was born, she thinks she "became more forgiving" about her tidying, adding, "especially because I'm so much more limited in time and [given] the sheer number of things that increase."

But Marie does encourage her children to help her keep their home tidy. "I try to teach them how to fold clothes. Children are very close observers so I try to make it so they can watch me folding clothes," she told the Associated Press in 2018. "From time to time I do feel anxious. It's not 100 percent. It's not perfect."

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