From a little girl on, Marie Kondo was fascinated with cleaning up her room and keeping her possessions neat and orderly. As a young school girl she would volunteer to clean the classroom when the other kids fought over feeding the classroom pets or giving out test papers. After getting home from school, Marie would immediately go to her room, put her things away where they belonged and work at reducing the amount of things in her room. When she finished with her room, she would move on to her sister’s room and begin straightening and organizing her room.

Marie was a natural for the career she ultimately took on. She became an in-home consultant who would help her clients tidy up their homes, reduce them of clutter, discard unused or unnecessary personal possessions and devise effective storage solutions. She always promised her clients that by following her approach – the KonMari Method – they would never have to deal with clutter again. She also assured them that their lives would be more joyful and productive and that their lives would literally be transformed.

Marie Kondo describes the KonMari Method in great detail. She provides what is fundamentally a how-to guide in her book, The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up. Just as the title suggests, Marie promises that by adhering to her advice her clients will experience life-changing events that will have a magical effect on their lives and even their careers. This transformation is possible through the de-cluttering of one’s house and the effective storage of items – everything from books to clothes to papers and to mementos that are the most difficult to part with.

Following the KonMari Method there is not only a physical improvement in one’s life, clients experience a new inner peace and confidence that occurs when people are surrounded with only items that bring them joy. Marie Kondo provides the steps it takes to learn which items should be discarded and which ones should be maintained and stored away in specific places.

Marie Kondo describes how to connect with one’s items on a deep and personal level and to develop a real and lasting relationship with one’s house. Kondo has utter respect for the homes and possessions of her clients. When she begins a new consultation job, she greets the house and kneels down to it to demonstrate her respect and honor for it. She advises her clients to greet their homes every day when they come home. A home should be appreciated because it serves as a shelter and haven for its owners.

After Marie’s clients complete the KonMari process in their home, they are assured that they will never have to deal with clutter again. In fact, their lives will be transformed. With a clutter-free environment, her clients will be positioned to take their lives to a new level. They will be clear-eyed and ready for more change in their lives. Ultimately they will realize that the clutter in their homes was also cluttering up their minds and creating barriers that were keeping them from elevating their lifestyles and advancing their careers.