Marie Kondo tells us to ditch joyless items but where are we sending them?
The rise of the de-cluttering icon, Ikea's "peak stuff" comments - we have an overconsumption problem but simply chucking things out won't solve it
Earlier this year, Ikea's head of sustainability said at a Guardian Sustainable Business event that consumers in the developed world had reached "peak stuff". The success of Japanese de-cluttering icon and best-selling author Marie Kondo suggests he's not the only one who thinks so.
The praise and enthusiasm for the KonMari method, which is Kondo's approach of only keeping items that "spark joy", signal that attitudes in an increasingly disposable world are shifting. On Instagram and Twitter her devotees post pictures of the clothes and items they're getting rid of, often with glowing endorsements of her method's effects on wellbeing.
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