A Konmari Consultant’s Take on The Home Edit
I will eagerly tell anyone (my barista, UPS guy, fellow taco truck diners …) how they can Konmari their stuff and THEN Konmari THEIR ENTIRE LIFE. I am a true Konvert to the Konmari Method™ with feet planted firmly in Konmari-land.
I am also a fan of The Home Edit.
Yesterday in a post-yoga, high-vibe mindset, I glided into my local library and picked up the book. (Yup. I am that person. If you want to hear about my financial planning strategy, let me know in the comments).
Before reading this book, which I devoured in bed, in a single sitting, I mostly knew The Home Edit (aka THE) for beautiful, colorful “after” photos on Instagram: showing pantries as manicured as million dollar homes’ lawns, kids playrooms with bright rainbows splashed across walls made up of books, and even peeks inside celebrity closets with rows and rows of neatly arranged designer heels.
Now I understand THE beyond the pretty pictures on the ‘gram. The book explains THE philosophy and gives advice on how to implement it, without a THE consultant by your side. I break down what I think about the book, below.
First, THE basics, in case you’re new to the jam:
Founders Clea Shearer and Joanna Teplin have 1.1 million followers on Instagram and a shiny list of celebrity clients. Clean and Joanna poured the heart and soul of their famous organizational philosophy into book form and it was published almost two weeks ago, in all its ROYGBIV glory. THE is currently crossing the country on a book tour, all while keeping us up to date with their crowd sizes (they’re huge), hotel reviews (they’re HONEST), and air travel weather reports (they hate turbulence just as much as the next gal).
While my organizing expertise is firmly in the Konmari Method™ (known as Konmari), I am a fan of THE. What I saw in the book is a solid, thoughtful method for organizing homes accompanied by very helpful, detailed advice on how to make your organized spaces look beautiful.
Paring down your belongings:
The Home Edit method has three sections: edit, assembly and upkeep. Edit is most like Konmari. You’re deciding what to keep and what to let go.
While asking the emotional question “does it spark joy” when deciding what to keep is the signature element of Konmari, THE uses practical and rational advice on paring items down.
Advice like, you should ask yourself, do I need it, do I ever use it, and do I like it? The authors let you know that “no one will ask to see the scarf they gave you for christmas” and the line ‘IT’S OK TO GET RID OF THINGS’ written in all caps and 150pt font gives you implied permission to let things go.
I didn’t find much guidance about how to deal with items that are difficult to part with, or that you have mixed feelings about and this is where I think THE and KM diverge the most.
In my experience, people have a lot of trouble letting go of things, even though they’ve been told that it’s ok, or they know they don't use it.
In my view, the spark joy factor in Konmari allows people to make those decisions from an internal place. It’s the difference of being told how to do something, and realizing for yourself how to do something. I think Konmari is more effective in helping people let go of things.
The Pretty Factor:
This is where THE shines. In THE philosophy, form and function are equals. (Clea has a design background and Joanna has an organizing background - makes total sense, doesn’t it?)
THE method creates spaces that are as aesthetically pleasing as possible because it is a powerful motivator to keep it spaces organized AND because surrounding themselves with attractive, well-organized spaces makes THE founders “really, really happy”. After seeing the popularity of their method, I’m sure that a ton of other people agree that functional and beautiful spaces make them happy (and I’m one of those people!).
On the flipside, Konmari doesn’t emphasize having an organized space that’s pretty, too. You can, but it’s not critical to success in the method.
I’ve often thought that Konmari doesn’t fully serve people who want a beautiful space. They may be left thinking … hmmm well how would I actually go about creating a pretty closet or pantry?
This is what THE does very well. They include great tips for shopping and specific instructions for containerizing to create a beautiful look. There is also excellent advice and tips on shopping for and planning out a containerized space (what THE calls “the assembly”). THE has a signature look - efficient and beautiful systems, with lots of labels.
Closing thoughts:
THE is light on the emotional challenges and ingrained beliefs which makes discarding a huge barrier for a lot of people to get organized. THE is heavy on the practicality and importance of creating a beautiful space.
I think THE a good option for people who don’t have much trouble discarding their items on their own, or for those who believe aesthetics is a significant factor to their happiness. Most important, the THE blueprint for creating aesthetically - wowing spaces is a natural add on to Konmari, perfect for those people who want an Instagram-worthy space.
Have you read The Home Edit? Are you mentally filling your pantry with water hyacinth baskets from the Container Store? Rearranging your books into rainbow order as you read this? Or maybe you’re thinking that a high level of beauty in an organized space isn’t worth the effort? Let me know!