December 19, 2025 —
The words we use to describe how we feel about our possessions are often simple:
I always feel so “good” when I wear this sweater.
This candy jar “reminds” me of summers at my grandmother’s house.
Whenever I look at this dresser, I “see” my dad standing in front of it, counting out the change from his pocket.
We own clothes that make the color of our eyes shine brighter, a vase or painting that visitors always ask about, a piece of jewelry never far from sight.
Now thanks to Marie Kondo, we have a new buzzword to describe our fondness—it “sparks joy.”
“The best way to choose what to keep and what to throw away is to take each item in one’s hand and ask: ‘Does this spark joy?’ If it does, keep it. If not dispose of it,” the Japanese organizational guru writes in The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up.
Marie’s decluttering question really took off with her follow-up book, Spark Joy: An Illustrated Master Class on the Art of Organizing and Tidying Up.
Can You Feel the Joy?
Of course, we own lots of things that don’t spark joy, but we can’t live without them. Refrigerator, vacuum sweeper, bedroom lamp, stack of bills and so on. And we own couches, coats and other household and personal items we sure would like to ditch, but do not have the money to buy a joyful replacement.
But let’s be honest. Most of us also own miscellaneous, duplicate, non-essential items that clutter our closets, drawers and cabinets, and fill boxes in the attic, basement and garage.
Those are the things to target when it comes to weighing its joyful spark.
A few tips from Marie before you begin:
- Sort by category, not by room;
- Best sorting sequence is clothes, books, papers, miscellaneous and lastly mementos, such as photographs;
- For an item that once sparked joy, but no longer does (because it no longer fits or functions properly), but sure to acknowledge your gratitude by saying something like, “Thank you for giving me joy when I bought you.”
- Save space by folding clothes into a simple, smooth rectangle.
An Abundance of Joy?
Maybe you’re a half-full-glass kind of person—a great trait in my book. But alas, just about everything you own gives you joy, and you need to downsize.
Here are some creative solutions to deal with your abundance:
- Take a dozen or so of your favorite T-shirts, (or those belonging to your spouse or grown children) and turn them into a T-shirt quilt. You can find plenty of instructions on the Internet, as well as companies that will do it for you.
- Gather favorite, outdated ties or scarves and turn them into a pillow, or pick one cherished article of clothing of a deceased loved one and turn it into a memory bear.
- Take photographs of your knickknacks and turn them into a slideshow.
- Keep one antique dining room chair (not all six) or one teacup (rather than the old set).
After you have done these things, joyfully part with the extra or related items.
And spread the joy. Give family members and friends, neighbors and co-workers one ornament or book or piece of jewelry from your collection—not a boxful as that is more like passing the buck than spreading the joy.
Donate a treasured piece of furniture or painting to your retirement community or church. That way, you will continue to have the pleasure of enjoying it, along with sharing with others.
And use your joyful items as often as you can. Pull out the china for breakfast or lunch with a neighbor, wear the silk shirt around the house and decorate rooms with treasured mementos from vacations. In other words, don’t keep your joyful possessions out of sight or out of use.
“I can think of no greater happiness in life than to be surrounded only by the things I love. How about you? All you need to do is to get rid of anything that doesn’t touch your heart. There is no simpler way to contentment,” Marie writes.
In the past, Molly Kavanaugh frequently wrote about Kendal at Oberlin for the Cleveland Plain Dealer, where she was a reporter for 16 years. Now we are happy to have her writing for the Kendal at Oberlin Community.