O: Organize
April 18, 2022
Dear Ms. Kondo,
Beauty is in the eye of the beholder as joy is in the heart of the owner. I have watched some of your programs, also looked at your website, and checked out articles on your philosophy. While I can understand your position of keeping that which brings one joy, I have some reservations as to some of the choices that are being made.
For one thing, an object whether it be clothing, a piece of furniture, a notebook, etc. does not have a fixed temporal existence. Its joyfulness is not binding forever. For example, this couch that I’ve been sleeping on for the past 3 weeks provides much joy to me, as it allows me to still sleep in my own house, and not with my disgruntled wife until she decides to end this argument about the said couch and admit that I am right. However, if I had the choice when it was purchased, when it provided no joy at all since I did not like it, to begin with, I would have no joyful place to sleep right now. Thankfully as of yet, we have not gotten rid of it.
And then there are the items, like the pictures and letters from all my ex-girlfriends that have brought me much joy throughout my life. Just because my wife finds no joy in them, which by the way is another of the reasons I am sleeping on the couch, need they be gotten rid of? I tried to convince my wife to use one of your guidelines and find a special place to store joyful items. She didn’t go for my “Shrine to my Exes” idea.
There must be a better way to determine what should be kept and thrown out. Clothing is no different. How many clothes that have been stylish in the past have come back into style again? Do you realize how much I would have to spend to buy a new pair of bell-bottoms or loafers now? Granted sometimes there is a question of outgrowing something. But isn’t that what tailors are for? Also, it’s been noted that as we grow older we shrink. I was 5’ 8”, but now I’m closer to 5’ 7”. Maybe at some point, I will fit into that wide-lapel suede suit again. Can I risk throwing it out or giving it away? I think not.
So there it is. My thoughts are if you have the room, you should use it. If you don’t have room, buy a bigger house. It makes sense to me. Which by the way is the third reason I have to sleep on the couch.
Thanks for listening.
Ever hopeful,
I. M. Horder
Brilliantly written as always. And I’d b glad if your wife still keeps the couch and also your exes pics after reading this . Many wrote about Mary kondo today but yours is the best! 😉
Dropping by from a to z “The Pensive”
LOL. You probably should consider yourself lucky that your wife hasn’t learned how to fold you into a perfectly-tidy Kondo package. You may find yourself stuffed into the sofa, and the sofa put out on the curb.
I totally agree with you. Lucky for me, this is a fictional piece. I was told that I had to make that point very clear, but felt that might ruin the fun of it. Thanks for reading.
I had fun writing it. btw, this is a fictional piece. Thanks for reading.
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