NETFLIX - A new trend in decluttering was ushered in by a show that premiered this January. "Does it spark joy?" The question was the keystone for deciding whether an item that has been sitting in the closet should still be kept or not anymore.
Marie Kondo, the host of the television show, is the coach and guide to a number of families that needed to declutter their homes. The first step in her program is to bring out all the clothes in the dresser and to pile them all up one on top of the other. The next step is to take one item at a time and the owner would reflect if the item still sparks joy. If the item still does spark joy, then the item stays. If not, the item goes.
The result is a closet, shelf, or a space that is very well organized and is no longer cluttered. However, experts are worried about the way this method is affecting the environment.
Environmental expert Kate O'Neill pointed out that thinking about where the waste goes is not part of the famed decluttering process. O'Neill further pointed out how it is wrong to think that items which are already out the door would find their own way in the world.
The concern for plastic waste grew as one of the families that underwent the decluttering process has used 13 pieces of 30-gallon trash bags to get rid of the items that they no longer want. About half of the items were items that cannot be donated anymore and should be disposed of. The worry came in when more families started doing the process on their own.
Waste management companies were not able to track whether the volume of trash increased with the start of Marie Kondo's show. On the other hand, charities, thrift shops, and secondhand shops have confirmed that donations were at its highest in January. Some charities reported an increase of around 20% in donations while Australia reports 40%.
Kondo points out that her goal was to help people examine their relationship with the items they bring into their homes. This will decrease the rate of families bringing in items that they don't really need.
Economists, in turn, pointed out the underlying issue where people have been so accustomed in acquiring an unprecedented amount of items that are often disposable and are good for single-use only.
