Nor does a bathroom countertop spilling over with toiletries or a bedroom wardrobe stuffed with outfits from the 80s.
It’s time for some serious decluttering, and the best person to take you under her wing is Rebecca Jo-Rushdy, 38, Malaysia’s first platinum KonMari consultant.
For the uninitiated, KonMari refers to the decluttering method made popular by Japanese organising consultant and author Marie Kondo. It uses a unique selection criterion of choosing to only keep only items that spark joy in you.
Inspired by the method, Jo-Rushdy adopted it in her life 10 years ago while pregnant with her first child. And by 2020, she had founded her own company called ‘Spark Joy & Flow’.
“Most people misunderstand that KonMari is about minimalism, but that’s not true. It’s about choosing what things to keep because they make you happy, and in turn discarding those that don’t,” she told FMT Lifestyle recently.
“Everyone’s idea of joy is different, if you like reading, then what sparks joy for you might be having huge bookshelves filled with books, but someone else will think it’s a waste of space,” she said.
A self-confessed reformed shopaholic, she said she used to buy material things to fill a void in her life. “When I started cleaning up and getting rid of barely-worn clothes, however, I started to self-reflect and now buy things more carefully.”
The conscious act of thinking before buying made her avoid fast fashion brands altogether and in so doing, she reduced wastage.
Decluttering, or more precisely, discarding things that don’t spark joy in you, affords you a more organised and clean space to live in. Besides being pleasing to the eye, it is also beneficial to your nervous system and helps reduce anxiety.
According to Jo-Rushdy, clutter in the home contributed to the immense stress many people felt during the pandemic lockdowns as their homes were turned into offices overnight and for long stretches of time.
“It’s like a leaky faucet, because our energy gets drained from looking at the mess,” she said.
Essentially, the KonMari method involves a lot of self-reflecting and coming to terms with your past in order to envision your future by taking action in the present.
According to Jo-Rushdy, in order for the KonMari method to truly work, you must first know yourself well and find joy from within.
The method is like a mental workout, decluttering systematically according to categories – clothes, books and paper-related documents before moving on to ‘komono’ that are accessories or miscellaneous items and lastly, things with sentimental value.
“My approach is ‘being done’ is better than ‘being perfect’, because you started in the first place and that’s the most important step,” the Los Angeles-born, mother-of-two said.
When asked if the KonMari method had become less relevant today, Jo-Rushdy said it was not a fad but a lifestyle choice that left a positive impact on one’s life.
“Change and transformation requires commitment and a mindset shift, not something that can be done in a short period of time, so it’s imperative to find something that aligns with you so you can grow.”
Infusing lifestyle coaching with this method, Jo-Rushdy has been offering her six-week virtual course called ‘Declutter with Joy” via University of the Third Age Kuala Lumpur and Selangor since 2021. The next course starts this September.
“It’s my passion to guide people to thrive in life no matter what age we are. Age is truly just a number!” she laughed.
Head to Spark Joy & Flow’s website for more information, or follow Rebecca Jo-Rushdy on Instagram.