Your Vision: defining your ideal lifestyle and living environment, KonMari style. In this episode, Spark Joy explores how you can clarify your vision of the kind of life you want to lead and why it’s important step, but often overlooked, in the KonMari journey. We discuss the why and how of identifying the vision of your ideal life and how it can help you complete the KonMari process to greater success. Your life vision will help you clarify why you want to tidy and how your life will look once the tidying is completed. Spark Joy wants to hear from you! Tell us your burning tidying questions or share stories about how KonMari has impacted your life. Find us at www.sparkjoypodcast.com, email us at contact@sparkjoypodcast.com to leave a question or comment for a chance to be featured on next week’s show. Join us on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter via @sparkjoypodcast. In this episode, you’ll enjoy: Tips for how to begin identifying your vision, making it specific, focused and intentional Learning how to break down identifying your ideal life into manageable parts: What is your ideal day? Your ideal moment that would spark joy? Picture yourself doing something delightful. Begin with gratitude and appreciation - what is currently working for you in your space and in your life? Imagine how you would be living your life today if money, time and obligations were not a constraint? Take a holistic look at how you’re doing in each area of your life: Career, Relationships, Hobbies, Spirituality, Health, Finances, Community. Check out the The KonMari Wheel of Impact List the first five life goals (long- or short- term) that immediately come to mind as they relate to those categories. Close your eyes and imagine you’ve reached the end of your tidying journey. Describe in detail how you envision your home to look and how you feel We share our own visions and visions of some of our clients from all stages of life: single people, families, couples, downsizers and empty nesters How to create your own Vision statement! Get it out of your head and onto another media: diary, Pinterest board, website, blog, Facebook post, anything. Establish a new tradition of creating a vision board and display it proudly in your home Example of Vision Boards and Statements: A Goal Setting Strategy That Sticks Gems: “The question of what you want to own is actually the question of how you want to live your life” “I just want things to be different instead of thinking about what that different looks like.” You can find Karin Socci at The Serene Home You can find Kristyn Ivey at For the Love of Tidy

Kelly Covert, inner voice coach, helps us lay down lifelong habits to help us break free from the past. Our guest this week is inner voice coach, Kelly Covert. She is the host of the popular podcast, "In Her Voice", which explores ways in which women can begin to love themselves fully every single day. Kelly Covert has a passion for helping women lay down their lifelong habits of perfectionism and chronic overachieving, so they can listen to their inner voices and break free of the past. Through her coaching, online programs, writing and speaking, she is creating a movement of women that are practicing “worthy now” instead of “worthy if or when”. Her work has been featured on The Huffington Post, The Elephant Journal, YourTango.com, and she has been a featured guest on many podcasts. In this episode, we talk with Kelly and learn about how coaching has allowed her to exercise her dream of helping women while teaching her so much about herself. She shares how her inner voice work has allowed her to grow as a woman, a partner, a mom and a musician! To connect with Kelly, you can visit www.kellycovert.com or connect with her on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter @kellycovert You can also learn more about Symphoria here! Symphoria Spark Joy wants to hear from you! Tell us your burning tidying questions or share stories about how KonMari has impacted your life. Find us at www.sparkjoypodcast.com, email us at contact@sparkjoypodcast.com to leave a question or comment for a chance to be featured on next week’s show. Join us on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter via @sparkjoypodcast In this episode, you’ll enjoy: -How Kelly found her voice and decided to help others via individual coaching Inner Voice Coaching and group coaching Inner Voice Group Coaching -Learn about the Worthy Collective on Facebook:The Worthy Collective -What to look for in a personal coach to meet your own goals. -Kelly’s evolution as a podcaster and her new podcasting project, In Her Voice. In Her Voice -How Kelly has practiced KonMari and how tidying has made a difference in Kelly’s home and family -Kelly’s tips for balancing life as a mother, as a professional and as a creative person What sparks joy for Kelly: Coffee! The ability to take a long, hot bath in the morning and working on my new podcast! Kelly's parting words of wisdom: “You are worthy right this minute. You do not have to do one thing to earn that. You were put on this earth with beautiful gifts that you need to share. And the only way that you can share is to believe that they are there and that you are good enough. So, get shining because we are waiting for your light to shine brightly!” Gems: “Create a space to access accountability.” “We don’t have to do anything to be worthy. It’s just there.”  “It comes from the action. That is how we embody that joy.” “It’s about knowing who you really are and being 100% ok with that.” You can find Karin Socci at The Serene Home You can find Kristyn Ivey at For the Love of TidySpecial Guest: Kelly Covert.

Dorothy Breininger, author and veteran professional organizer as seen on A&E's hit show “Hoarders” sorts out the mind-body-home clutter connection and related addictions. Dorothy Breininger, aka “Dorothy The Organizer,” is known to millions as the fearless-yet-endearing problem solver on A&E’s Emmy-nominated hit TV series “Hoarders.” She is the author of seven books, including Stuff Your Face or Face Your Stuff. Dorothy is featured in the Wall Street Journal, Forbes, O Magazine, and appears on the Today Show, Dr. Phil, the VIEW, The Doctors, QVC and PBS. In this episode, Dorothy helps us make the connection between the clutter in our homes and addictions we may have in other areas of our life (food, alcohol, gambling, shopping, etc.). We explore some of the barriers that prevent us from making the choices we know are best for us and how to overcome them. Dorothy also shares her first hand experience working with clients suffering from hoarding and some of the resources available to help those with this condition. Dorothy is offering Spark Joy listeners: A Free Guide on “How to Banish Clutter Creatively” A Free Cancer Concierge ebook that can help you learn how to organize yourself and your life in the face of a cancer diagnosis To connect with Dorothy Breininger, you can visit her website, www.dorothytheorganizer.com for free tips, videos, newsletters, organizing resources for your life, home, office, and relationships. Be sure to check out her book “Stuff Your Face or Face Your Stuff” via her website or Amazon. Also, check her out on the hit show "Hoarders" on A&E. Spark Joy wants to hear from you! Tell us your burning tidying questions or share stories about how KonMari has impacted your life. Find us at www.sparkjoypodcast.com, email us at contact@sparkjoypodcast.com to leave a question or comment for a chance to be featured on next week’s show. Join us on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter via @sparkjoypodcast. In this episode, you’ll enjoy: Dorothy's three life-changing experiences that helped her manage her own clutter What Dorothy learned about other culture's relationship with clutter after backpacking across 30 countries How Dorothy climbed out of $360,000 of inherited debt How Dorothy's work on Hoarders helped her realize her own addictive behavior around food Netflix documentaries: Forks Over Knives and What the Health Why we are looking to stuff to decide where we are going as a society How food addiction is similar to alcohol or gambling addiction and leads to a perverse sense of self care How living with an addiction or mental illness impacts our ability to make conscious choices The three most common barriers we create between us and the problems we face and how to overcome them Stuff My Face, Face My Stuff is available on Amazon and includes examples of over 30 different types of Twelve Step Programs Landmark Education How to apply a questioning method from Byron Katie's process, The Work, can tell you about what your clutter is saying about you Lessons Dorothy's learned from working with extreme hoarding clients The power of apologies How to identify someone who hoards and common indicators The connection between perfectionism and hoarding What it was like to spend a night in a hoarder's home What happens during a hoarder's aftercare and its similarity to a food addiction maintenance plan Where to turn for hoarding help: Turn to www.dorthytheorganizer.com for tools and resources including a virtual therapy group for hoarders Dorothy's Favorite Tidying Tip: "Left to right, top to bottom." "Even if you feel sure you are right, never assume you know what’s best for another in terms of stuff. Simply re-arranging someone else’s stuff or worse yet getting rid of it without permission truly breaks the bonds of trust (especially with children)." What sparks the most joy for Dorothy: Surprising friends, family, and strangers. Gems: “What does your clutter say about you?” “We all have stuff.” “I got rid of the stuff so that I could create something bigger for myself.” “People hoarded stuff in their homes, but I was hoarding sugar and flour on my body.” “We’re looking to stuff to decide where we are going as a society.” “We are teetering near 14 million people who hoard.” “Barrier to facing our stuff: We blame others.” “Barrier to facing our stuff: We refuse to look at our own mistakes.” “Barrier to facing our stuff: We isolate instead of reach out for help.” “Overcome the barrier: Dare to admit we are fully responsible for the things that we own." “Overcome the barrier: Take a fearless moral inventory of yourself.” “Overcome the barrier: Be with a group of like-minded people to help you get out of isolation.” “Apologies created the path to clearing out the clutter in their house.” “Even if you feel sure you are right, never assume you know what’s best for another in terms of stuff.” You can find Karin Socci at The Serene Home You can find Kristyn Ivey at For the Love of TidySpecial Guest: Dorothy Breininger.

Jenny Ning, Marie Kondo's first employee in the US, shares what it's like to work for the Queen of Tidy and her journey from KonMari super fan to Bay area home organizer. Our guest, Jenny Ning, was Marie Kondo's first employee in the US, and helped to grow the KonMari brand from mid-2015 to the end of 2016. In this episode, Jenny recalls her instant attraction to the KonMari Method and how confronting her clutter at home combined with some passionate persistence helped her attract a position on KonMari team. Since moving on from working for Marie Kondo in 2016, Jenny is now a practicing home organizer in San Francisco, and continues to introduce people to the life-changing magic of the KonMari Method. Driven by a desire to improve the status quo, Jenny also founded the startup Tummymom that helps connect all parties within the surrogacy community, making the ideal matching process easier. To connect with Jenny Ning, you can visit her at www.jennyning.com or follow her on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter (@jennyorganizes). Spark Joy wants to hear from you! Tell us your burning tidying questions or share stories about how KonMari has impacted your life. Find us at www.sparkjoypodcast.com, email us at contact@sparkjoypodcast.com to leave a question or comment for a chance to be featured on next week’s show. Join us on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter via @sparkjoypodcast In this episode, you’ll enjoy: Why Jenny calls The Life-changing Magic of Tidying Up her bible How the KonMari Method shifted Jenny's attention to what she wanted to do with her life, rather than what she should do with her life What led Jenny to question if her job sparked joy and how the answer to that question inspired her to quit 5 months later How being a super fan and strategically inserting herself before the KonMari team helped Jenny land her dream job What steadily grew the KonMari fan base and the passion behind the followers How the KonMari team is inspired to make business decisions based on what "sparks joy" How planning the first US based KonMari consultant seminars inspired Jenny to commit to formal training Why cluttered living is a challenge in the Bay area, considering notoriously high rent and tight living spaces Jenny's favorite tidying tip: 1) "Sometime means never." - Marie Kondo. Accept who you are right now. 2) The 20/20 rule: if you can replace something in 20 minutes for $20 or less, then you can give yourself permission to let it go What sparks joy for Jenny: Her startup, Tummymom (www.tummymom.com). Gems: "KonMari helped me step back and reevaluate my life." "With that question, does it spark joy?, you can't really avoid the answer." "Jenny Ning: Marie Kondo, I'll quit my job to work for you." "The KonMari team uses the KonMari Method to make business decisions." "Examining your relationship to things provides a lot of clarity about life." "Stop and pay attention to whether the things in your life align with your vision of what you want your life to be." "Even an average amount of possessions can make a tiny space feel cluttered and chaotic." "Are you willing to let things go in order to feel better?" "Sometime means never." "20/20 rule: if you can replace something in 20 mins for $20 or less, then give yourself permission to let it go." "Life truly begins only after you have put your house in order." You can find Karin Socci at The Serene Home You can find Kristyn Ivey at For the Love of TidySpecial Guest: Jenny Ning.

Spark Joy co-hosts and KonMari Consultants, Karin and Kristyn, talk KonMari basics. In this episode, Spark Joy co-hosts take a look at KonMari basics and share their experiences as KonMari Consultants. The history of the KonMari Method along with basic concepts of KonMari organization are covered. Marie Kondo developed this organization methodology based on her experience as a professional organizer in Japan. She found that tidying could be completed thoroughly and that relapse could be avoided by following a particular order and focusing on whether an item sparks joy. Spark Joy wants to hear from you! Tell us your burning tidying questions or share stories about how KonMari has impacted your life. Find us at www.sparkjoypodcast.com, email us at contact@sparkjoypodcast.com to leave a question or comment for a chance to be featured on next week’s show. Join us on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter via @sparkjoypodcast. In this episode, you’ll enjoy: Learning how Marie Kondo created the KonMari Method, as found in her first book, The Life-changing Magic of Tidying Up Interesting facts about Marie and the beginnings of the KonMari Method How Marie’s childhood factored into her role as a future organizer: Marie Kondo Remembers How the KonMari mission to “organize the world” has expanded into a worldwide the training program to certify KonMari Consultants Fundamental Concepts of KonMari: Tidying by category instead of location Clothing Books Paper Komono (miscellaneous items) Sentimental Sparking Joy Once and Forever Event The Power of the Pile The Folding Method How Konmari can impact other areas of your life such as your health, finances, and maybe even your love life! Gems: “You don’t have to get rid of everything that doesn’t make your heart swoon.” “It’s important to pull everything from everywhere.” “Transferring love respect and gratitude through the palms of your hands.” You can find Karin Socci at The Serene Home You can find Kristyn Ivey at For the Love of Tidy

Welcome to Spark Joy! The podcast dedicated to the KonMari Method and the transformative power of surrounding yourself with joy, and letting go of all the rest. In this inaugural episode, co-hosts and certified KonMari consultants Kristyn Ivey of For the Love of Tidy (www.fortheloveoftidy.com) and Karin Socci of The Serene Home (www.theserenehome.com) introduce themselves and the Spark Joy podcast to the world! Kristyn is based in Chicago, Illinois and Karin serves New York City. Spark Joy wants to hear from you! Tell us your burning tidying questions or share stories about how KonMari has impacted your life. Find us at www.sparkjoypodcast.com, email us at contact@sparkjoypodcast.com to leave a question or comment for a chance to be featured on next week’s show. Join us on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter via @sparkjoypodcast. In this episode, you’ll enjoy: How Karin developed a passion for creating peaceful and beautiful environments, inspired by generations of organizational enthusiasts in her family How KonMari helped Kristyn uncover her true passion in life, start a tidying business, and move from Virginia to Chicago How Karin and Kristyn met and the moment they realized there weren’t any podcasts that were solely dedicated and centered around the KonMari lifestyle What the KonMari Method is all about and the book, The Life-changing Magic of Tidying Up, that sparked the KonMari movement How the KonMari Method is fully integrated and referenced in pop-culture Fun facts about Marie Kondo and what it was like to meet the Queen of Tidy What the Spark Joy podcast is all about, including featured guests, consultants, clients thought leaders and game changers who put KonMari principles and lifestyle into action Gems: “The podcast celebrating the KonMari Method and the transformative power of surrounding yourself with joy; and letting go of the all the rest.” "Tell us your burning tidying questions or share stories about how KonMari has impacted your life." You can find Karin Socci at The Serene Home You can find Kristyn Ivey at For the Love of Tidy