I never thought that I would have any angst about the writer her indoors wanting to ‘have a clear out’; she is a dedicated hoarder and has accumulated some amazing memories over the years. She is the one with the camera, taking all the piccies when we are on holiday, whilst I just wander round inanely, storing memories inside my head. All our children have memory boxes, comprising photos, travel tickets, theatre programmes, old school exercise books and pieces of art etc. And, truth be told, I also have a memory box, well, an old, small briefcase with a few items in it – a couple of badges from my youth, a favourite of which is from Stiff records – ‘If it ain’t stiff….’ (I’ll leave you to fill in the rest!) – happy memories of artists like Nick Lowe, Ian Dury and Elvis Costello. I also have the cover notice from 1990, the day when I threw a sicky on the same day as my wife to be (and my apologies to those staff who had to cover us both that day!). So it was with mixed feelings that I approached the conversation with the writer her indoors about the phenomenon that is Marie Kondo.
Stereotyped views of men and women would have the man being the messy, boxers-on-the-floor person and the woman forever picking up and tidying away. This obviously works on a larger scale and, without wishing to be political, revisit the above with the names of David Cameron and Theresa May in mind… However, stereotypes are arrived at because there are enough elements of truth contained within them, for enough people, enough of the time. In our relationship (mine with the writer her indoors, not mine with Theresa or David), the opposite is probably truer; I am the one who still has vinyl arranged alphabetically by category, and needs the books on the bookcase to be in height order. The writer’s books are strewn in a much more haphazard, piles on the floor way.
Having heard much about the Kondo method and the extent to which many Charity shops are benefitting from an influx of product, including clothing folded ‘the Kondo way’, the writer her indoors sat child #1 down to watch and learn with me, as he was to be the (unwilling) guinea pig. I was struck that the american public seemed to have taken a programme mainly in Japanese so much to their hearts- it seemed pleasantly at odds with so much coming out of the US at the moment. The programme consisted of Marie and her translator going in to the home of a family and teaching them how to organise, de-clutter and prioritise what to keep or throw, by: asking whether a particular item ‘sparks joy’, by using boxes to organise, by folding clothing in thirds and thinking about how to assess their belongings in a different way. At the risk of ‘plot spoiling’ for those who have yet to enjoy the delights of Kondo, the family work through her method, have a re-vitalised home and learn to love again. I don’t mean to sound cynical about this; it it the tv format constraint. What I did find most interesting is the attitude to possessions, the near reverence that she tries to give people for what they have and the respect and thoughtfulness they need to ‘apply’, not only to what they keep, but also to what they throw away or move on elsewhere. It speaks very much to the current trend for mindfulness, for us being in control of elements of our lives in a healthy way…. I know that my picture cover single of Hong Kong Garden by Siouxee and the Banshees sparks joy, but my much played and slightly scratched Seasons in the Sun by Terry Jacks?
Eating: Home made scones (one of the writer’s specialities) and seeded wholemeal loaf. We like the loaf dense, so lots of sesame, chia and poppy seeds, as well as some sunflower and pumpkin. I am still using my bread machine, but will try baking in the Aga when I have the time…
Drinking: the above, a really enjoyable and quaffable English wine and yes, it sparks joy!
Listening to: Talk Talk- The Party’s over, which is the first (and my favourite) album – the death of Mark Hollis took me back to some early music memories –
Cook.Eat.Blog.Repeat. 