INTERVIEW – EMILY MILLER – Longtime friend of WMAL’s morning show, who has been in Texas the last year helping get Ted Cruz re-elected and now back in DC.

• Emily joined us to discuss the decluttering craze that organization expert Marie Kondo has started.
• A new Netflix show “Tidying Up with Marie Kondo” came out last week and highlights the obsession with the bestselling book “The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up” by Japanese cleaning guru Marie Kondo

• Emily has spent the last two years using the “KonMari method” for cleaning. She and her girlfriends share their progress and using the method worked for them. Emily has even gone into her friends’ homes and used the KonMari method in decluttering their homes.
• What’s the KonMari method? The KonMari Method is the tidying method Kondo created out of her lifelong work and passion for organizing. Its most unique characteristic is the question “does it spark joy?” which is the determining factor for deciding what to keep and what to give or throw away.
• Kondo’s process, called the “KonMari Method,” has six rules of tidying:
  • Commit yourself to tidying up. Know that it will take time and be willing to stick to it.
  • Imagine your ideal lifestyle, including the kind of house you want to live in and how you want to live in it. You can write down this description or collect photos.
  • Finish discarding first. Instead of running out to the Container Store and buying storage bins, plan where to store your items once you’ve decided what to keep.
  • Tidy by category, not location. Gathering all like items in the house, such as books or shoes, helps you make better decisions because you know what you have.
  • Follow the right order. Kondo has a category-sorting plan that you must follow, because it helps you gradually hone your ability to identify what sparks joy.
  • Ask yourself if it sparks joy. Hold every one of your possessions in your hands and ask, “Does this spark joy?” If it does, you keep it.