Marie Kondo says she’s “given up” on tidying up after having three kids

Tidy queen Marie Kondo has ‘given up’ on keeping her own house tidy after three children, saying spending time with her family is more important.

Kondo, 38, made millions from his orderly lifestyle by selling 13 million copies of his first book, starring in a hit Netflix show, earning him a net worth of around $7 million.

But after giving birth to her third child, she’s realizing what so many mothers have cried out for so long: There just isn’t enough time.

“Until now, I was a professional cleaner, so I did my best to keep my house tidy at all times,” she said at the event, according to the report. Washington Post. ‘I’ve given up on that in a good way for me. I now realize that what is important to me is enjoying the time I spend at home with my children.’

“Until now, I was a professional cleaner, so I did my best to keep my house tidy at all times,” she said at the event. She and her husband now plan family time into their days and find small activities that spark joy, like burning incense and drinking a cup of tea in the morning.

Kondo gave birth to her third child, a boy, in 2021, joining her gang of two girls with her husband Takumi Kawahara, whom she married in 2012.

“My house is messy, but the way I spend my time is the right way for me right now at this stage of my life,” she said.

His new lifestyle still ‘sparks joy’, as he coined in his first book, but his acceptance of clutter has inspired his fifth.

Kurashi at Home: How to Organize Your Space and Achieve Your Ideal Life by Marie Kondo hit stores in November 2022 and focuses less on order and more on kurashi, a Japanese concept that roughly translates to “the ideal way to spend our time.”

It focuses on ordering one’s time, rather than one’s space.

“Decluttering means taking care of all the ‘stuff’ in your life,” he wrote in his book. ‘So what do you really want to put in order?’

Kondo gave birth to her third child, a boy, in 2021, joining her gang of two girls with husband Takumi Kawahara, whom she married in 2012.

Kondo gave birth to her son in 2021 and has been juggling three children as she embraces her new lifestyle.

‘When it was just the two of us, my house was pretty close to that ideal; Now, those photos are just the ideal I’m looking for. My own house really isn’t completely tidy, I suppose it could get to that point if I did a proper shelling for an hour or two,’ she told the Daily Mail’s You magazine writer Julia Llewellyn in October.

“But I tell myself, ‘You have different priorities and right now what brings joy is playing with my kids, having a fun time with them and it’s okay if it’s a little messy.’ I don’t want to waste time getting angry. Your children are only little once, so don’t worry, enjoy that moment.’

Since returning to Japan from the US, where she moved after the success of her first book, she has given up a babysitter and now only has one babysitter.

Her new lifestyle inspired her fifth book Kurashi at Home by Marie Kondo: How to Organize Your Space and Achieve Your Ideal Life, which focuses on ordering one’s time, rather than one’s space.

During her interview with Llewellyn, the mother-of-three had to run out to change her son’s diaper and even bounced him on her knee at one point. Her daughters also made appearances here and there, proving that Kondo’s new life is much like any other mother’s.

‘My lifestyle has totally changed. When I started, I was working very hard and that was my ideal. I was doing a lot of [tidying] lessons, helping a lot of people, gaining a lot of experience. But now I want to spend more time with my family,’ he told Llewellyn.

She and her husband now plan family time into their days and find little activities that spark joy, like burning incense and drinking a cup of tea in the morning for Kondo.

And as his children get older, he recognizes that his lifestyle will too, saying, “I’ll keep looking inward to make sure I’m leading my own kurashi.”