Take Two translates the day’s headlines for Southern California, making sense of the news and cultural events that affect our lives. Produced by Southern California Public Radio and broadcast from October 2012 – June 2021. Hosted by A Martinez.
Letting go is hard, especially when it comes to stuff and things. But recently, Americans have shown a real penchant for it.
"The hottest trend in home styling isn’t a hot, new paint color or type of furniture," says Michelle Dalton Tyree from Fashion Trends Daily. "It’s the act of decluttering."
It has reached a fever-pitch in great part thanks to one Japanese personal organizer: Marie Kondo.
Kondo speaks Thursday, April 21 at 8 p.m. for Live Talks LA in Santa Monica, and the event is proving to be a hot ticket.
"It's so popular that they’ve had to change the venue from its original location to Barnum Hall at Santa Monica High School to accommodate the crowd," says Tyree.
There are several reasons that set Kondo apart from other organizers, she says.
Kondo emphasizes only keeping stuff that you have an emotional connection with, for example, and treating each object as if it has an emotion.
Tyree says that Kondo's rose to fame at the right time when Americans own shopping habits changed.
"I believe that the downturn that started in 2008 really paved the way for people to pare down," she says, "and I think the style community has really taken to her, making them really responsible for popularizing Kondo."