Does Marie Kondo Have Kids?

Marie Kondo and her philosophies on tidying up and decluttering may have taken off with hip and trendy minimalists, but it never really sparked joy among parents of young children, who — with good reason — questioned Kondo's methods when it came to tidying up after toddlers. Then to the relief of parenting sites like Mother.ly (and parents everywhere), Kondo became a parent herself, and the reality of sparking joy amid the clutter that comes with childcare set in. 

The catalysts for Kondo's enlightenment are her daughters Satsuki, who is now 4, and Miko, who is 3. We know that Kondo went on a decluttering spree before she had her elder daughter because she tells Good Housekeeping that she and her husband knew keeping a tidy home would be a Sisyphean task after Satsuki was born. We also know that Miko's arrival triggered yet another change of course for her mother, because Kondo says, "I think I became more forgiving after my baby was born, especially because I'm so much more limited in time and [given] the sheer number of things that increase."

We also know that the girls gave Kondo fresh inspiration to try and win Konverts from the start. At the beginning of November, she released a new book, Kiki and Jax: The Life-Changing Magic of Friendship, where Kiki the squirrel is a hoarder, and Jax the owl is a neat freak. Kondo tells The Washington Post that unlike the storybook, there are no Kikis in the family. "Actually, they both resemble Jax because they like tidying up. Well, they are not always organized. Sometimes they make messes, but usually they are tidy. Anyway, when they are messy, they don't dislike tidying up."

Satsuki and Miko's mother also admits one girl is tidier than the other. "It's different from child to child," she said. "So for example, my older daughter, she was actually mastering the fold when she was 2 and putting things away really nice and neatly. However, my younger one, who is now 3, she does it really roughly and squeezes things into the drawers." That might explain why Kondo now says (via KonMari blog), "Motherhood taught me to be more forgiving of myself. The joy that comes from parenting exceeds any satisfaction that could have come from a perfectly neat home."