Cleaning It's The New Cult!

The internet is abuzz about tidying superstar Marie Kondo’s Netflix show on decluttering. So, what does our fascination with orderliness say about us, asks Hattie Crisell…

- Hattie Crisell

ONE MORNING last week, I woke up and abandoned a work deadline in order to do something that suddenly felt more urgent: heap every piece of clothing I own on to my bed, thank them all for their service and start a major wardrobe clearout. It was, of course, Marie Kondo’s fault. Late the previous night, I had idly clicked on episode one of her new Netflix show, Tidying Up With Marie Kondo.

Though it was released quietly on 1 January, it has subsequently become one of the most buzzed-about TV shows of the month, sparking thousands of tweets and headlines (including ‘Marie Kondo versus book hoarders is now a meme’ and ‘What is KonMari and why are people folding their shirts weird?’). Within minutes of pressing play, I’d succumbed to the spell: I was so desperate to organise my shambolic flat that I could barely sleep.