A new millennial trend has people thanking their clothes before throwing them into the nearest donation bin, packing their purchases into neat little squares and decluttering their cupboards.
A popular Netflixsa国际传媒檚 series, released in perfect time for those looking to tackle New Yearsa国际传媒檚 resolutions, Tidying Up with Marie Kondo features a tiny Japanese woman whose aim is to declutter your house and spark joy in your life.
While some critics argue that books should not spark joy, which is the basis of Kondosa国际传媒檚 argument to keeping items, and therefore should be kept, the series touches on a deeper problem plaguing Western households sa国际传媒� the collection of crap.
In the show, garages are rendered useless for cars as piles of boxes clutter the space, never to be looked at until Kondosa国际传媒檚 visit.
We want bigger houses, double door garages, green lawns, yet donsa国际传媒檛 take into account that the lifestyle we lead is set up for the accumulation of stuff.
The one good thing that the Okanagansa国际传媒檚 crazy housing market is doing for millennials is forcing us to utilize our space, as we move into townhouses, apartments, and take advantage of community dog parks and gardens.
And to the naysayers that argue books shouldnsa国际传媒檛 spark joy and should be collected, how often do you read all those books collecting dust on the shelf in your living room?
Maybe if people visited the library more often, West Kelownasa国际传媒檚 second library would have books and not just fancy gadgets.
As we transition into a world where the green lawns of our parents are too expensive, so too must we start thinking about space differently.
RELATED: Berry: Itsa国际传媒檚 time to rethink food waste before itsa国际传媒檚 too late
And itsa国际传媒檚 not just millennials that are keeping crap, how often have you read your 500 some odd books, or parked your car in a garage that wasnsa国际传媒檛 stacked to the ceiling with stuff?
Theresa国际传媒檚 a lesson to be learned with Kondo, develop an appreciation for what you have, respect your space, tidy it up and buy less crap.
carli.berry@kelownacapnews.com
Like us on and follow us on .
