Local Charities Could See Donation Spike Thanks To Popular Netflix Show
BOSTON (CBS) -- A popular Netflix series is inspiring people to clean out their closets and cabinets -- and there are plenty of people benefitting from this decluttering craze.
"She talks a lot about tidying up your life and your home. And one of the things she speaks a lot about is how to identify if something sparks joy in your life," explained Marissa Emanuele of Salem. She spent an entire day trying the so-called KonMari method on her bedroom closet.
"It's a fun, optimistic way to look at clearing clutter out of your life." That's right, Marie Kondo, the star of the show "Tidying Up" has made cleaning fun.
Marissa's first task was to remove every piece of clothing from the closet. "It's traumatizing when you pull everything out and see how much space it takes up."
Among the items that survived the purge: a festive Christmas sweater sporting cats and pizza slices and a bag from grandma. But an eye shadow palette from high school prom wound up in the trash. After six hours of tidying up, Marissa had five bags and boxes of stuff to get rid of and most of it will likely be donated.
"I think it's great. Anything that raises awareness around decluttering, about donating things to Goodwill is great," said James Harder, Director of Communications at Morgan Memorial Goodwill Industries. The nonprofit typically sees an increase of donations this time of year, but they just might be seeing an extra spike thanks to the show.
"We've definitely heard from people that this is part of what is driving them to donate," said Harder.
As for Marissa, she isn't stopping at the bedroom closet. The kitchen clutter may be next. "Everyone can really benefit from spending more time focusing on getting rid of stuff that they don't need," she said.
There's a lot to Marie Kondo's methods. But to start, she tidies up by items, not by rooms. She recommends going through every article of clothing, then moves to books, to papers, the kitchen, the garage, and lastly anything sentimental.
