At Retykle, we support the declutter movement inspired by Japanese tidying expert Marie Kondo however, it irks us how often the discussion is about “throwing away” not mending, repurposing, recycling or donating.

In Marie Kondo’s recent Netflix series “Tidying Up with Marie Kondo”, Marie asks her clients to hold each item they own and decide whether it sparks joy for them.  If it does, it’s neatly stored with items alike in the Marie Kondo approved way, so it can be easily located when it is needed. If something no longer sparks joy it will be thrown away.  Our hearts sank when we saw how many items were piled into garbage bags, with no explanation on where those items would end up. What is equally worrying is how much it sparks joy for Marie when she sees to see the amount of stuff her clients are throwing away!

Instead of mindlessly adding to landfill, we urge you to consider what could be mindfully re-homed.

Following the tidying up craze spurred by Marie Kondo’s Netflix series, Sustainability Victoria published an article urging Australians to consider what they do with their unwanted household items.

Sustainability Victoria Acting CEO, Stephanie Ziersch suggested households consider adding a seventh-step when applying Ms Kondo’s famous KonMari method to their tidying up.

“Our simple request for Kondo-inspired declutterers is that instead of saying ‘thank you, next’ they instead find the joy in re-homing the items or recycling them thoughtfully and through the correct channels.

“In fact, there’s a Japanese approach known as mottainai that I suspect Marie Kondo would happily support. Quite simply, it encourages reflection on waste and action when it comes to reducing, reusing, recycling and respecting.”

For items we don’t currently take, here are some ways to easily re-home or donate within Hong Kong;

Children’s books that are still in great condition can be on-sold to those with younger children via Hong Kong Facebook kids resale groups or AsiaExpat.  Just take a photo of them and post, and people can either come to your apartment to collect them or meet you at your nearest MTR. If you would like to donate, check on Hong Kong Community Facebook Groups for charities currently in need.  At the time of publishing this article Flow Books, and NUTURE (an initiative for Children’s education) are looking for donations.