Even if you never read her books, you probably know the gist of Marie Kondo’s KonMari method: Take out all your stuff, get rid of whatever doesn’t “spark joy,” and then put the stuff you’re keeping back using one of her highly specific folding or stacking tutorials.
That last step is the tricky part. Marie herself recommends using the boxes and storage bins you already own to get organized. In Japan, Marie explained to a group of NYC-based reporters and editors last week, it’s common for people to keep and reuse boxes of all sizes at homes.
But in the USA, where more than 1.5 million copies of Marie’s books have been sold, that just isn’t the case—you probably don’t have a bunch of empty shoe boxes stashed where you could instead be storing paper towels.
Hikidashi Clarity Box set – $89.90 Image: konmari.com
So, Marie Kondo is making boxes. 6-piece Hikidashi Box Sets, to be specific, available for $89 on pre-order at konmari.com as of this morning. If you’re looking at them and thinking, “huh that looks like a shoebox,” you’re not wrong—in fact Marie doesn’t shy away from this fact when detailing them to the crowd, as that’s what she so often uses to organize small items in her clients’ homes.
But the Hikidashi boxes are meant to spark joy, so in keeping they are smoother and sturdier than your average shoebox, with sweet, soothing prints inside. (Now whether six upscale shoeboxes are worth your hard-earned $90 remains for you to decide.) The boxes are meant to be left open when using them, so you can see and snatch the exact item you’re looking for; this means that while you definitely get 6 pieces in the set, it’s more like 3 boxes and 3 lids you should also use as boxes. If you like your boxes closed, it’s a 3-box set.
Hikidashi Balance Box set – $89.90 Image: konmari.com
The construction of the Hikidashi boxes is “thick fibreboard topped with a laminated premium paper,” all 100% recycled materials. The inside is lined with one of the aforementioned four prints, depending on the colour of the box you choose: white, light pink, or a warm grey with names like “Balance,” “Clarity,” and “Wonder.”
They are meant to be lined up on open shelves and slipped into dresser drawers to separate your belongings. Bras in one box, tee-shirts that have been sparking joy for you for 10+ years in another. And when you purchase them, you are emailed on an online tutorial about the KonMari method. I.e., you will not be left afloat to figure out how to fold all your belongings into neat little squares so they will fit perfectly in the boxes.
Because Marie Kondo is kind—rather, she knows we’re all going lose our minds and wallets over her first product line—she has made the boxes available for pre-order first. That way, they won’t sell out and then be back-ordered leaving some of us devastatingly box-less. The product will start shipping in mid-September, so that’s when you should plan to gut and clean the closet you hate opening. Or, you know, just start saving your shoe boxes?
Images: konmari.com
