The “Joy of Letting Go”: Decluttering and Apparel

Abstract

A decluttering movement swept cultures around the world in 2019 with the release of a streaming television series based on Marie Kondo’s book “Sparking Joy”. The widespread tidying trend reportedly led to overflowing secondhand markets and landfills. This study examined the impact of the decluttering lifestyle movement to gain understanding of the influences, process, items, and perceived impact of decluttering. An online survey was conducted with 331 female participants from the United States. Findings indicate that awareness of and methods used to declutter are associated with age while motivations are connected to emotional well-being (i.e., joy of letting go). It is suggested that when employing the “KonMari” method of decluttering on a regular basis, this method would contribute to proper care and maintenance of an individual’s wardrobe while increasing positive feelings/emotions. Analysis of an open-ended survey question found that participants reported discarding apparel items they perceived as being of low quality or with poor fit and that apparel was the category of discarded items selected for replacement at the highest level. Interpretation of data identified a gap in the decluttering method regarding responsible disposal tactics.

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