Marie Kondo Would Like To Sell You Some Kitchen Stuff

Marie Kondo—of Tidying Up, sparking joy, and getting rid of all your useless junk—sells home goods now. Before you cry foul, this isn't the kind of useless kitchen junk she's been helping you purge for years; no, these 125 curated objects are certifiably joy-sparking. Think how much more joy you'd experience if you owned this $52 tea scoop, or this $175 compost bin, or this $180 cheese knife.

On one hand, Kondo's move into e-commerce feels entirely contradictory to her philosophy of paring down. On the other hand, everyone has an e-commerce store these days, especially the lifestyle-guru types. Who else would you trust to peddle you an aromatherapy diffuser or Himalayan salt lamp?

Kondo recently visited the Wall Street Journal's New York offices, and through a translator, explained that "she ran potential products through a 'joy check,' part of her famed KonMari method of decluttering your life by touching and contemplating the meaningfulness of an item before deciding whether to keep or toss it." If you're imaging Kondo's home jam-packed with $24 crumb brushes, you're mistaken. "Of course, I don't use every product, but all the products are founded on Kon Mari's world view, if you will," she told the WSJ.

There is a kernel of truth contained in this richly ironic story, perhaps. It does feel nice to own quality or handmade versions of certain everyday kitchen objects, like a sturdy and handsome wooden spoon or a better-than-average coffee grinder. In that sense, we see where Kondo is coming from. On the one hand, a nice cheese knife would probably spark joy. On the other hand, a $96 ladle?!