To think you can expect every item in your home to spark joy

[Lardlizard]

You have to have some boring practical things too

Yanbu, I'd only be left with my phone, my bed and some sex toys

I like William Morris' take: "Have nothing in your houses that you do not know to be useful or believe to be beautiful".

Covers everything, I think... of course you have to be fairly objective about what's "useful", i.e. not "ooh I might need this old light fitting/bike pump/used battery at some point, better keep it in the shite drawer with everything else"

Thank god I'm useful then!

I think even the boring things can.

I love my mixing bowls, they are sturdy and pretty. I love my scourers as I bought them in rainbow colours. The toilet duck sparks joy because the old loo brush was so gross this is so much better and easier to use.

My dish cloths have a nice border on them. My hoover is in my favourite colour.

The microwave is cheerful when it's clean, unlike the old one that had a crack on the front and always looked drab.

I think it's a mindset thing.

I think ‘spark joy’ for the practical items could mean the joy they can create or lead to. E.g. A wok doesn’t really spark joy for me, but all the gorgeous meals I can make with it do. A screwdriver doesn’t either, but it helps put together bookshelves and tables that do.
I think the ‘spark joy’ phrase can be taken too literally, it’s just about assessing if you need all of your stuff, and if you don’t need it, do you really want it.

Side-eyes dog who shat on the floor at 4am.

Have you read the book?

It covers necessary items. As said, a washing machine should spark joy because otherwise you'd be hand washing.

I've loved getting a new appliance, or even knife, more than some items of clothing.

If I applied the 'spark-joy' concept to my clothes I'd be doing the school run naked!!

I'd love to be able to chuck everything out and start again but unfortunately my bank balance doesn't agree

I like William Morris' take: "Have nothing in your houses that you do not know to be useful or believe to be beautiful".

I agree. It's worded far better.

goodwinter I like that phrase better. It’s a very similar sentiment actually, just shows it’s not a new idea.

What a positive post kismet I like your outlook
I do wish the opinions on Marie Kondo occasionally involved people who had read what she actually proposes.

No you can have something beautiful that doesn’t spark joy - I’ve given away lots of knickknacks that were pretty in themselves but did not make me happy. Obviously there’s a cross over, but you can accept that something is lovely but having it in your home gives you no pleasure.

Do you mean can or can't?

I love that William Morris quote. I agree with it completely... One of these days I will actually apply it to my life!

Can I ask, is the Marie Kondo book good? Do you get more from it than what you get from the TV show?

I've been tempted to get it for awhile but haven't taken the plunge yet.

Me? Can. I think I could look at something and think it’s beautiful, but having it in my home wouldn’t necessarily make me happy.

Yes, the full food bin waiting to be taken out (by dh) always sparks total joy for me

I was thinking about this very thing last night as I was making dinner. I am a good cook (according to friends and family!) and am very interested in it, I'm always researching recipes and planing lunches / dinners etc. We have very few gadgets and gizmos but the items we do have are all exactly what I need and want and use on a daily basis and as such they give me pleasure everytime I use them.

For instance I have the perfect vegetable peeler and small kitchen knife.They work perfectly for me and I am never frustrated by them. I bought both in a kitchen shop many years ago and spent more than supermarket prices for them but each time I use them effortlessly I appreciate them.

This thought was sparked by a recent visit to my parents house. I was making lunch for everyone there and could not find a knife that was sharp enough (to cut a tomato without ruining it!) My mother was not phased by it at all but I know it would drive me to distraction to use her implements on a daily basis.

Similarly we have beautiful cups, plates, serving dishes. I only buy ones I LOVE and I don't keep ones I don't. We recently had a spate of breaking drinking glasses (juice / water) and we don't have very many left. I could grab a box of 6 tumblers in the supermarket at the weekend but I won't. Nothing gives me more pleasure than drinking from a really lovely glass. Even as a student I used to save up money to buy beautiful glasses from Habitat (a long time ago now!) the last of these broke last night. I easily had them 18 years and they were used several times a day. Incredible value for money really given the pleasure they give me over those years!

So at the weekend we are going to a very nice homewear shop and I am treating the house to 6 new glasses. And the sad part is how much I am looking forward to that shopping trip!

Was going to say all my DC medical supplies do not envoke joy, although the alternative is her death so I guess framed like that, they are my most prized possessions.

No I don't see how the op and thr title make sense together. I don't know which one the op is arguing for. Generally confused!

I'm indifferent to most things in my house.

I assume OP was a typo

So if the title is therefore correct op is arguing that everything can spark joy. Definitely not the case for me! But most of my stuff is functional anyway.

Surely we all have functional stuff in our houses in order to make them, function! But as some of us have said - functional doesn't have to mean that the item does not bring pleasure, if chosen with that in mind?

William Morris fan here too. He said it first and it makes more sense than spark joy to me.

You need to read the book to get it. The TV show only glosses over things and doesn’t go into any of the thinking or psychology behind everything.