Virtue on Netflix

Daniel and I were scrolling through Netflix looking for a new show to watch when we fell upon a show called "Tidying Up." When I watched the first episode, I was struck by the virtue the woman: Marie Kondo demonstrated (albeit sometimes in an odd way). I had never thought of the physical structure of a home being an instrument of virtue until I watched Marie Kondo teach these families how fostering these virtues were actually key to having an organized home.



Gratitude, Gratitude, Gratitude:
Marie has this tradition of greeting the house before she begins, so I will begin with the virtue she demonstrates here. The first episode is where she best explains this tradition. Marie says it is important to thank the house for sheltering and protecting the family, for being a place of comfort and nourishment, etc. How often do we stop and thank God for providing a place that does all of these things for us? How often do we take advantage not just of the physical building we live in, but the gifts it provides for us? I know I certainly don't think about the structure of my apartment as the place God has given my family to house our memories. However, our memories do not exist on a green screen. Our homes are the environment that house our happy memories and provide a place to work through the sad or bad ones. Although we must be careful not form attachments, it is important to recognize our home as a gift and thank God giving it to us.

Mutual Accountability and Shared Responsibility:
Marie makes a point in one of the first three episodes of asking the mother who believes she has failed in her domestic duties why she must be responsible for knowing where her child's favorite shirt is. Just as she emphasized that our homes are gifts, Marie transfers this mentality to each item in the families' homes.This lesson she teaches reveals that while it is key to have gratitude, the best demonstration of this virtue is not in stating our gratitude, but showing it through the care of these items.

It is not one person's responsibility to maintain and value our belongings. If God has blessed us with clothing, that does not mean we can push the responsibility of caring for these gifts on someone else. Additionally, it is our responsibility to encourage all of our family members to care for their gifts. In fact, taking on others' responsibilities hinders everyone's ability to be grateful because we then cannot have the proper attitude when caring for our belongings. It is as important to share the responsibility as it is to hold all family members accountable for doing their part. This shows gratitude for the people in our lives as well as our belongings. Sharing the responsibility shows that we value the people, their time, and our time with them. Holding one another accountable demonstrates that we recognize our own dignity and our call to foster holiness and virtue in one another.


Joy through Simplicity and Detachment:
Although Marie emphasizes that we must thank each item before letting it go, she has a very strict policy on what we can keep. Her first step is always to gather all belongings of a category in one place to get a visual of how much stuff *cough cough* crap *cough cough* we have and to weed out the items that do not bring us joy. This thinning out of unnecessary items and maintaining an attitude of gratitude for these blessings is a perfect example of how to facilitate simplicity and detachment in one's home and family life. When we can recognize how much we are holding on to, we can then understand the importance and joy of both living simply and letting go of material things. Marie emphasizes that doing this better frees us to spend time with our family, and really that is the greatest gift we must be grateful for.

So if you want to tidy your house, don't worry about watching the show (it gets pretty repetitive anyway). Focus on fostering these three virtues in your family, and you will naturally have all you need to tidy up your home and your virtue.