10 Intriguing Kitchen Items from Marie Kondo's New Online Store
On Tuesday, Marie Kondo, the decluttering expert who somehow convinced all of us that we'd spent our lives folding our socks the wrong way, announced that she'd added an online store to her website. "Many people have asked what I use in my everyday life. This online shop is a collection of my favorite things and items that spark joy," she tweeted.
It comes as a bit of a surprise that Kondo, whose bestselling books and aspirational Netflix series have been about streamlining closets and neatly structuring personal spaces, is encouraging her audience to acquire anything. Of the 125-plus products that she personally selected for the store, only two dozen-ish of them are related to getting organized, but they all share a, shall we say, premium price tag.
"My tidying method isn’t about getting rid of things – it’s about heightening your sensitivity to what brings you joy," she wrote on the launch page for the Shop at KonMari. "Once you’ve completed your tidying, there is room to welcome meaningful objects, people and experiences into your life [...] Each item was selected for its ability to enhance your daily rituals and inspire a joyful lifestyle."
These products have been arranged into six categories, which include Decor and Living, Tabletop & Entertaining, and, of course, Tidying & Organization, which is where you can pick up necessities like a $75 Desktop Box for keeping track of stray paperclips. For our purposes, here are 10 of the most intriguing items that Kondo selected for the Cooking & Kitchen category:
Tea Container ($200): This handcrafted wooden storage box is less than five inches tall, and costs more than a half-dozen mattresses currently on sale at IKEA. But mattresses don't hold your tea, so...
Brass Kitchen Tool Holder ($275): Kondo writes that this container's "low center of gravity allows it to remain stable even when filled with tall tools." Though for almost 300 bones, you should probably expect that it won't fall over.
Flower Bouquet Tote ($42): Her locally sourced surplus denim tote has been "designed to hold flowers, greenery and herbs." Certainly an upgrade from a plastic "Thank You" shopping bag.
Countertop Compost Bin ($175): Kondo says that this magnolia wood container is a "countertop cache" for banana peels, coffee grounds, and eggshells.
Large Food Storage Container ($60): Because coffee's for closers, and Gladware's for chumps.
Crumb Brush ($24): A naturally waterproof wooden brush that's supposed to be used to gently brush the crumbs off of dishes before you wash them.
Balance Gem Water Bottle ($98): Inside this glass bottle is an "icy blue pod of sodalite, chalcedony, and clear quartz" that is supposed to "bring mind, body and spirit into harmony." We're totally going to accidentally drop this, but on the plus side, the face we make while watching that icy blue pod skid into a storm drain could become a hilarious reaction GIF.
Brass Bottle Opener ($65): Kondo explains that this particular bottle opener was designed to "fit comfortably in the hand."
Ladle ($96): If you don't use this handmade brass ladle at Thanksgiving, do you really care about the holidays?
Water Glass ($14): Kondo writes that this simple vessel is "ideal for water, juice, cocktails, or sake." (So were the Star Wars glasses you made us toss out, Marie!)
Snack & Sandwich Bag ($18): We can foresee using this thin cotton sleeve once before losing it in the gap between the seats in the car only to find it two days before selling the vehicle because that '06 Elantra no longer sparks joy. But as a reusable replacement for Ziplocs? Sure.
In her tweet announcing the debut of her webstore, Kondo signed off with a cheeky "don’t buy TOO much." That's especially true if you haven't gotten around to KonMari-ing your kitchen yet.
