Section C

Passage 1

Do you have too much stuff? Are you dare we say it “untidy”? Say hello to a TV show called “Tidying Up with Marie Kondo”, a home improvement show based on her widely popular book The Life Changing Magic of Tidying Up. [Q16] In the show, Marie Kondo acts as a tiny garbage fairy for messy people, visiting their houses to share the wisdom of the "KonMari" method. This method is simple in theory but can be endlessly complex in practice. You divide all the stuff in your house – all of it – into several categories, and then examine each item – all of them – to see if it sparks joy. If it does, you keep it. [Q17] If it doesn't, you thank it, and neatly discard it.

So, is the TV show inspiring people to tidy up? Firsthand accounts seem to indicate a small wave of people bringing piles of donation bags to used good stores. One store received thousands of bags of used possessions in one day. January is usually the store’s slow season for donations because it's cold and people don't want to bother, but not this January. People seemed determined to clean up their homes. One used bookstore received a month's worth of books in donations in a week when a man gave over 50 boxes of books from his home. [Q18] It seems Marie’s TV show is having a big impact after all.

Q16. What is Maire Kondo’s TV show about?

Q17. What things can be kept in one’s home, according to Maire Kondo?

Q18. What do we learn about one used bookstore this January?