Her Kon-Mari method of stripping back our wardrobes, bookshelves, cupboards  –  in fact our lives –  got a jump start with a book, which now has a cult following

The doyenne of decluttering  - the global phenomenon who suggested going through your things and only keeping those that bring you joy - has created a trend. And headaches.

For there are thousands of people out there  who have accumulated mountains of “things” which no longer bring them joy and now looking to off-load said “things”.

Reports keep coming in - of fire-sales on internet pre-loved and second hand items on websites, of charities buried under the mountains of cast-offs which being dumped on their doors or into their charity bins. Enough, is enough, they’ve said. We can’t cope. If you wouldn’t give it to a friend/family member/colleague then don’t dump them on us.

Read more: It's a simple question Marie Kondo asks: Does this bring you joy?

Even then, there might be limited takers. A story we ran recently about buying nothing new for a year –sticking to finds in charity, second hand, pre-loved shops –  was met with a howl on social media that often the costs were more expensive than buying new from one of the big chain stores.

Yes, buy cheap, buy new, when it falls apart, buy more and throw it in the bin.

And there lies the next headache. So much of the junk we have accumulated over our consumer-driven lives is headed for landfill – whether councils want it or not. And they don’t want it. They are doing everything they can to prevent it. Landfills aren’t the cheapest thing to run and nobody wants them in their backyard.

Landfills are already stretched for capacity –  along with our household recycling structures. Too much is clogging up landfills that shouldn’t be there.

So, while the zen of a decluttered life might appeal now, is it just the latest fad? Will we throw it all out only to buy it all back again the next idea cycles into view?

So, think before you throw.

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