The Hoof is a satire column created to find the humor in the daily life of Cal Poly students. If you’re looking for news, this is not it. If you’re looking for sports, this is kind of it, because we’re having a ball. Ha. Puns.
Kiana Meagher is a journalism sophomore and satire columnist. The views expressed do not necessarily reflect those of Mustang News.
When Netflix premiered the show, Tidying Up With Marie Kondo, on Jan. 1, 2019, no one had expected the cultural phenomenon that it quickly spread. More than a million people watched as Kondo folded her way into the homes and hearts of unorganized American households.
This trend has made its way into Cal Poly’s campus as students have been adopting the practice of minimalism into their daily lives.
“Doing the dishes did not spark joy. So we threw them all away.”
Freshman roommates Sierra Padre and Melissa Muir were inspired by minimalism after watching the show together. Through Kondo’s practices, they were able to cut their closets in half.
“We feel so liberated,” Padre said. “Our lives were controlled by our clutter; now we only keep items that intentionally spark joy.”
Sparking joy is an essential part of the KonMari method, which helps people realize what is most important to them, letting go of what does not emit feelings of happiness.
After the life-changing closet clean out of shoes, scarves, and snow gear, the girls decided to adopt minimalism to all aspects of their lives, starting with throwing their homework desks in the dumpster.
“Homework doesn’t spark joy, so it was only natural to remove it from both of our lives,” Muir said. “Now I have more time to focus on things that excite me … like making latte art.”
Sophomore Easton Foothill found that adopting minimalism was as easy for her roommates as it was for her. After the first few weeks in their apartment, the roommates developed a dislike for doing the dishes.
“Doing the dishes did not spark joy,” Foothill said. “So we threw them all away.”
Now, Foothill and her roommates eat out of their hands for meals.
“It’s not a big deal to eat out of our hands for sandwiches, but it gets a little more complicated for Soup Saturdays,” Foothill said.
She claimed that having to wash their hands and mop the floor is “still better than doing the dishes.”
History junior Trent Teagle was actually unfamiliar with the concept of minimalism until he started getting compliments from friends.
“Whenever my buddies would come over they would talk about how much of a trendsetter I was,” Teagle said. “For weeks, I thought they were talking about my clothes; It didn’t even realize that I was pushing fashion boundaries through my apartment.”
A peek inside Teagle’s humble Bond Street apartment, you’ll find nothing but a throw blanket and a dragon Pillow Pet on top of a single mattress.
“I found the mattress on the sidewalk on Kentucky and it brought me so much joy,” Teagle said, who also admitted to taking the pillow pet from a first-year during freshman move-in.
Known as “The Minimalist” among close friends, Teagle has since immersed himself in the lifestyle. Teagle stopped brushing his teeth, eating vegetables, and doing laundry because they do not spark joy in his life.
“Hey man,” Teagle said, sitting cross-legged on the dragon pillow in his empty room, “I got all I need.”
Art and design senior Cal Paule works part-time for Campus Dining in 805 Kitchen. Most days Paule’s found at the food waste post, where he monitors the freshmen’s used dishes. Paule started watching Kondo’s show after a friend recommended he “needed a little joy in his life.”
Paule was watching freshman scrape taters tots at the food waste station during his shift in 805 Kitchen when it hit him: 805 Kitchen did not spark joy.
“We’ve always talked about quitting the Kitchen,” mechanical engineering senior Lane Baker, Paule’s coworker and girlfriend, said. “I just couldn’t believe he actually did it.”
Following this epiphany, Paule immediately chucked his Campus Dining uniform into the cereal bar and ran to the street. Standing at the corner with his thumb up, it was only a few minutes before Paule was picked up in a green Volkswagen bus.
“I’ve never seen someone run so fast,” Baker said.
Mustang News was unable to get a statement from Paule.
“This morning a ‘Greetings from New Mexico’ postcard came in the mail,” said Baker. Paule’s note on the back?
“Sparking joy! Love, Paul.”