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Jennifer Howard

Writer, editor, journalist.

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Vox: Quoted in an article on “The New Maximalism”

November 23, 2020

I talked to Vox’s Rebecca Jennings about the Victorian roots of maximalism and the psychic toll of the recent mania for decluttering:

Television shows like Hoarders, Tidying Up With Marie Kondo, and now The Home Edit, in which a team of organization experts traipse through the pantries of celebrities and explain the importance of color-coding one’s nut butters, have captivated millions.

And yet, “it has this sort of ‘I am declaring victory over my possessions’ [tone],” Howard says. “But what an exhausting way to feel about your stuff.” Millennial maximalism offers a different way of looking at things, one that recalls an approach more like Annika’s grandmother’s: that they can be a collection of joyful, personal, and perhaps complicated things that tell the story of one’s life.

Read the full article.

Filed Under: Clutter, In the Press Tagged With: clutter, decluttering, Marie Kondo, maximalism, minimalism, Victorians, Vox

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Jen Howard sitting in front of a brick wall. She is smiling.

Writer, journalist, editor, gadabout. Book- and nature lover. Washingtonian. LLC. Read more »

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