Marie Kondo says these 7 purchases never bring joy but people keep buying them anyway

I was decluttering my closet a few years ago using Marie Kondo's method when I made an uncomfortable realization.

I kept finding items with tags still attached. Clothes I'd bought thinking they'd bring me joy but never actually wore.

Marie Kondo's philosophy centers on keeping only things that spark joy. But what fascinated me more was her observation that certain purchases almost never bring joy, yet people continue buying them repeatedly.

These aren't necessarily bad purchases. They're items that promise something—organization, self-improvement, preparedness—but rarely deliver. We buy them with genuine hope that this time will be different, but they typically end up as clutter we feel guilty about.

Kondo has spent decades helping people organize their homes and has seen these patterns play out thousands of times. The same categories of items appear in every cluttered home, purchased with optimism and abandoned with regret.

Understanding which purchases consistently fail to bring joy could save money, space, and the guilt that comes from accumulating things we don't use.

Here are seven purchases Marie Kondo says never bring joy but people keep buying them anyway.

1) Exercise equipment you swear you'll use this time

Home exercise equipment is purchased with genuine intention. You're going to work out regularly. This treadmill or weight set or yoga mat will transform your fitness routine. This time will be different.

Then it becomes an expensive clothing rack or storage for other clutter. The guilt is tremendous because you spent money and still aren't exercising. The equipment sits there reminding you of failed intentions.

Kondo sees this constantly. Exercise equipment that was used once or twice and then abandoned, taking up significant space while generating daily guilt. It promises transformation but rarely delivers because buying equipment doesn't change your actual habits or motivation.

I had a yoga mat that lived rolled up in my closet for three years. I'd bought it convinced I'd start doing home yoga. I never did. The mat didn't bring joy—it brought guilt every time I saw it.

The promise is that purchasing the equipment will make you an exerciser. But equipment doesn't create discipline or enjoyment of exercise. Without those, it's just expensive clutter.

2) Clothes for an aspirational version of yourself

These are the clothes you buy for the person you wish you were rather than the person you are. The formal dresses when you rarely attend formal events. The uncomfortable shoes that look amazing but you'll never actually wear. The trendy items that don't match your actual lifestyle.

You imagine yourself wearing them to exciting events or looking perfectly pulled together. But your real life doesn't accommodate these aspirational purchases, so they hang unworn while you feel guilty about the waste.

Kondo emphasizes that joy comes from loving and using what you own, not from imagining a different life where you'd use different things. Aspirational purchases don't bring joy because they represent dissatisfaction with who you actually are.

I've bought so many clothes for a version of me that doesn't exist. Business clothes when I work from home. Elaborate outfits for a social life I don't have. Each purchase represented hope, but the unworn items just created guilt.

The joy would come from accepting your actual life and buying for that person, not constantly purchasing for an imaginary future self who never materializes.

3) Organizational products before you've decluttered

Bins, baskets, drawer organizers, closet systems purchased before you've actually reduced your possessions. You think organization will solve the clutter problem, but you're just organizing stuff you don't need into prettier containers.

Kondo's method specifically says to declutter first, organize second. But most people buy organizational products hoping they'll magically solve the mess without doing the hard work of deciding what to keep.

I bought so many bins and organizers thinking they'd fix my clutter. They didn't. They just made the clutter more contained while I still owned too much stuff I didn't use or love.

These purchases feel productive. You're taking action against the mess. But they don't address the root problem of having too much, and they add to the clutter while taking up money and space.

The organizational products only bring joy after you've decluttered to what you actually need and use. Before that, they're just more stuff to manage.

4) Books you'll never actually read

Books purchased with intention to read them but never opened. Self-improvement books, classics you think you should read, topics that interest you theoretically but not enough to prioritize reading about them.

They accumulate on shelves creating guilt. Each one represents a commitment you made and didn't keep. You can't get rid of them because you might read them someday, but that day never comes.

Kondo suggests keeping only books you've read and loved or genuinely plan to read soon. Everything else is clutter disguised as aspiration.

I had dozens of unread books I'd owned for years. Each one I'd bought thinking I'd read it. Letting them go felt like admitting I'd wasted money, but keeping them just meant living with constant guilt.

Books promise self-improvement, knowledge, and enrichment. But unread books deliver none of that—just pressure and guilt sitting on your shelves.

5) Craft supplies and hobby materials for projects you'll never start

Craft supplies purchased with enthusiasm for a new hobby. Knitting needles and yarn, scrapbooking materials, painting supplies, specialty baking equipment. You were genuinely excited when you bought them.

But the actual hobby never happens. The supplies sit unused, sometimes still in original packaging, taking up space and generating guilt. You can't get rid of them because you might still start that hobby, but you never do.

Kondo sees this constantly—drawers and closets full of supplies for hobbies people imagined themselves pursuing but never actually prioritized.

I've bought supplies for at least five hobbies I never pursued beyond the initial purchase. Each time I was convinced this hobby would stick. The unused supplies reminded me of all the things I'd meant to do but hadn't.

The purchase promises creativity and fulfillment. But unused supplies just create clutter and guilt around time you're not spending how you imagined.

6) Duplicate items "just in case"

Extra versions of things you already have, purchased as backups or because they were on sale. Backup shampoo, extra phone chargers, multiple versions of the same basic item.

Kondo advocates keeping one of things, not stockpiles. Duplicates take up space and create visual clutter without adding value to your life. You only use one at a time anyway.

I had multiples of so many things—extra toiletries, backup kitchen tools, several versions of identical items. Each purchase felt practical at the time. The accumulated extras just created clutter.

The promise is preparedness and not running out. The reality is most people in modern societies can easily replace items if needed. The stockpiles just take up space and mental energy tracking what you have.

7) Sentimental items from people you don't actually like

Gifts from relatives or acquaintances you feel obligated to keep despite not liking the items or having particularly warm feelings about the giver. They're taking up space in your home out of guilt, not joy.

Kondo emphasizes that gifts' purpose is fulfilled when received—the joy was in the giving. You're not obligated to keep items forever just because someone gave them to you.

I kept gifts from people I barely knew because throwing them away felt wrong. They cluttered my home while bringing no joy, kept purely from obligation.

The promise is honoring relationships through keeping objects. But keeping items you don't love out of obligation doesn't actually strengthen relationships. It just fills your home with joyless clutter.

Final thoughts

These purchases share a common thread—they're bought for imagined futures, aspirational selves, or obligation rather than genuine current joy. They promise transformation, preparedness, or connection but rarely deliver.

Understanding these patterns helps you shop more intentionally. Before buying, ask whether this item serves your actual life now or an imaginary future life you keep hoping will materialize.

Kondo's core question remains powerful: does this spark joy? Not "will this spark joy when I finally start exercising/reading/crafting?" Not "should this spark joy?" Just "does it spark joy right now?"

Most of these seven categories fail that test but get purchased anyway because we're buying hope and intention rather than things we'll actually use and love.

I've saved significant money and space by recognizing these patterns in myself. When I'm tempted by exercise equipment or aspirational clothes or just-in-case duplicates, I remember they've never brought joy before. The purchase brings brief hope, then long-term guilt and clutter.

The most joyful purchases are the ones that serve your actual current life and that you use regularly with pleasure. Everything else is just stuff taking up space and mental energy while delivering none of the joy you expected when you bought it.