How I’ve Made Peace With The Mess: The Counter Kondo Stance

I’m sitting on my front porch listening to the sound of a tennis racquet collide with my china cabinet. There’s a spirited battle going on inside my home, but it’s not what you may be picturing.                     

My sons, 16, and 13, have dragged two chairs into the middle of our family room, which connects to the kitchen, for yet another impromptu game of indoor tennis.

Their net is the throw blanket that, moments earlier, sat neatly folded on the couch. Waiting in the wings is their 11-...