Since Tidying Up With Marie Kondo premiered, you may have noticed an uptick in Instagram posts showing off the KonMari method. For some of us, though, simply watching eight episodes of Kondo helping strangers parse through their belongings isn't enough to give us the confidence to tackle our own piles of crap. No, some of us require more hands-on guidance and constant emotional support. The good news is, that extra help actually exists.
While exploring Marie Kondo's website recently, we came across a tab labeled "KonMari Consultants," and clicked it only to discover that there is a whole network of specially-trained organisation experts for hire. "The Consultant community is made up of women and men from all around the world. We come from all different backgrounds and specialties but are united in the joint mission to 'organise the world,' Caitlin Roberts, a Platinum Certified KonMari Consultant who owns a Los Angeles-based home-organisation business called Minimise With Purpose, told Refinery29 in a recent email. There are six steps that must be completed before one can even apply for KonMari certification, including reading Marie Kondo's book, attending official KonMari seminars, and taking an online exam.
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Roberts explained that each journey with a KonMari Consultant begins with an exercise where the client is asked to imagine their "ideal lifestyle and a home tour." Then, when the actual cleaning and organising begins, it's approached by category and not by room, which probably isn't what all your friends showing off their drawers full of perfectly-rolled clothes did — just sayin'. The "correct" order for tackling the categories, according to Roberts, is clothing, books, papers, komono / miscellaneous (kitchen, hobby, linens, etc.), and sentimental items.
Though this structure may seem a bit rigid, Roberts says consultants can tailor the experience for their clients. "This approach is methodical but personalised to our clients' unique homes and needs. As we review each category, we help our clients identify what items spark joy and respectfully discard the items that do not." That seems like a good way to avoid the complete emotional overload that many of us always thought was an inevitability of purging our belonging. Roberts also says that each KonMari Consultant brings their own personal background and expertise to their lessons. This is significant, as not all consultants approach belonging the same. "It is fun to note that we aren't all minimalists! We love sharing about what brings us joy — and often times that means showcasing our art collections or curated libraries."
If you're a fan of Marie Kondo's Netflix show and have already watched each episode more than once, you may think you know exactly what working with a KonMari consultant looks like. However, Roberts told Refinery29 that the series didn't show everything. "The tidying lessons shown on Tidying Up with Marie Kondo are highly edited to fit the format of a television show... it is important to note that the cast families worked diligently to stay on-task for the filming schedule. For some, that meant many hours of work behind the scenes with Certified KonMari Consultants." While folks on the show completed their tidying up journeys very quickly, Roberts explained the goal of most consultants is for their clients to complete theirs within six months or less.
The cost for hiring a KonMari consultant will vary based on a few different factors like your location, the size of your home, and the amount of one-on-one support you require — we already know, some of us require a lot more help than others. She also says different consultants have different approaches to price structuring. "Some consultants book single lessons and others offer multiple lesson packages at a discounted rate. Rates can vary greatly by location but are comparable to the cost of a traditional organiser ($60(£41)-$150 (£115)/hour)... KonMari consultants don't provide quotes from previous jobs, but I can say that a two-bedroom home would take probably no less than 10 lessons that are 3 to 5 hours each."
That means, at most, organising a two-bedroom home could cost around £5,750. That is quite a lot of money, however, Roberts explains that the amount of time a consultant spends per home can vary depending on if the client completes homework in between sessions, how decisive clients are when it comes to identifying their joy, and the number of items in the home. The good news is, once you've got all your joy-sparking items organizsd, you don't have to disclose how much you paid for the help when you post your drawer photos to Instagram.