Clear the way for Irish Marie Kondo
Tidying expert Vera gives top tips on how to declutter home
MEET the Irish Marie Kondo – the tidying expert who says clearing out your home can transform your life.
Professional organiser Vera Keohane was trained by the Netflix star who is a household name after her books on the power of decluttering sold millions worldwide.
Now Cork woman Vera wants to help the nation learn how reorganising your home can bring headspace.
The 54-year-old told the Irish Mirror: “Clearing the physical stuff is a gateway to dealing with the mental stuff.
“While our minds are busy and preoccupied with all this clutter, we can’t actually think straight.
“Our surroundings have an impact on how we feel about ourselves.”
The mum-of-five quit her job as a midwife to become a decluttering specialist and now runs her own business.
She is a Kondo consultant after training in her “Konmari” method, which is a simple but effective technique to end hoarding habits.
It teaches its followers to let go of items they don’t need, and advocates cleaning up by category rather than location.
After studying under Marie herself in New York – becoming Ireland’s first certified Konmari consultant – Vera now runs her own nationwide business Enjoy Your Home.
She offers in-home tidying sessions where she teaches clients to store items in an organised manner and dispose of those they no longer need.
She said the lockdowns of the pandemic woke us up to the importance of our environment, adding: “People really realised it fully during Covid, as they were immersed in their own homes – and their houses weren’t functioning for them.
“They were confronted with a mess – living, working from home, and homeschooling their kids.”
The Konmari method can help those who feel beset by clutter to oust it from their lives.
She said: “It’s much more than just folding – it’s a journey of discovery and of doing what’s right for you and listening to your inner voice. If you really want to declutter properly you need to put time aside to commit to the process. It could take months to do it properly, but if you commit to it, you’ll feel a lightness coming over you.”
A key question is: “Does this item spark joy?” and if the answer is no, it’s time to thank it for its usefulness and get rid of it.
Vera says you’ll save yourself a fortune, adding: “You’ll be cured of a lifetime of consumerism.
“Do you need it? Do you want it? By the time you’ve asked yourself these questions, sometimes you put the item back on the shelf.”
Surroundings have an impact on how we feel about ourselves
VERA KEOHANE
CO CORK YESTERDAY