MEET KANOA’S DECLUTTERING ANGELS
The Project’s Kanoa Lloyd has a new decluttering show coming out on Three, with two angels to help make people’s lives easier.
The feel-good show, Sort Your Life Out, could be described as a Queer Eye for the Straight Guy meets Marie Kondo, Netflix’s most famous space simplifier. Lloyd will be flanked by organisational expert Natalie Jane and builder Sean Brown.
Lloyd tells Spy: “I wanna say we’re like Queer Eye because I love that the fab five are not about being judgmental. They are just there to add polish and inspire confidence. And I think that is what we’re doing for family homes.”
The trio have worked with Kiwi families from all walks of life, coming up with solutions to make their lives better. The aim of the show is to bring the love back into their homes with the help of a little decluttering and organisation.
Lloyd admits to being a bit of a clutterer herself, hanging on to books, pottery and old birthday cards.
“I’m there for hand-holding, moral support and stressing people out about time limits,” she says. “It’s really fulfilling working on something where we really help people. It’s not just about tidying up or labelling some jars. It’s about making life easier for people who have just got a little bit overwhelmed.”
Lloyd says the trio have seen people shaking with nerves because they are walking into the cluttered garage they’ve been avoiding for years. “To see them after we’ve finished, with the weight of anxiety lifted off them — it’s really special,” she says. “I’m also constantly stunned at the things Sean builds and restores. Like shelves and cubbies, of course, but also some real works of art that are practical but beautiful.”
Brown, an experienced home renovator, says he has a passion for identifying people’s greatest needs in and around their homes. He has loved witnessing the impact the show has had on the way people live at home.
Sort Your Life Out is real, raw and emotional, and he believes viewers will all relate to it on some level and get plenty of tips too.
Lloyd sets the tone — genuinely excited and enthusiastic — and comes up with an inspiring arsenal of hot tips to make people’s lives easier, Brown says. Jane, who is a member of the Institute of Professional Organisers, can create a vision for a space even when it appears to be in complete disarray.
“Where most would turn away, Natalie just rolls her sleeves up. It’s priceless,” says Brown.
Jane says organising comes naturally to her and is something she has always loved to do. Her mum is a super-organised person, so she learned a lot from her from a young age.
“Creating order in my home helps me do the things I need to do, without any distraction. It literally helps me to think straight,” she says.
Japanese organising consultant Marie Kondo has been an inspiration to many people around the world but Jane says she has her own methods that work best with busy Kiwi families.
“My approach is very hands-on. I like to bring the fun into organising and help people realise that organising can be fun and is a skill that can be learned,” she says.
“I love nothing more than inspiring people to realise their full potential and bear witness to the freedom that comes with letting go.”