Living Clutter Free Forever - decluttering tips, professional organizing, minimalist living

3 tidying secrets I learned from meeting Marie Kondo in person #126

• Caroline Thor - Professional Organizer - KonMari® Consultant

Share episode

Have you ever wondered what it’s really like to meet the queen of tidying, Marie Kondo, in person? I’ll give you a hint: it’s not just about folding clothes!

In this week’s podcast, I’m sharing three powerful lessons I learned from my recent trip to London, where I got to meet Marie Kondo herself. It was an experience that went far beyond just decluttering. How did tidying become a transformative journey for me? And what did I discover about managing overwhelm in both my home and family?

I’ll talk about how this unexpected encounter with Marie opened my eyes to what really matters when it comes to organizing your life and home. Hint: It’s not about perfection—it’s about creating space for joy.

Feeling like you’re drowning in clutter? Struggling to stay on top of family chaos? I’ve been there. But trust me, tidying isn’t just about getting rid of stuff. It’s about making space for the things (and people) that matter.

Don’t miss out—this episode will change the way you see tidying and organization forever!

I would LOVE to hear from you. Text Message me here.

Thanks for listening! For more organizational motivation, support and free resources:
Join my online membership Clutter Free Collective
Join my podcast Facebook group Living Clutter Free Forever Podcast: KonMari® Inspired Organizing | Facebook
Visit my website www.caroline-thor.com
Come and say 'hi' on Instagram @caro.thor
Follow me on Facebook @carolineorganizer

Speaker 1:

Hi there, I'm Caroline Thor, professional organiser, konmari consultant, teacher and mum of three. I started off my life as a mum feeling overwhelmed, disorganised and desperately trying to carve out some time for me amongst the nappies, chaos and clutter. One day, one small book called the Life-Changing Magic of Tidying changed everything and I began to learn strategies for making everyday life easier. Today I have the systems in place that means life can throw almost anything at me, and I want to share them with you. If you're an overwhelmed mum struggling to keep it together, then this is the podcast for you. Grab a coffee and settle in for a quick chat with someone who gets your reality. Hello and welcome back to the latest episode of the Living Clutter-Free Forever podcast.

Speaker 1:

I'm sitting here on Tuesday afternoon, a week before this episode goes out, and yesterday evening I got back from four days in London and I don't have an outline for this podcast. I usually do, but today I'm just going to wing it and see what comes out, because I am excited to share with you my experience of meeting Marie Kondo in London. Yes, I got to meet Marie in the flesh and yes, she is as small as she looks on the television, but more about that in a bit. So I have not gone away on my own since before COVID happened, and so this, for me, was a real adventure. I was very fortunate that I got to stay with my brother in London, so it meant that I got to spend some time with him and his family as well, which was really special. But before we even get there, I'm just going to rewind a bit.

Speaker 1:

To me getting ready to go away from Thursday to Monday so a five day trip and what that entailed, because there was some organisation involved in it. Yes, I had to book plane tickets. Yes, I had to book a train ticket into the airport and, yes, I had to think about what I was going to take with me in terms of clothes and all of that sort of jazz. But the family organization that was involved before I could actually leave was quite interesting, to put it mildly. So I had assumed I would have to have everything planned down to the last degree, because I'm the one who is CEO of our household, as I like to call myself. I'm the one who is CEO of our household, as I like to call myself, and it's me that knows the schedules, it's me that knows when we've got special appointments coming up. It's me that knows the kids' school timetables, what time they need to be there in the morning, what time they're going to be home, what after-school activities we've got, what medications people need to be taking, all of that sort of stuff. So I deal with those on a daily basis because my husband is out at work and I work from home, so it's me that tends to deal with these sorts of things. And not only that, but we had a new puppy who had only been in the home for two weeks before I left, so add that into the mix as well, and my husband's got quite a lot to deal with.

Speaker 1:

So I really thought I was going to have to have done the food shop, have made sure all the washing was done, have organized exactly what everyone needed to be doing on what day, but when it came down to it I actually didn't have all that much time. There ended up being quite a few extra appointments that I hadn't been expecting pushed into the start of that week, and it also took me longer to get everything for my business ready before I left. I had to make sure that the podcast was ready for when I came back, and the social media and the newsletter that was going out and all of this sort of stuff. So it got to the day before I was due to fly and I just thought do you know what? I'm just going to leave it. They're going to have to cope with it. And because I had, at the start of the week, with my husband, created a meal plan for the week and we've got most of that food in already, it was, from his point of view, actually fairly clear what he was going to cook on which day and he said he'd just work out the rest.

Speaker 1:

So we went through together what times my son would have to be at school, because his school starts get this at a different time every morning. Talk about trying to make life complicated. So we went through that. So he was clear about that and he was like, look, we know what the systems are, we know where everything is, we'll be fine. And so off I went. I didn't do anything extra, I didn't even do the cleaning before I went, and off I went and had a lovely time in London and when I got back yesterday they had managed brilliantly.

Speaker 1:

The only fly in the ointment had been that the puppy had peed continuously on the floors the whole time I was away. I think probably he'd had a bit of separation anxiety from me and the poor little thing was showing that through how much water he was going to let out of his body during the day. So my husband had spent most of his time following the puppy around mopping up pee. So I don't think my husband really enjoyed it. He'd taken some days holiday in order to be at home and present while I was gone. And I said to him as he picked me up from the airport that's a whole different story. Do you feel like you've had a holiday? And he looked at me and was like no, I have definitely not had a holiday, but I did. I had the most amazing time. So let me tell you all about it.

Speaker 1:

The reason I was going over was because there was going to be a meetup of KonMari consultants who are already trained and then Friday, saturday, sunday, there was a three-day training for people who would like to become KonMari consultants. Now, when I did this back in 2021, because of COVID it was happening virtually. So this was the first training in person in London since COVID, and I had actually been invited to be a panelist, which meant that on the last day, I and two other trained KonMari consultants were going to be asked questions in front of all the trainees so that they could find out a bit more about how our businesses work and how we deal with certain situations that arise for us as KonMari consultants. So that's why I was there and on the Friday I sat in on the training that they were having, which was really interesting for me because mine had been virtual. So I actually got to see these people now in person, to meet the KonMari team in person and to meet Marie Kondo in person. She came in at the start of the first day on the Friday and spoke to the trainees, so I got to watch her doing that and what really impressed me was, whereas up until now, anytime I have heard her speak and I've heard her speak live virtually in Zoom calls that we've had she has been speaking in Japanese and using a translator. This time Everything was in English. Super impressive. So that was the first thing. She came across as very genuine, as genuinely excited to see everybody and happy to be there, and she really did give a lot of time, which was very nice.

Speaker 1:

Later that afternoon, one of the KonMari consultants who has been working with Marie on creating a new program which is really exciting. It's called the KonMari Club. I will be telling you more about that later on in the year. But she said to me would you come and be part of a photo shoot for marketing for the KonMari Club? So off I go with other consultants to go and do this. We'd all got t-shirts on or sweatshirts that said KonMari Club. It was just a bit of fun. Walk into the room and there's Marie. So I got to meet her again and we were doing a part of the photo shoot where we were standing in small groups, and she said to me tell me about how the KonMari method has really helped one of your clients. So I was able to tell her about a client of mine, lisa, who has made an amazing transformation, not just in her home but in her whole life, like totally transformative. And Marie was so excited and happy to hear about her. And when I was walking back to my brother's house that night I sent Lisa a voice message on my mobile and said you'll never guess what. I met Marie Kondo today and I got to tell her about you and how proud I am of you and what amazing progress you've made. And Lisa messaged me back the next day going oh, my goodness, that's just so exciting. So that was a really, really nice moment that I actually was able to share with Marie one-on-one something about the KonMari method and how it really has changed someone's life, so that was super special.

Speaker 1:

Then on the Saturday, it was a really fun day because in the morning I was part of the training again for the new consultants and then in the afternoon we moved on to be part of the Clean and Tidy Home Show Show which was happening at the Excel Centre in London. Now this was a massive exhibition with lots of stands where people were demonstrating things to do with cleaning and tidying. Stacey Solomon was there. For those of you from the UK who know Stacey Solomon from Sort your Life Out, she was there on her sister's stand her sister at Creates Labels. So that was really fun to see her from a distance. I was desperately trying to get near to her because I want to have her as a guest on this podcast. I know it's like a really big dream, but I'm going to make it happen. One day I'm going to have Stacey Solomon on this podcast. I'm putting it out there. So, stacey, if you happen to be listening, which is very unlikely, I would love to have you on this podcast. So that was really fun.

Speaker 1:

And Marie gave a speech, or rather an interview, on stage at the Clean and Tidy Home Show, and that was wonderful. Again, she did it in English and what was really nice was that the questions that were being asked were very genuine and really pried into Marie and her home life. So the question came up about had she stopped tidying? Because I think you've probably heard before I mentioned in a podcast that the press had were all over like a rash the fact that Marie had said she'd given up on tidying, which isn't actually what she'd said. But she was talking about how having three kids does mean it's a challenge to keep your home as tidy as she did before she had children, and that she's learnt to let go of perfectionism, that, yes, they're still tidy, but she doesn't hold herself to the same standards that she used to. Because now what sparks joy for her is spending time for her children and, as I speak about often in this podcast, we start with the KonMari method by visualising our ideal lifestyle, and for her now, her ideal lifestyle is connection with her kids and spending time with them, and they do that partly by tidying, because she says she gets them involved, even her youngest, who's three. But it was just really refreshing to hear her saying what I say all the time about not needing it to be perfect it needs to be good enough for you so that you feel calm and in control of things, and it was just really wonderful to be able to watch her live talking about that, and I really wanted you to hear that again today. That it's not about having everything Instagram perfect. It's about having a home that supports you and supports your life that you want to have, and if that means that you want to spend your afternoon sitting on the floor playing with your kids, then so be it. That is how your home should support you.

Speaker 1:

And then on that Saturday afternoon as well, there was a workshop for all the consultants who had come, who were already trained. I joined them for that. We had a big group photo taken with Marie, which was so, so fun, and we had individual photos taken with her, and I'd never had the opportunity to do that before because my training was virtual, and when I saw my photos I was like, oh my goodness, this is not good. I had this weird smile on my face and I was. I was just thinking, no, this can't be my one opportunity to have photos with Marie Kondo, and I looked like crazy. So I actually snuck in the next day and had another photo taken with her and that's turned out a lot better. So you will get to see the photos. I will be sharing them and so Marie came and spoke to us there as well. So I feel like I'm just in Marie Kondo overload from the weekend.

Speaker 1:

But what was really lovely is the workshop that we had for the trained consultants was about Karashi, about your ideal lifestyle, about visualising our ideal morning, our ideal day, our ideal evening. How do we want to live? How can our home support us with that? It was really wonderful to be given time to just sit and reflect on this and really make it a focus and a priority. This is something that I am always talking about in my membership Clutter Free Collective. It's something that we work on all the time. For those people that have taken my course, clutter Free Ever After, this is the foundation of module one, because unless you know how you want to live and what your ideal lifestyle would be like? How are you going to create a home that supports it? So it was an absolute joy to have the opportunity to sit down and reflect on that again for me, and it really made me realize that everything that I am doing in my course and with the membership is definitely on the right track. What we're doing is what we should be doing from a KonMari perspective, but also, I think, from a self-care and mental health perspective as well, and that is so so.

Speaker 1:

And then we moved on to the Sunday, which was the final training session for the consultants in training, and it was so wonderful to see how excited they all were Spark Joy London and Aidan Gately from Ireland. They were also on the panel with me, and it was just such a blast. And it was so nice to be able to share with people who have not yet started on their KonMari journey as a consultant, to be able to warn them about the pitfalls and tell them about the amazing things that are in front of them, and to be able to share with them why we do what we do and why we love it so much. And then, at the end of that session, marie came back in again. Yes, I got to meet her again. Yes, she was still very, very small.

Speaker 1:

And, yes, I got my second photo taken, because the first one had been so very, very awful, and it was just the most wonderful, wonderful, joyful weekend and the most wonderful thing about it was the connecting with other people. I believe wholeheartedly that we do things better when we are part of a community. Now I am so lucky because the KonMari team set up for us a virtual community quite some time ago now and we already all feel very connected and supported. But to actually be able to meet these people and see them in the flesh was wonderful, and when I say that, I really believe we do better as part of a community. This is why I started my membership, clutter Free Collective because there is power in knowing that you are not on your own, that you can share your struggles, that you can celebrate your wins, and it means that you are much, much more likely to make progress and be successful.

Speaker 1:

So for all of you who are listening, who are already in Clutterfree Collective, I am so, so grateful for you. I really felt I was carrying you with me for the whole of the weekend and it was just such a joyful, joyful thing. So thank you for being part of my KonMari journey with me and, for those of you who listen to this podcast, I feel this really strongly about you as well. You are part of my KonMari journey and if listening to this podcast inspires you in any way, shape or form to do what you need to do, to take the steps you need to take to be able to improve your home life and feel less overwhelmed and feel in control, then I am very happy to be your guide in supporting you to do that.

Speaker 1:

So next time there will be a whole new topic, but if you follow me on Instagram, keep an eye out, because I will be posting photos and videos from my weekend in London and I would love to share those with you. So you can follow me on Instagram, at carothor, and I look forward to seeing you there. Until next time, if you've enjoyed this episode, please send the link to a friend you know would appreciate it, subscribe and leave a review. I look forward to bringing you more organizing tips next time, but if you can't wait until then, you can go to my website or find me on Instagram, at carothor, or on Facebook at Caroline Organizer, thanks for listening and I look forward to guiding you on your journey to find your clutter free ever after.