Sparking Joy During A Pandemic

It’s been several years since the world first became obsessed with the idea of a clean, Zen-like existence. As boundaries and design concepts have evolved drastically since then, is the KonMari method still a thing? We ask Eve Wee-Ang, Singapore’s first KonMari-certified consultant.

Since she first took the world by storm several years ago, and her bestselling book The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up: The Japanese Art of Decluttering and Organizing shot to international fame in 2014, practically everyone has heard of Marie Kondo. The petite organisation guru has a worldwide following of fans.

The KonMari Method of tidying up became so popular, it sparked a legion of certified consultants around the globe who have been helping organise people’s homes. Eve Wee-Ang is the first certified Singaporean consultant and, although she resides in Shanghai, she helps people all over the world via virtual consultations.

With our notions about space and boundaries having been challenged since the book came out, it is time to find out if the KonMari Method is still a thing. How do we reconcile that image of a spick-and-span space with a homemade chaotic by most people having to work from home because of Covid-19? And now that design concepts such as maximalism are big, does the method still apply? We ask Eve.

THANKS TO THE PANDEMIC, PEOPLE HAVE BECOME RELAXED ABOUT EMBRACING MESS IN THE HOME. HOW DOES THE KONMARI METHOD APPLY NOW?