Hive Life Feature

Published: 27th March 2019

Author: Melodie C

To read the full article click here

Netflix star Marie Kondo’s KonMari Method of organising homes is taking the world by storm, but not everyone is a fan. Australia’s first KonMari practitioner Sally Flower explains why tidying your drawers might just change your life.

For those that haven’t already read her bestselling book, ‘The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up,’ Marie Kondo’s trending Netflix show has made the Japanese decluttering maestro a global phenomenon. Entirely convincing in her calmness, the organisational star is compelling audiences worldwide, giving rise to a whole new breed of entrepreneur: the tidying guru. We met Australia’s first Marie Kondo-trained consultant, Sally Flower, to learn how sorting out your sock drawer could sort out your life.

One of KonMari’s 227 certified consultants working around the world, Sally has over 300 tidying sessions with 30 clients under her belt. She first discovered Marie in New York, signing up for the tidying guru’s course on a whim when she was working there in corporate finance.

An instant convert, she went on to become the first trained KonMari practitioner in Australia, where she’s now set up her second career Home Sanctuary, an organising consultancy that helps people create homes she claims to enhance personal connections and help them be the best version of themselves.

According to Sally, Marie’s life-changing method hinges on a lot more than tidy cupboards. “When I’m home, I don’t constantly feel like I need to be cleaning or tidying all the time,” she says of her own experience. “It’s enabled me to feel more relaxed in my space and let go of a lot of stuff. The psychology is, when you let go of tangible objects, it allows you to let go of some emotions and feelings you’ve been holding onto.” For her, that’s led to an increase in confidence. “Really, it’s asking the question of why I love things rather than being pressured by my surroundings to do things other people like,” she states.

Marie’s famous approach to decluttering is unique in that the focus is not on throwing away things, but identifying what “sparks joy” in your life. “Clothing is the easiest because we touch it, it’s next to our skin, and we’re used to getting rid of these items, so that’s always the first category on the list,” explains Sally of her process. “We leave sentimental items, things that are really hard to let go of like photos, or toys you’ve had since you were a child, to the end, so the person is more sensitive to their joy and what makes them happy.”

Typically, she spends six to eight hours going through this process for each and every category with her clients, people that range from couples looking to downsize to young families with children, students and bachelors. “It should be a fun process. As soon as you start to feel like you’re not enjoying or not getting anywhere, that’s when you need to get a consultant,” she says. Working via home visits, online consultations, seminars and workshops, she teaches them not only how to tidy, but how to live their lives in a new, streamlined way, with a tidying plan provided for those that need help staying on track.

A total KonMari convert herself, Sally sees the method as a way of life. “It definitely takes discipline. People need to be ready to make a change and responsible for what they do. It’s like with anything – you can’t go on Weightwatchers and have a pizza as soon as you walk out. But I’m confident that, if my clients follow the way I taught them and take responsibility for their purchasing behaviour, they will never need to declutter again.”

The post Marie Kondo: Life-Changing Method or Madness? appeared first on Home Sanctuary.

Published: January 2019

Author: Angela Tufvesson

To read the full article click here.

Going Japanese

Sally Flower is Australia’s first certified KonMari consultant-in-training. She says the method is just as applicable in Japan, where homes are typically teeny-tiny, as Australia, where average homes are among the world’s largest.

“In Australia, even though we have bigger homes, it just means that we fill them up,” says Sally. “We have so much stuff that the number of decisions our minds have to make each day goes into overdrive.

“If you know that when you get home and take off your jacket it’s got its own home in your house, it reduces the amount of decisions you have to make each day, which helps you to live a simpler life and to spend time on things you love.”

Have you read our broadsheet feature?

The post Does the KonMari method of cleaning work? appeared first on Home Sanctuary.

Published: 31 October 2018

Author: Jo Robin

To read the full article click here

Out of sight, out of mind? Not really. In part five of our spring-cleaning series, we ask an expert how to turn your car from a claustrophobic coffee-cup tomb into a “mini sanctuary” on wheels.

Old sneakers. Festering forgotten coffee cups. Three pairs of wonky just-in-case sunnies. Cars can quickly become a dumping ground for crap you’d never dream of leaving piled up on the dining room table, and yet they stoically take us from A to B, quietly copping the literal trash we throw their way.

“I think it’s because you can shut the doors and it’s gone,” says Sally Flower, a Melbourne-based professional organiser trained in the Japanese art of KonMari tidying.

Step one: ready … yourself for your day

Flower says it’s important to remember a car isn’t like any other space, such as a house or an office, because it’s mobile and not temperature controlled.

“[If] you’ve got things like old sneakers or if you have food in there it’s probably more likely to rot or smell than it would in a house. So in my view it’s almost more important to declutter that because it’s not a normal space,” she says.

“And often with a car you can’t get out for long periods; you can’t just walk into another room.”

Have you read our leading Broadsheet feature, How To Spring Clean Your Home?

The post How to Spring Clean Your Car appeared first on Home Sanctuary.

Published: 14 September 2018

Author: Jo Robins

To read the full article click here

The post How to Spring Clean Your House appeared first on Home Sanctuary.

Living the KonMari way: I asked a decluttering expert to assess my home.

Author: Jayne D’Arcy

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I’ve been drowning in stuff forever. A recent stock-take found four computers, three cameras, five bikes and three guitars. And two young children. Add countless clothes, books, CDs and photos, and a lot of sentimental knick-knacks. Despite regular donations to the op shop, my home was still filled with stuff, much of which I didn’t really like.

Enter Sally Flower, Melbourne’s own Certified KonMari Consultant. As soon as I booked her in, I became critical of my efforts. I’d hugged and said goodbye to so much, but I still had stuff I couldn’t deal with.

My kids won her over quickly (lucky for them), and she asked for a tour. I showed her my bedroom first. I started to feel pride. It wasn’t bare, or minimalist; it was filled with things that sparked joy flower made suggestions as the tour continued. “I’d hang something here,” she said, pointing to walls. She suggested ways I could make frequently used items more accessible and gave us a lesson on folding fitted sheets, T-shirts and towels. She rearranged my kitchen containers in a few seconds flat (I took a photo so it can stay that way!)

Finally, we got to the large pile of stuff by the door that I’d been unable to deal with. Flower picked the items up and asked me how I felt about them. We smashed through them, assigning each piece to its new home.

The instruments I’d held onto for decades are now at the local high school. There’s a painting that I can’t decide on, but Flower said even she regrets letting some things go. I’ve decided to wait. As for the kids? They’re definitely staying.

Jane’s five biggest KonMari revelations

1. I don’t need to keep something just because someone gave it to me
2. It’s up to my kids to do this process themselves (they love the folded clothes)
3. It’s OK to have a photo album that purely contains photos of me looking my best (thanks and goodbye 1988 school photo of me with mullet).
4. There’s a real sense of calm in an ordered home and it transmits to everyone living there (sounds woo-woo, but it’s true.)
5. Getting a professional in, it is always worth it.

To read the full article, click here.

Learn what it means to get a profession, visit Home Wellness Consulting

The post Living The KonMari Way appeared first on Home Sanctuary.

Published: February 2018

Author: Jayne Darcy

To read full article click here.

When it comes to renovating to sell, there’s a prevailing school of thought: avoid what’s “in vogue”. Still, if you’ve been inspecting properties, you’ll know this advice is often ignored. Black mulch and ear-perforating yukkas in the garden? Eek. Bare-bulb lighting? Please, is this a cafe or a home?

Steven Scalise of Scalise Studios works on townhouse projects that come into fruition years after the initial plans. “You’re making hard decisions on design, and you have to pre-empt the result and work towards matching the client’s expectation in the future,” he says. He suggests burning trend magazines. “Don’t look at trends; look at the spirit of the house.”

Luxe may be fighting minimalism for the “best way to live” crown, but the winner is ultimately a decluttered house. “Nine out of 10 clients will need to declutter,” says DeAngelis. “The way properties are presented for sale is not the way people live.”But it can be.

Certified KonMari consultant Sally Flower proves it: “I’ve moved 12 times in 10 years. For me it’s not a big deal. As soon as I move into a space, it’s just like the last one. I know how quick it is for me to organise and set it up, it’s just fun,” she says.

The KonMari method involves saying goodbye to things that don’t spark joy and keeping ones that do.

Have you read our Hive Life feature?

The post Planning to sell your Melbourne home in 2018? appeared first on Home Sanctuary.