Get Organized by The Home Edit Verses Tidying Up with Marie Kondo
It’s happening.
Another home organization series is soon launching on Netflix. This time, two business owners, that look a lot like your new internet BFF (Best Friends Forever), are the duo bringing organization to a whole different level. Meet Clea Shearer and Joanna Teplin of The Home Edit. If you haven’t heard of this pair, they share similar accomplishments with the spark Joy creator, Marie Kondo.
These California transplants, now residing in Nashville, Shearer and Teplin co-wrote the bestselling book, The Home Edit: A Guide to Organizing and Realizing Your House Goals. They have launched a product line with The Container Store and are now adding Netflix Series Stars to their list of accolades. To coincide with their new show on Netflix, the pair is set to launch their second book, The Home Edit Life: The No-Guilt Guide to Owning What You Want and Organizing Everything.
As a Professional Organizer, it is safe to say that I am over-the-moon excited for this new home organization show and will likely binge watch it on September 9th as it is released globally on Netflix. 2020 hasn’t quite gone as expected, but the launch of this series is something to look forward to and get excited about.
Having watched the entire series of Tidying Up with Marie Kondo (TUWMK) I am setting my expectations high for The Home Edit’s launch of Get Organized. Here is my run down of how Get Organized will stack up and compare to TUWMK.
Let’s start with the obvious. Timing.
2019 started out with a spark that spread joy across the world with the premier of the #1 hit show, Tidying Up with Marie Kondo. This series launched at a time when the idea of a global pandemic and full on recession was a thing for movies (aka. Ask drew), not anything remotely close to what we would experience in real life. Fast forward to 2020 and we all know that the zombie apocalypse, a far-fetched idea of doomsday, is actually closer to the truth than fiction. Despite the timing of the launch for Get Organized, there is absolutely a need for quality entertainment during these times. If you have already blown through your Netflix watch list, this series definitely appeals to a broad and global audience, making for binge worthy consumption at its best.
The Stars
The stars of TUWMK are the clients themselves just as much as Marie Kondo. We get a glimpse into Marie Kondo as a reality television star, falling in love with her personality and affinity for organizational chaos and messes. Through a translator, we see the real-life interaction between Marie and a tidying client. The clients shine through sharing their challenges and being vulnerable to the audience, highlighting the underlying reasons for why their homes, lives and their possessions do not spark joy.
Get Organized appeals to audiences with everyday clients but also boasts a super star line up of mega celebrities including executive producer of the show, Reese Witherspoon. Backed by uber celebrities, the show looks and feels entirely different than TUWMK. If organization alone does not lure you in to binge watching the show, perhaps getting a glimpse of the lavish lifestyles of mega stars will. Is it refreshing to see that keeping a tidy home is a universal problem that spans across all socioeconomic statuses? Or is the eye candy of seeing Khloe Kardashian’s perfectly organized spaces of color-coded products aligning shelves too much to stomach during a recession caused by a global pandemic affecting millions upon millions of lives with unemployment claims and furlough statuses now becoming permanent?
Clea and Joanne explode off the screen with their fresh approach to traditional organization and their relatable besties laughter and chatter. The two minute trailer to the show had me wanting more, not just for the organized drool worthy spaces, but also to see the interaction of this pair with their celebrity clients. The pair don’t use language such as spark joy, but talk about creating a space that makes one happy.
The Method
The KonMari method to me is entirely a mindset. It’s the convergence of minimalism, essentialism, habit formation and organization joined by the central and overarching idea to live a life that sparks joy with items and possessions that do the same. The life changing magic lies in uncovering the true joys of one’s life through the individual assessment of our belongings. The Home Edit methodology values a pretty, aesthetically pleasing space just as much as a functional one that follows a system that endures and passes the test of time. The emphasis of space design and functionality is markedly different than the KonMari Method. Bin labels and color coding according to ROYGBIV that The Home Edit is known for, is not mandated with the KonMari method although it is perfectly acceptable to achieve this look with the method, if it sparks joy.
Where the similarities lie in the two approaches are that keeping a tidy space is important because the client will want to relive the joy of having a tidy space which is the driving motivating factor for keeping up with the tidy system.
Distancing from Minimalism
While the KonMari Method is not minimalism, many in the world confuse the method to be a minimalistic approach to owning and discarding possessions. On the other hand, The Home Edit doesn’t likely get lumped in with minimalism. The approach by The Home Edit appears to emphasize the acceptability of consumption and consumerism with their new book titled, The No-Guilt Guide to Owning What You Want and Organizing Everything. While Marie Kondo encourages us to “keep only those things that speak to your heart,” she also notes that “storage experts are hoarders” in The Life Changing Magic of Tidying Up.
What I’m most looking forward to.
As the launch for Get Organized is fast approaching, I’m most excited for the everyday challenges that everyday people come across in their daily lives. Solving these problems is where I find the most joy in my current role as a Professional Organizer. I also love a beautiful color-coded space and can’t wait to see the pretty transformations that will unfold before my eyes with each tidy segment of the series.
What are your first impressions of the show and what are you most excited about? I would love to read your comments.
I found the first episode entertaining but being a believer in the Marie Kondo philosophy, I found Home Edit (first episode and mostly from their IG page) quite shallow in the sense that the focus on mainly on making the space LOOK organized and tidy and easier to find things. I also don’t find their visuals of pantries and fridge packed with countless acrylic boxes practical nor spark joy when they look like supermarket shelves and lack any personality. Their method, in terms of practicality, may work better for people with super huge houses but not when space is a limitation. I much much prefer MK as there’s so much more emphasis on thinking through if those things spark joy and are even needed/ serve a role in the first place rather than keep buying more and more and put everything in identical clear boxes.
I very much agree. While I appreciate the Home Edit’s style and charm, I find that Konmari is much more healing and genuine. I like that it is more about facing your fears, being vulnerable, and finding what makes you happy in life. I think it is also more accessible and sustainable for the average person. People are quick to get quite defensive about KonMari, assuming it has an ascetic set of values, but really, I think it is more about seeing what works for you, which more authentically matches how people perceive the Home Edit (and I think the Home Edit doesn’t completely fit that). I like the KonMari method, but I see how the other method may be well-suited for people who aren’t fully ready to face those fears yet.
I very much agree. While I appreciate the Home Edit’s style and charm, I find that Konmari is much more healing and genuine. I like that it is more about facing your fears, being vulnerable, and finding what makes you happy in life. I think it is also more accessible and sustainable for the average person. People are quick to get quite defensive about KonMari, assuming it has an ascetic set of values, but really, I think it is more about seeing what works for you, which more authentically matches how people perceive the Home Edit (and I think the Home Edit doesn’t completely fit that). I like the KonMari method, but I see how the other method may be well-suited for people who aren’t fully ready to face those fears yet.