My experience of the KonMari® Consultant Course
From November 1-3, 2019, I completed the KonMari® Consultant Course in New York City. In this blog post, I share my experience with the course and how my journey of becoming a certified KonMari® Consultant unfolded.
I have a second blog post where I share more details about the more practical aspects and frequently asked questions, which you can read afterward.
Certified or not certified?
In 2015, I began using the KonMari Method® in my own home, and was very passionate about it (for some, maybe even annoyingly so 🙈😂).
In the fall of 2017, I began working as a Professional Organizer and primarily used the KonMari Method® with my clients. Although I wanted to eventually become a certified KonMari® Consultant, I first wanted to gain work experience in the field to determine if this type of work is for me or if it’s just a phase.
The deciding factor was also that joining the KonMari® Consultant Program was a significant decision, given my limited financial resources as a new business owner, and I wanted to be wise with my resources (money, time, and energy).
I’m in!
In the late spring of 2019, I got an email from KonMari Media Inc. (KMI) that there would be an in-person course in New York. I emailed them back to find out where in NY the course would be. They responded and said it would be in Brooklyn.
“What?! - Brooklyn is where I live! Yay!” 🙌🏼🎉
I was thrilled and relieved because this way, I could attend the KonMari® Consultant Course right from where I lived, without the added burden of travel and hotel costs.
Insider gifts are the best ones!
Shortly before the course started, I learned that it would be in the Brooklyn Botanic Garden, which struck me by surprise as I only lived 10 minutes away on foot.
Moments like this, I call “insider gifts” from God. They are like little presents in my everyday life. Not even an answer to a conscious prayer, but the silent desires in my heart that I don’t even dare to articulate.
Welcome Evening
The course started on Friday evening at 6 pm with a get-together. And I was super nervous. I had no idea how many people would be there, and as a neurodivergent person, unknown factors always add to my nervousness.
I might appear very sociable from the outside, but I’m quite anxious about new spaces and groups. That’s why I prefer to do lots of research (if possible), and I try to arrive very early, so I am one of the first people there and can meet the other people person by person and not all at once.
WHAT SHALL I WEAR?!
With enough time, I left my apartment to walk over to the Botanic Garden (that’s how close I used to live there). Instead of having a proper dinner at home, I freaked out about my outfit. 🙈
When I arrived at the location, I checked my coat and then went to a big table filled with name tags. A friendly woman from Team KonMari® helped me find my name tag; she checked me off on her list and gave me two drink vouchers.
Nervously, I went to the bar to get a glass of water because an empty stomach and wine aren’t a great combination (at least not for me). 😅🍷 After chatting a few minutes with the bartender, I walked over to a small table with a few people and asked to join them.
I just sat there, listened, and then a server with finger food came by, and I knew her from other visits in the Botanic Garden (as I am a member there), and had a little chat with her! I started to get calmer and was able to join the conversation that was going on at the table.
IN ONE HOUR AROUND THE WORLD
A few minutes later, the official program began, and we heard some information and speeches. And then we played a "getting-to-know-you" bingo game with all the people, which was a lot of fun. I’ve met several other Germans, and the approximately 100 participants (around 97% of whom were women) came from all over the world and all continents. For sure, I had the shortest commute of all of them! 😂
And then the evening was already over. Time flew by way too quickly. 😢
ANXIETY IS NO JOKE
I share all of this because, even as an anxious person, I've found the many KonMari® events I’ve attended since 2019 to be truly wonderful, and I’m so glad I was brave enough to go. And honestly, worst case scenario, you can always go to the bathroom to take a little break when things feel too much.
I think it’s getting so much easier throughout the years, because the KonMari® Consultant Community is a place to connect with like-minded people, and by the second day, you see familiar faces, and it’s getting easier. Additionally, there is a high likelihood of meeting someone who will become a dear friend. I made friends in 2019 who are still friends and colleagues almost six years later (I write this in the summer of 2025).
First day
PHOTO SHOOTING
On Saturday, we had the option to come one hour before the training started to get professional headshots taken for free. I didn’t want to miss this chance, and while waiting in a long line for my turn, I made some new friends. Team KonMari® gave us this opportunity because we already had a professional picture of us for our website, which is significant when starting a business from scratch.
MEETING MARIE KONDO
The first speaker of the day was Marie Kondo! ✨ She spoke for about one hour, mainly in Japanese, and had an English interpreter. Since 2024, Marie has overcome her own fear of speaking English and is now delivering her speeches in English at the KonMari® events I’ve attended.
What can I say? It was so lovely to see Marie. 😍 I felt like a giant with my 1.65 m (5’4”) compared to her. 😂 She was so sweet and friendly. The most impressive thing was her smile. I’ve never seen a person smile as much as she did. Not even in Thailand - the land of smiles.
© Photo Credit KonMari Media, Inc.
Marie Kondo was teaching the first training, and I sat right in front of her.
© Photo Credit KonMari Media, Inc.
One of the three headshots of me that I received after the seminar.
What we’ve learned
During the whole Saturday and Sunday sessions, we learned about the process of becoming a certified KonMari® Consultant, the KonMari Method®, how to do joy-checking correctly, and how to do a KonMari® session. Then we made a deep dive into the five KonMari® categories (clothes, books, paper, miscellaneous, sentimental).
As a Professional Organizer, I already knew a lot of things through my work experience. I also deepened my knowledge through NAPO trainings (National Association of Productivity & Organizing Professionals) since I began this career path in 2017.
What I loved learning most at the KonMari® Course was hearing the personal life stories of the certified KonMari® Consultants who were our instructors!
© Photo Credit KonMari Media, Inc.
That’s me with my three instructors when I got my course certification—left to right: Patty Morrissey, I, Amanda Jefferson, and Jenny Albertini.
© Photo Credit KonMari Media, Inc.
KonMari® Consultant Course November 2019 in Brooklyn, New York (USA). Several of the other participants became close friends, and I talk to them regularly. I’m so incredibly grateful for that!
The most wonderful course I’ve ever attended!
I’ve been to many courses and trainings in my life, and this one was the best I’ve ever been to. And I’m not exaggerating! I heard this from many of the other participants too.
I can’t put my finger on the exact reason why, but I think the following things all contributed to it.
✨ Number 1 was the topic.
✨ The location was stunning. A big, airy room, filled with natural light and wood elements. Giant windows that showed the beauty of the Botanic Garden. Team KonMari® is so good at choosing joy-sparking locations for their events!
✨ The food was just delicious. We had a lunch buffet, and there were some afternoon tea goodies. We could always drink coffee, tea, water, and juice. The restaurant in the Botanic Garden makes delicious food - I know that because it’s my favorite weekend ritual to have brunch there and then go for a walk in the gardens.
✨ The various pieces of training appealed to my left and right brain. We heard a lot of information, but there were also many creative and group exercises and discussions. That was the perfect mixture for me, so no boredom came up. And there were, again and again, impulses for my heart as well. The instructors shared a wealth of knowledge about their KonMari® business journeys, and I absorbed it all like a dried-out sponge.
In the end, we could fill out this card:
KonMari® Consultant Referral Program
If you are ruminating on becoming a certified KonMari® Consultant yourself and want to register for one of the virtual or in-person KonMari® Consultant Courses, this is how you can get a $100 discount:
Team KonMari® developed the KonMari® Consultant Referral Program as a win-win opportunity. You get $100 off, and I get a discount on my yearly KonMari® membership fee.
To receive the $100 off, you only have to type my name (Kati Carrapa) when you register for the course and enter the discount code: consultantjoy
If you did this, please let me know here, so I can thank you personally and also learn more about your journey.
(The referral discount can only be applied to future courses and cannot be made retroactively.)
I appreciate that you took the time to read until here! If you have questions about the KonMari® Consultant Course, check out my FAQ blog post, where I go much more into the practical details.
I wish you a lovely day!
Warmly,
Free Resources for you
If you want to go deeper into the KonMari Method®, you can download my KonMari® Guide, where I explain every step of the KonMari Method®.
If you are ready to rock and roll and declutter everything you own, I have made a digital KonMari® Declutter Checklist.
Sign up for my e-mail update to be informed about the new blog post HERE.
More Blog Posts:
Find out what the KonMari Club is, and the story of how the club came to be. And see if it would be great for you to grow a life that sparks more joy inside the KonMari Club.