How to become a certfified KonMari Consultant

From November 1-3, 2019, I completed the KonMari Certification Course to become a certified KonMari Consultant. In this blog post, I share how I experienced the course. 

Certified or not certified?

In 2015 I began using the KonMari Method® and was very passionate about it (for some, maybe even annoyingly so 🙈😂). 

In 2017 I started working as a Professional Organizer and used mainly the KonMari Method® with my clients. Although I wanted to be certified, I put it off due to the high price and additional travel costs. I didn’t pressure myself because I knew I was helping my clients with or without the certification.  

I’m in!

In the late spring of 2019, I got an email from KonMari Media Inc. (KMI) that there would be a New York course. I emailed them back to find out where in NY the course would be. They answered me back and said it would be in Brooklyn.

What?! - Brooklyn is where I live! Yay! 🙌🏼🎉

I was so happy and relieved because I didn’t want to travel all to Upstate New York - almost to Niagara Falls or such thing - and then get a hotel there. I thought: “Worst case scenario would be that I’d have to go to the farthest corner in Brooklyn, and that would be maybe two-ish hours commute, and I could live with that.”

Insider gifts are the best ones!

Shortly before the course started, I learned that it would be in the Botanic Garden in Brooklyn. It struck me by surprise as I only live 10 minutes by foot away. 

Moments like this I call “insiders” from God for me. They are like little presents in my everyday life. Not even an answer to a spoken prayer, but the silent prayers /desires in my heart. Only God knows what’s in my heart - I haven’t even told anyone else, and he gives me this incredible gift - an “insider gift” just for me. The KonMari Consultation Course in Brooklyn, and to top it off with the Botanical Garden, was a big one. But there are also the getting a seat in the subway moments that are also really nice.

Look at this minimalist name tag design! 🥰

The course and the community with the other participant created so much joy in me!

Welcome evening

The course started on Friday evening (Nov 1st) at 6 pm with a get-together. And I was super nervous. I had no idea how many people would be there, and I wasn’t able - like I usually did - to bring one of my friends along. 👯‍♀️

I might appear very sociable from the outside, but I’m quite anxious about new spaces and groups. Usually, I only have to bear with the fear for a little while, and then it eases eventually.

WHAT SHALL I WEAR?!

Ten before 6 pm, I left the apartment to walk over to the Botanic Garden. 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 the KonMari team 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 waitress with finger food came by, and I knew her! She was usually our waitress when we went for brunch in the Botanic Garden restaurant (another great inside gift from God!). 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 bingo game with all the people, which was so much fun and craziness. After it, I’ve met several other Germans who came from Germany and Switzerland. The approximately 100 participants (around 97% of them women) came from all over the world and from all continents! For sure, I had the shortest commute of all of them! 😂

And then the evening was already over. Time flew way too quickly. 😢

First day

FOTO 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’ve made some new friends. The KonMari team gave us this opportunity because we would already have a professional picture of us for our website, which is significant when you start a business from scratch.

MARIE KONDO

The first speaker of the day was Marie Kondo! 😉✨ She spoke for approximately one hour - mostly in Japanese. The same woman like in the Netflix series translated for her into English.

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. 

Marie Kondo is teaching the first training.
© Photo Credit KonMari Media, Inc.

One of the three headshots from me that I received after the seminar.
© Photo Credit KonMari Media, Inc.

What we’ve learned

We’ve learned about being a KonMari Consultant, the KonMari Method®, how to do joy-checking correctly, 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 training (National Association of Productivity & Organizing Professionals) in the past years. 

But what I loved learning most at the KonMari Course was to hear the personal life stories of the certified consultants who were training us!

© Photo Credit KonMari Media, Inc.

That’s me with my trainers when I got my course certification—left to right: Patty Morrissey (Clear & Cultivate), I 😉, Amanda Jefferson (Indigo Organizing), and Jenny Albertini (Declutter DC).

© Photo Credit KonMari Media, Inc.

KonMari Consultant Training 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 training 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. 

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 show the beauty of the Botanic Garden. 

✨ 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 before COVID-19, it was our 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 speakers shared a lot about their KonMari business journeys, and I drank it all in. 

In the end, we could fill out this card:

I appreciate that you took the time to read until here! If you have questions about the KonMari Consulting Course, check out my FAQ blog post. 

I wish you a great day and sending you a big hug! 🤗

Kati 

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