Julia Barker is trained in the Marie Kondo method and, yes, she sparks joy.
Organisation has never been my strong point. I am the kind of person that loves the idea of a tidy space (drawer organisers! Mason jars! Filing cabinets!) but who actually functions best in a world of constant chaos and low-grade panic.
Nevertheless, like millions of other people, I recently found myself drawn into Marie Kondo’s picture-perfect world on Netflix. As the series went on, I became desperate to throw open my wardrobe doors and assess which of my (crumpled) clothes sparked joy, and which could be released from my clutches and passed on to someone else to love. I also became progressively more depressed by my inability to fold socks like Marie.
Thankfully, it was around the same time that I met Julia Barker. Originally from the UK, Julia has settled on the island with her family and started Zen By Julia. She is Malta’s only decluttering consultant and professional organiser, and is currently completing her training hours to become one of Marie Kondo’s official Tidying Consultants. I immediately invite her over.
“Decluttering has become a way of life for me,” Julia says as we survey the chaotic scene that is my bedroom. “I first discovered the KonMari method back in 2014 when we were doing two house moves (one across Europe), and adding both a baby and greyhound to our family. I found that Marie Kondo’s advice really helped me to hold everything together.
“In the midst of all that, my wife spotted me sighing enviously over Marie Kondo’s newsletter and, knowing how much I had enjoyed going through the process myself and helping friends, encouraged me to head to New York to join the KonMari training programme there. Five weeks later I met THE Marie Kondo and kick-started my new career; now I work with families here in Malta and in the UK to help them through the process of decluttering, as they discard and organise.”
As she explains all this, Julia is also steadfastly taking me through the first steps of the method in my own home. Clothing is always the recommended first category in the process, and we decide to start small: socks.
Before I know it, Julia has tipped all of my socks onto the bed (bit stressful) and is gently encouraging me to check if they ‘spark joy’. I admit, there aren’t many socks in my collection that I get particularly joyful about (ditto the tights that we go through next) but it does quickly become clear which ones I would like to keep, and which ones I have only been hanging onto because I didn’t know what else to do with them.
The upshot is that I soon have a ridiculously tidy sock drawer (all put away according to the KonMari method, through which folding is almost a religious experience) and I know exactly what socks I’ve got; I am thrilled, and won’t be buying any more socks for a while, that’s for sure. Plus, the ones I didn’t hang on to have now been donated to charity, and will hopefully make their way to people that genuinely need them and for whom they will spark joy. It’s a veritable sock fairytale.
Of course, this is only the beginning. By the end of a morning with Julia, I am staring at bags and bags of clothes that are now being donated, as well as five beautifully-organised drawers and even two EMPTY drawers (the ultimate prize for getting rid of things… I swear I haven’t had an empty drawer since the 90s). I feel great – lighter and satisfied that it could be done, and – bonus – thrilled that it was actually fun.
But like all good things, my session with Julia comes to an end and I have to relinquish her to the wider world. Thankfully, though, like a Mary Poppins for grown ups, she promises to be back when I need her. Phew! Now to tackle that filing cabinet…