Netflix might be good for switching off at the end of the day, but it’s also inspired many of us to get busy and start fixing up our homes.
16% of UK residents say the Netflix show Tidying Up With Marie Kondo has inspired them to make home improvements and keep their house tidier. People in London, Manchester, Edinburgh, Cardiff, and Glasgow, have been the quickest to embrace her teachings. House prices have risen by 4% on average in these locations compared to last year, according to Rightmove’s stats.
Who is Marie Kondo, and why is the UK embracing her?
Japanese tidying guru Marie Kondo is a bestselling author and organising consultant, but Netflix was many British people’s first introduction to her teachings. Her KonMari method helps people declutter, create accessible storage, and reflect on whether they should keep or get rid of everything from kitchen utensils to sentimental items.
Kondo is perhaps most well-known for her folding techniques, which look complicated, but allow people to store even the most awkwardly shaped clothes neatly.
Her six-episode Netflix debut has become one of the platform’s most discussed shows, creating plenty of memes and conversation on social media.
Nearly a third of us are inspired by social media
More and more of us are looking to social media before we organise, improve, and decorate our homes. According to a new study into home improvement by London property maintenance experts Aspect, 29% of us have been motivated by enticing imagery on Instagram and Marie Kondo to get cracking on the junk room or redesign the living room.
Organising clutter and creating more aesthetic spaces also helps us become influencers, even on a very small scale. 20% of survey respondents believe one of their social media followers has copied an interior design idea from their own social media channels.
‘Keeping up with the Joneses’ has gone online
According to Aspect’s director of operations, Nick Bizley, people have always been keen to improve their homes. “Keeping up with the Joneses’’ never went away. What we’re seeing now are just different sources of inspiration for doing so. Whether we’re inspired by a picture on social media or a TV show, it’s great for the tradespeople we employ that UK residents still show so much pride in their homes.”
