Aidan Gately: Marie Kondo showed me how to create time to spark joy in life 

Home Editor Eve Kelliher discovers how Ireland's only certified male KonMari consultant created his ideal life and living space

KonMari consultant Aidan Gately.

He’s always been a “less is more” kind of person, but qualifying as a home organiser transformed Aidan Gately’s life.

Aidan is Ireland’s only certified male KonMari consultant and one of around 12 practising male KonMari consultants worldwide. “I prefer to have fewer items so I can live in a calmer space and choose and find things easily,” he says. “After years of working in arts marketing, once I trained as a KonMari consultant, I left that world, set up my own company, and now I work for myself, which creates much more time for what sparks joy in my life, like walks with my dog, playing tennis and spending quality time with friends and family.”

Aidan Gately lives in Clane, Co Kildare, where his space is not minimalist but is clutter-free.

Looking around his own home, Aidan admits that while it’s not minimalist, it is uncluttered. “Every drawer or press has space in it,” says Aidan. “The advice is to only fill your wardrobe, drawers — even your fridge — to 70% capacity; otherwise the space won’t work properly for you.”

Folded firmly into his daily routine is what he describes as “the essence” of Marie Kondo’s philosophy. “To choose what sparks joy is something I’m constantly integrating into my life,” says Aidan. “I’ve also turned into one of those annoying people who starts the day off with hot lemon tea and journaling or reading, sometimes, before picking up my phone or starting my day — it’s all about intentional habits and how we actually want to live.”

Seven years ago, a friend introduced him to Marie Kondo via the Japanese tidiness pro’s Netflix show. “After one episode I was hooked,” he says.

That evening, Aidan refolded every single T-shirt and jumper he owned in Marie’s signature style. “Then I read Marie’s book ‘The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up’, which led me to enrol on her KonMari consultant training course in London in 2020,” he adds.

As Aidan gets ready to dispense advice at the PTSB Ideal Home Show in Dublin this October, he’s also looking forward to meeting up with Marie Kondo in London that same week. It will be their third IRL encounter. “There’s a course in London every October that has become an unofficial meeting of KonMari consultants; there’s almost 1,000 of us worldwide now — and only 12 men so far!”

Getting to know Marie face-to-face was “kind of surreal”, he says. “This is the person whose work changed my career and life so much,” says Aidan.

“Marie is so generous with her time and exactly as you would expect her to be in real life. She practically floats through the room with an almost serene presence, but then she’s also incredibly charming and funny.”

His own screen appeal landed Aidan a gig on RTÉ’s Home Rescue: The Big Fix. ”I was always a fan of the show, and after an especially tearful episode I reached out to [architect] Róisín Murphy through Instagram, who was working on the show at the time, singing my praises and basically begging to be part of the show, as I had just set up my decluttering business Joy at Home,” he says.

Fill your wardrobe and even your fridge to 70% capacity; otherwise the space won’t work properly for you, says Aidan.

“Róisín incredibly came back to me very quickly and suggested I contact the producers at Coco Content, which I did.”

Nine months later, producers contacted him to tell him they wanted a decluttering expert to join the show. “I can remember very clearly when I got the call; I was on a hire boat on the Shannon in the summer of 2021, which was a belated 40th birthday present to myself as I never got to celebrate my actual 40th in March 2020,” says Aidan.

A screen test ensued, and he got the job — “a definite pinch-me moment as three years previously I had just embarked on this pie-in-the-sky idea and now I get to rescue homes for gorgeous people alongside two fabulous humans — designer Dee Coleman, and builder Peter Finn”, he says.

Aidan lives in Co Kildare with his mother, his golden retriever Millie, “and the boss — Rua, Mam’s three-legged cat.” The family moved to Clane from Leixlip in 1989. “At the moment, like many adult children, I’m living with my mam, but I’m very lucky that it’s a gorgeous 80s dormer bungalow that Hugh Wallace would have loved to get his hands on for ‘My Bungalow Bliss’,” he says. “It’s got four bedrooms, one main bathroom and one ensuite, a messy (yes, messy) upstairs room, my home office and a lovely double-height sitting/dining room that we recently refreshed by removing lots of furniture pieces.”

The property was designed by his dad, who also helped build it. “My mother was considering selling the house after Dad passed away, but once she decided against that, I was able to help her invest in her home and fall back in love with it again,” says Aidan.

“Over the years, I would have helped with some interior choices, but lately we were very lucky to get help from my friend Tammy Lane from Lane Interiors.

“On a very modest budget, we transformed how the downstairs of the house feels with just paint, some lighting, and some new flooring — gratefully saying goodbye to the dark green carpet in the hall.”

They also painted all the internal doors, from brown to white. “This is the best thing we have done to the house, as well as getting new windows! No more dark brown frames!” says Aidan. “It was really fun and inspiring working with Tammy, as she was able to visualise our home in ways that we couldn’t.

“And a bit like decluttering, once you start it’s contagious, and then we wanted to paint another room and another, and we’re still going — upstairs is next — declutter then redesign.

“Over the past three years we have changed the windows from old white/brown PVC to single-pane aluclad in agate grey by The White Window Company to complement the red brick. We also painted all internal doors white and updated the original solid oak kitchen units from ‘coffin brown’ to a gorgeous green paint called Tuileries by Farrelly & Co.”

“And with Tammy’s advice, we also changed the swing on the kitchen door — such a small but incredibly simple transformation which allows proper flow between the kitchen and the rest of the house.

“And Tammy also introduced large plants, which really make a huge difference to how we feel in the space — I hadn’t heard of biophilic design, but now I spot it everywhere — bringing the outside in, that seems to be what we all crave.”

Q&A with
Aidan Gately

Small-space or storage idea/s we must know about?

Storage is not that problem — the problem is too much stuff!

Declutter first, then you can see what you are keeping and plan storage then, and only then. Otherwise, you are just wasting money on storing things you don’t need — think DOOM: didn’t organise, only moved!

Favourite spaces inside and/or outside and why?

My blue velvet couch for relaxing with a book. The local Grand Canal for a walk with Millie to reset the brain. Millie’s not very compatible with my blue velvet couch, but they both spark joy!

Advice for decluttering?

Remember it’s a marathon, not a race; have a system — bags or boxes for Keep, Donate and Recycle and then just start — start with clothes; if you can’t do them all at once, then one sub-category at a time. Keep what you love, need and want (and what fits) and gratefully donate the rest — get a free Oxfam PostBack bag for your donations to make it super easy!

How can we create functional storage?

Stop using plastic bags for seasonal decorations; they look like rubbish in the attic or wardrobe, and items get damaged more easily in them. Invest in good quality boxes with lids, buy once, use them forever, and when you are taking out your Christmas or Halloween items next year, you will thank yourself!

How can we keep our spaces decluttered?

If you declutter properly once using the KonMari Method®, they won’t get cluttered again. They will get untidy — that’s normal, but an untidy house can be tidied quickly as everything will by then have a home; a cluttered home can’t be decluttered quickly. Invest time and resources now to declutter your living space so you can spend your free time enjoying life instead of procrastinating about getting organised.

Dream house guests?

Celine Dion — I’ve been a huge fan since I was 14, and I need to give her my card, as she has a warehouse of items I want to help her declutter. My dad, before Alzheimer’s took him from us, and maybe Carl Jung for some free therapy while we’re eating.

Biggest bargain?

Dubsado, the software package I use for work, I got a great Black Friday deal on it, and it’s made running my small business so much easier.

Biggest extravagance?

Probably that gorgeous trip with Millie and friends on the Shannon in 2021 — it was a huge treat to myself after a few difficult years — I had bought a house with my partner of the time, then amicably separated, sold the house and moved home during covid while my dad got sick. That or my week-long trip to Las Vegas in 2007 to see Celine Dion’s original show at The Colosseum.

How do you unwind in the evening?

If I’m not teaching people to declutter or rehearsing with Dublin Gospel Choir or playing tennis, then you’ll more than likely find me on that blue velvet couch watching TV or reading with Millie, and a large mug of tea and two biscuits!

Aidan Gately will be one of Ireland’s leading home improvement pros at the PTSB Ideal Home Show, which takes place at RDS Simmonscourt from Friday, October 16, to Sunday, October 18. See Idealhome.ie, Instagram, @idealhomedublin
Aidan will also be at the DFS Interiors Theatre on Saturday, October 17, at 4pm.

Aidan Gately’s website is Joyathome.ietarget="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">; Instagram, @aidan_gately