Celebrity Organizing Guru Says ‘Tidying Up’ Host Marie Kondo Ripped Off Her Method
Linda Koopersmith has helped stars like Chrissy Teigen, Khloe Kardashian, Jennifer Lopez and Serena Williams clean up their clutter for over 30 years. Now, she is claiming that Tidying Up star Marie Kondo stole the “KonMari” cleaning method from her ideas, according to Page Six.
Koopersmith, who is known as “The Beverly Hills Organizer,” has appeared on numerous TV shows and has published a book centered on revealing her techniques for organizing the home. This includes folding techniques that look similar to Kondo’s methods. The 59-year-old explained that when she saw Kondo using a technique that she had created 27 years ago, she was shocked and upset.
“What Marie calls her KonMari Method, is actually a folding technique created by me 27 years ago. It was published in my book in 2005, it was shown on the TV show ‘Clean House’ for years and seen on YouTube videos,” she said. “I am a pioneer of the organizing business. I started in 1989 … I invented that upright folding method when my daughter was three to organize her drawers so she could see everything. I have shown how the folded item should stand up on its own for many, many years.”
Koopersmith went on to say that no one has questioned Kondo on how she came up with the “upright fold” concept.
“When I first saw Marie demonstrate my fold on TV as her own, it was so upsetting. I felt like somebody had stolen my baby.”
Koopersmith is upset that Kondo has been able to cash in on a method that she believes is hers. She says that Kondo’s “claim to fame” is the upright fold that she invented decades ago. Allen Haff, who appeared with Koopersmith on The Style Network’s Clean House said that he too saw the upright folding technique years ago, long before Kondo made it famous. Niecy Nash, who was a host on Clean House, said that Koopersmith is the “queen” of upright folding.
Clients who have worked with the organizer say that they learned the technique from her a decade before Kondo came on the scene.
Kondo has made a huge name for herself pushing her brand of home organization. She published and sold 11 million copies of her book The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up: The Japanese Art of Decluttering and Organizing.
That led to a Netflix series based on her method, called Tidying Up With Marie Kondo. She has also delivered speeches and has a Los Angeles-based business centered on her method, which is founded on the idea that everything in one’s life should bring joy.
Tidying Expert @MarieKondo will be releasing her debut children’s book in November https://t.co/0Knnwnv53x pic.twitter.com/bWbxJJpAx6
— Forbes Entertainment (@ForbesEnt) June 9, 2019
Koopersmith attacked this idea, saying that she doesn’t advise her clients to do “ridiculous” things like throwing out anything that doesn’t spark joy, such as underwear.
