The world can't get enough of tidying guru Marie Kondo — and everyday Aussies are making some serious cash as a result.
The Japanese decluttering expert has developed a cult-like following after urging people to get rid of items in their home that do not "spark joy".
Her new Netflix show, Tidying Up with Marie Kondo, has turned her into a household name, and has inspired people around the world to clear out their junk and remove clutter from their homes.
That's where Australian sharing economy self-storage platform Spacer.com.au comes in.
Spacer helps people to rent out their spare car space or garage to people who need a space to store either their vehicles or other belongings.
During the first two weeks of January — which coincided with the release of Kondo's series on Netflix — the site recorded a huge 63 per cent spike in people looking for empty space on the platform.
It was double the number of customers who were on the site at the same point last year and represented an extra A$250,000 ($262,952) in the pockets of Aussies who rent out their space on the site.
Meanwhile, Australian storage manufacturer EasyShed also experienced a similar increase, with an 87 per cent jump in sales compared with the same period in December and an increase of over 100 per cent compared with last January.
Spacer CEO Mike Rosenbaum told news.com.au Marie Kondo was directly responsible for Australians cleaning out their homes — and lining their pockets.
"We believe (the show) is certainly having a positive impact on our business — we've had lots of customers on the phone and on live chats mentioning Marie Kondo and the inspiration she's been giving people," he said.
Japanese organisational expert Marie Kondo. Photo / AP
"January is a very popular time for people to tidy up based on New Year resolutions and having time off, but what we're seeing is above and beyond that tradition.
"Marie Kondo has certainly captured people's imagination. She's a very clever lady."
Rosenbaum said he was seeing both sides of the trend, with more and more people looking for affordable storage options, while people with empty garages were also looking for ways to earn extra cash on the side.
"There's heaps of demand for storage and the average host with a single lockup garage in the suburbs earns between A$250-A$300 a month while somewhere closer to the city like Surry Hills (in Sydney) can earn A$350-A$400 a month," he said.
"Double garages are as rare as hen's teeth and they can earn between $500 and $800 a month, which is a handy extra income to help pay the bills."
It was during a trip to Silicon Valley that Rosenbaum, who sold a previous e-commerce business in 2014, discovered the sharing economy "mega trend" and decided to take it to Australia.
Spacer was launched in 2015, and Rosenbaum said Aussies were "early adopters" of the trend.
"We're a clever country and we like to do things smarter," he said.
"Consumers want to deal with other people — there's that social, feel-good aspect to it, as well as not wanting to waste assets, so there's a combination of factors behind that strong upwards trend."
He said Australia's expensive real estate market and shrinking living spaces meant the demand for storage was growing rapidly.
