Out with the old, in with a new joy

IF YOU'RE sitting at home right now, looking at your socks and thanking them for the joy you've had wearing them, you're not crazy. You've just been Marie Kondo-ed. Ever since she wrote her bestselling book that is part cleaning hack and part animism, she has become a global cultural sensation and a verb in the English language.

Her current Netflix TV series which has her playing the cleaning version of Dog Whisperer Cesar Millan where she "rehabilitates" messy people into calm, organised and happy individuals, is one of the most-watched shows around.

In Friday's issue of BT Weekend magazine, we look at the appeal of Marie Kondo and how simple common sense advice has become the big deal that it is now. And with Chinese New Year around the corner, we also locate Singapore's own versions of Marie Kondo - professional organisers who will sort you and your home out in no time.

But if you can handle your own spring cleaning as well as small repairs around the house, you've probably shopped at a Home-Fix store - one of the first Singapore brands to focus on DIY products and services. We speak to its founder Low Cheong Kee about how he managed to build up a flourishing business despite being in a society which doesn't have a fix-it culture as in Western countries.

For home chefs who are planning to cook the annual Chinese New Year reunion dinner, we revisit some of the old traditional sauces and condiments that will come in handy, from artisanal soya and oyster sauce, old-school Chinese sausages and aged tangerine peel.

Elsewhere in the magazine, we spotlight some luxury watches launched outside of SIHH; shop local brands at the newly unveiled Design Orchard retail space; and look at how art and technology come together at the National Museum's latest show, DigiMuse.

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