Mucking out is trendy. Books, TV shows and Instagram accounts on the subject of booming, consultants and self-help are very popular. The best known is probably the Japanese Marie Kondo, who has sold millions of books about “Magic Cleaning” worldwide. Clear structures, empty spaces – that corresponds to the zeitgeist in western civilizations.

And who wouldn’t want a home without ballast, with kitchens or wardrobes where everything is within easy reach. Gabi Rimmele from Berlin, however, takes a different approach than the Japanese tidying queen. She has just published her second book. Her first guidebook, Trade Chaos for Ease. This is how you clear out your life” was a surprise success and is now in its third edition.

Clinically clean areas and empty lofts are not her thing. Rimmele always tries to see the whole person. “I offer my help if someone is suffering and wants to change something themselves,” she explains. It’s always possible…