After a quick read of The Life Changing Magic of Tidying Up by Marie Kondo, I decided to give it a try. Read about my review here.
First on the list to be tidied is clothing. This includes underwear, pajamas, pants, tops, blouses, sweaters, leggings, dresses, skirts, coats, and shoes. I always considered myself to be an organized and clean person, but it seemed like the clutter always came back. This is especially true of my closet. I often got rid of clothing items and didn’t shop very often, but my closet always felt so stuffed. I hoped that the KonMari method would help to tame my wardrobe.
I’ll admit that a larger motivation to getting my clothing under control was the hope that it would mean less laundry for me. Laundry is by far my least favorite chore and it’s never long before the baskets are overflowing.
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| This is how I do laundry. |
Because I have a toddler to look after, I did not put everything on the floor to be tidied at once. I also did my decluttering during naptime or independent playtime. Instead, I decluttered by subcategory, starting with undergarments and going from there.
The first thing I noticed, was how different it felt to be decluttering based on what I wanted to keep rather than what I wanted to get rid of. By only asking myself if it sparked joy, I was avoiding any of the other justifications for keeping something. But those thoughts still creeped in every now and then. I kept catching myself thinking, “I don’t love this but I can use this as pajamas since it’s still perfectly good.” Kondo brings up this in her book, warning us to avoid demoting clothing into the “lounge wear” category. This is something I’m often guilty of, so instead of keeping those items, into the donation bag they went.
I also found myself better able to part with gifts from people that never fit right or didn’t suite my style. They weren’t being worn anyway, but the larger point was that they didn’t spark joy.
Folding the KonMari way is what I think really transformed my closet. It’s one thing to get rid of a bunch of stuff and then throw the rest into drawers but it’s a totally different ball game to fold her way. Whatever is not hung up on hangers, should be folded using her method and then “filed” upright into dresser drawers or on shelves. My socks in particular look AH-MA-ZING and there is now a ton of room in my drawers. Everything is in sight and I can easily grab exactly what I want.
When everything was folded and put away, what surprised me was the feelings I now had towards my wardrobe and in getting dressed. It was pleasurable to put on clothing that I knew I really loved and that made me feel good. My wardrobe is now made up of clothing that is softer, fits nicer, and that better suits my personality.
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| Socks, bras, stockings and underwear |
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| Bags, accessories, and swimwear |
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| Robes, sweaters, cardigans, and blouses |
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| Pajamas and “lounge wear” |
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| T-shirts, tops, and tanks |
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| Long sleeve tops and sweaters |
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| Pants (The right side is my side, the left side is hubby’s) |
Even though my side of the closet is much more organized and just has less than my husband’s, I feel like the entire closet is already different. My clothing is easier to find and manage, no more shoving a drawer shut! I even folded my husband’s clothes the KonMari way. Without getting rid of anything, everything fits better and is just much nicer.
After going through my clothing, I got rid of two full garbage bags worth of stuff. This is after regular closet purging as well as delegating a few items elsewhere. And no, nothing became lounge wear. Items that weren’t put into the donation bag were put in my fabric stash for planned projects, my son’s dress up drawer, or were severely demoted to cleaning cloths. This is how I kept the process as green and eco-friendly as possible:
-All clothing in good condition will be donated. People in need are going to get good quality clothing and that also means less will end up at the dump.
-Clothing that can be used as dress up is saved for my son. Blouses, bandanas, hats, etc. that can be used in pretend play, were saved for that purpose. For example, a white button up blouse can be a business top or doctor’s coat. I save money because I don’t have to buy dress up clothing, plus children would rather play with real, grown-up items.
-Clothing is stained, has holes, or is just not donation worthy is saved as cleaning cloths. Instead of using paper towels, I use these items of clothing (cut up to be smaller if necessary).
-All of these pieces of clothing are fabric, Pinterest as a wealth of ideas on how to use them for sewing projects. This is particularly good for making people gifts (like fabric headbands, wallets, or bags) because you save money and reuse something instead of buying new.
Overall, I’m very happy with results, even if I didn’t get rid of as much as I anticipated. I realized that my true style is very geeky and very casual. I ended up keeping mostly yoga and sweatpants because the thought of being able to move more freely with my toddler brought me joy. Plus, I absolutely love the feeling of getting into comfortable clothing when I get home. Most of the tops I kept have to do with a particular fandom, like Sailor Moon, and those make me very happy. So, I still have a lot of clothing than I think Miss Kondo would like, but I feel joy about my wardrobe. I plan on continuing the major decluttering and am anxious at how the rest of the house fares. Up next, books!
