Tidying Up the KonMari Way: Clothes
Have you read The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up yet?
I read it last month after being on the waiting list at my library since October. Yes, I waited 5 months to read that dang book. And it was so worth the wait.
I won’t get into some of the sillier aspects of the book, like telling your clothes that you’re thankful for them, or emptying your purse out at the end of every single day (ain’t nobody got time for that!), but as a whole I can say the book really did a lot for me in terms of my approach to cleaning out and tidying up my home. I’ve been feeling overwhelmed by all of the stuff that we have lately, and I’m just dying to clear it out and get organized.
I’ve tried to clean our house out many times before, but I always end up right back where I started – with too much stuff and not enough room. So, lured by the promise of never having to go through this process again (KonMari swears that once you’ve tidied once, you’ll stick to it!), I’ve decided to tackle the project using the methods and techniques outlined in the book.
Here goes nothing.
Pssst – here’s an update written one year later on how the KonMari method held up over time for us!
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For those of you who haven’t read the book yet, let me break it down for you really quickly:
The idea is that you should go through everything (everything!) in your home and decide whether or not each item sparks joy for you. If it does, keep it. If it doesn’t? Toss it!
Now, obviously, this doesn’t apply to every single little item you own. Toilet paper sparks absolutely zero joy in my soul but I have no intention of getting rid of ours. It’s more about the material possessions that aren’t necessarily essential to life.
KonMari recommends a very specific order for cleaning out your possessions (click the link to be taken to my post about each category!):
– Clothing (that’s this post!)
– Books
– Papers
– Komono (Miscellaneous items)
– Sentimental items
I don’t know why this is the order, but I figure I’m just going to roll with it. She recommends working by category instead of by room because it’s more efficient (you often store books or clothing in several different rooms, so you’ll be more likely to do a thorough job if you tackle all of that category at a time).
I’m so inspired by her methods and intrigued by her promises that I’ve decided to tackle the entire KonMari method here on the blog, one category at a time. I’ll be going through each category and then coming back here every few weeks to report on my progress and the lessons I’ve learned from each cleaning session.
Okay, so let’s talk clothing.
I jumped right in and went through every piece of clothing I had within a few days of finishing the book – to be honest, I was shocked at how much I had to get rid of, considering I tried out a capsule wardrobe last year and got rid of a ton of stuff then too!
The KonMari Method: Clothes
Here are my top lessons and tips from organizing my clothing the KonMari way:
– The folding method seems like a pain in the butt. I didn’t want to do it. Do it. I am in awe of how much more room I have in my drawers and how motivated I am to keep them organized now. I’m a believer!
– If you’re really going to embrace this method, you have to let go of all guilt. There were so many things in my closet that I was keeping just because it hadn’t been worn much or it was a gift. I felt bad getting rid of it. I had to move past that guilt and admit that it wasn’t a good item for me, and toss it into the Goodwill bag. It’s painful, but I’ve found that it helps me to approach future shopping trips much more carefully. I’m so much pickier now about the items I purchase!
– If you have kids, don’t try to KonMari their closets. I thought about going through Jackson’s closet and getting rid of any of the clothes he has that I don’t love. But then I realized that he sometimes goes through as many as three different shirts in a day. Capsule wardrobes are not meant for toddlers! Quantity is key. (Unless you’re one of those crazy people who does laundry every day. Not me!)
– Don’t stress too much if your spouse doesn’t want to participate. I’ve been trying for months to get Corey to do a thorough purging of his closet. He is just not interested. He has way (way!) more clothing than I do, and sometimes I want to go through it for him. Trust me, he has plenty of clothes that don’t spark joy in me. But, in the end, it’s his side of the closet, his wardrobe, and his clutter to deal with. Unfortunately, I can’t make him want to get organized, so I have to let it go. One of these days I’ll accept the fact that my husband isn’t an organizing and cleaning junkie like I am. I’m working on it.
– The book recommends keeping all of your clothing in your closet at all times (including out-of-season clothes). I used to do this, but changed things up when I tried out a capsule wardrobe last fall. I don’t think I’ll ever go back. Now, I keep my off-season clothing in a clothing storage box under our guest room bed, and I love doing things that way. When I pull out my clothes for a new season it’s like rediscovering them all over again! It makes me appreciate my clothes more to put them out of sight for a few months. And, since we have the space to do it this way, I’ll definitely stick to keeping only on-season clothing in my closet and drawers.
– I’m learning that right after a big closet purge is the best time to really think about how you want to dress. I feel like I often end up wearing the same ol’ clothing I’ve always worn simply because it’s there. But it’s not necessarily what I love! When I clean out my closet I’m able to really see what I have, what I want, and where the gaps are. I now have a very specific list in my head of items that I would like to add to my wardrobe because they fit in with how I want to dress, not necessarily how I’ve been dressing.
– Finally, don’t be afraid to be completely honest with yourself! It sounds silly, but let me explain: I love high heels. They’re gorgeous, I feel confident in them, and they’re fun to collect. But I never wear them. I’m a special education teacher, so wearing them to work is totally impractical. Now? I’ve purged down to just three or four pairs that I keep on hand for special events. And that’s it.
I have had my clothes nice and organized for a few weeks now and I’m so glad I did it. I never thought I’d be such a stickler for folding my clothes. But, having them all nice and pretty in my drawers is, dare I say, life-changing. I am so excited to dive in and tackle my books now!
Have you tried the KonMari method with anything in your house yet?
I love your approach to Konmari! It’s the same way I came to it except that I was dieting so I skipped clothing until, 40 lbs later, I could see what looked good (sparked joy!) and what didn’t. Surprisingly, some things I kept for the time when I got back into them didn’t make me happy at all! Anyway, I’m loving the method and loved reading about your experience. Oh — I don’t talk to my clothes either, or feel sorry for my socks. 😁 Oh, BTW, do try emptying your purse every night. It’s like the other activities— liberating! Thanks again!
Please send me your Konmari checklists and your ebook.
THank you,
Norma
Hi Norma – you’ll receive the book automatically when you sign up for my newsletter via the form at the bottom of this post. 🙂
Hola! Muy útil la información , estoy por arrancar con el método konmari, después de leer su libro.
Agradecería me enviaras plantillas.
Besos
I have tried room by room and it is not working but this looks possible.
I would love a copy of the checklist.. We moved into smaller home and have still so much stuff in here.. and lots in sheds … NEED to declutter all over
Hi there! If you subscribe to the newsletter using the form at the bottom of the post, you’ll automatically be sent the eBook and checklist. 🙂
I’d love to use your Konmarie method checklist.
Hi Jodi – you can sign up for my newsletter through the form in this post and it will be automatically sent to you. 🙂
I’d love to use your Konmarie method checklist.
Thank you
Hi, Melissa – If you sign up for my newsletter and confirm your subscription, it will automatically be sent to you! Thanks!
Sign me up!
Hi Susan – you can sign up here.
I’ve been listening to the book via Audible WHILE I’m tidying! It’s helping to keep me going, and her voice is so calming it makes for a rather Zen experience 🙂
That’s awesome!!
I’ve been thinking about reading that book too. I’m a major organizer already but it sounds like it’s clever writing.
It really is a great book! You have to be able to handle the cheese factor, but it really helped me a lot.
Good idea, but I really don’t need the free app and I don’t want to install it on my computer.
Hi Natalie – not sure what app you’re referring to, I don’t believe I referenced any computer apps in this post.
I signed up for the newsletter and got the ebook, but want to get a copy of your Konmari checklists. How can I do that?
Hi, Jen! The checklist should be at the very end of the ebook! 🙂
Girl there are WAY to many adds on this blog! I know bloggers need to make money and all that jazz, but it was almost impossible to read this because of all the adds popping up….. just some feedback…. I think you would have a better following if you took the adds down a notch or two…
Hey, Mikki – I appreciate the feedback. Our ads are run through a third-party service, and there shouldn’t be any ad pop ups. I apologize if there were any, I’ll definitely keep an eye on that!
Please send me the checklist.
Hi Esther – you can get the checklist and mini ebook by signing up for my newsletter. Once you sign up and confirm your subscription, it will be automatically sent to you.
Love your ideasre tidying would love to see a checklist of where to start
If you sign up for my newsletter you’ll get a short ebook with a very detailed checklist and walkthrough for getting it all done!
Awesome article and very helpful! thank you 🙂 Did you do everything in one day or split it between days? I was confused because she says do it all at once. But for people who have other work too, doing it all at once would mean taking time off work for a few days at least. But if I split it between days, am I really following her method?
Oh I definitely split it up! I actually wrote a quick guide to how I tackled it all – it can get overwhelming! If you sign up for my newsletter, the ebook will automatically send to you! It’s a day-by-day breakdown of how to do the whole process in about 30 days.
Loved this blog – Ps she wants you to declutter in the order specified so that you, essentially, build the emotional strength to deal with the last category. Clothes have the least emotional attachment, sentimental items the most. So she wants you to ‘practice’ on the ‘easy’ categories first!!
Ah yes, that’s it! Thanks for the reminder. 🙂
I was bothered by my husband’s stuffed side of the closet, so one day I asked him if I could pull out some things I thought he could get rid of and he said yes. I laid my picks out on the bed and let him say yea or nay. He said I could get rid of the vast majority of it, and we purged a TON of his clothing! It felt good and worked well. Just a suggestion. 🙂
Smart! I’ve tried that, but it never is quite as successful for me. 🙂 He’s too much of a hoarder!
I waited to get a copy from the library too and after a few pages in, went ahead and bought it! I haven’t had time to officially start the process of tidying but since finishing the book, ive made an effort to sort and organize things I’ve let get messy for far too long. Looking forward to hearing your experience!
Yes! I think I might just have to buy a physical copy so I can go back and highlight and write all over it. And so I can re-read it when I’m struggling through the process!
“or emptying your purse out at the end of every single day (ain’t nobody got time for that!)” HAHA! I could never….
Thanks for this post – I am definitely picking up a copy of that book! I loved the piece of advice to go by category of item, not by room. It probably helps to see the whole picture of that particular category so you can really hone in on what to keep and what to donate.
-Clarissa @ The View From Here
It’s really a great book! There are definitely some quirks to it (like the recommendation to talk to your clothes), but overall it really changed how I look at organizing!