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Marie Kondo makes getting dressed easier.
We’ve all spent more time at home than we’re used to due to COVID-19’s presence in our lives. While you’ve been forced inside, perhaps you’ve noticed that disorganization and clutter are contributing to a higher level of stress.
For most of us, our morning starts in our closet, figuring out what to wear to tackle the day. If your closet looks like a tornado ripped through it, consider trying the KonMari Way.
Developed by Marie Kondo, whose blockbuster bestselling book “The Life Changing Magic of Tidying Up” and a follow-up Netflix series made her a household name, the KonMari Way guides you on a journey from sifting through your closet to considering the value of your most sentimental possessions. But there’s a reason why she starts with the closet—a tidy one makes a considerable impact on your life, and can encourage you to tackle even tougher jobs.
“When you are thinking about organization, you need to think about what’s possible for you to maintain,” says Abby Hostetler, who helps Roanoke area clients organize their homes and closets through her business, Enhance.
So while you prepare to sift through your belongings, think about what type of order makes sense for you. If you’d like to organize your clothing by color but know you won’t stick to it, don’t set yourself up for failure. Grab a trash bag and a donation box and head to your bedroom, and get ready to be clutter-free, the Marie Kondo way.
Declutter First
The guiding principle is to discard first, and then organize. As you consider what to discard, if something doesn’t spark joy, Kondo says you should get rid of it. Step one is to take everything out and put it on the bed so you can add back what you truly want to keep.
“This is a good way to do it, because it forces you to examine everything,” says Hostetler, who notes that she suggests clients get away from hanging too much, so the closet isn’t jam packed. “I like tank tops, belts and flip flops to be in bins. These are the items that fall off the hangers, and off the shoe shelf. It’s a more tidy appearance.”
Your closet edit should include all costumes, shoes, clothing and accessories, such as jewelry and belts.
“If you haven’t worn something in a year, that’s a good indication that you should donate it,” says Hostetler.
Some organizational mavens suggest turning your hangers in one direction, and when you wear an item, turn the hanger the other way. In a few months’ time, you’d learn quickly what you wear and what you pass by, time and again. You may want to do this with items you’ve decided to keep, especially if you’re on the fence about a few. If you can’t part with them now, consider monitoring whether you wear them.
Back to sparking joy—if you hold an item of clothing and it makes you feel good, you know it feels great to wear and you love it, keep it. If you hold something up and it doesn’t spark that immediate feeling of joy, thank the item for its service (no, really!) and put it on the donation pile.
For those who have a hard time parting with possessions, thanking an item for its service and allowing it to serve someone else can be mentally freeing. A friend can help if you need an accountability partner to help you get rid of items that no longer serve you, like the jeans that don’t fit anymore, or the shirt with holes in it. Also, don’t relegate anything dingy to lounge wear. You really should part with it instead.
“If you lose weight, you’ll want to buy a new pair of jeans to celebrate anyway, so consign or donate the old ones,” says Hostetler. Keep only things that fit you now, that feel great to wear.
Designer bags or clothing in excellent shape can be consigned at local shops, such as The Golden Shoestring or Hidden Treasures, freeing up more space for things you truly love.
Organizing What Sparks Joy
Once you’ve done the closet edit and decided what you want to keep, you need to organize. The KonMari Method suggests having all clothing in one closet, at all times, instead of seasonal wardrobes that get packed away. You see what you have and don’t buy things you don’t really need. If space is at a premium, store only very designated seasonal items, such as bathing suits or heavy scarves.
To repopulate your closet, start with items that must be hung and group them together, like dresses, shirts and pants. Kondo suggests that you should hang your heaviest items (longest, dark in color, or thick fabrics) at the left side of your closet, and the lighter pieces at the right. Kondo claims this is great for the eyes and mind; but simply having things more organized will probably do this for you, regardless of where they are hung.
Hostetler likes the mental lift of a closet that is pleasing to look at, as well as functional. Bins help you do this, she says, by containing items that like to get disorganized and messy, like belts or scarves that tend to unfold.
When you’ve hung your clothing and wrangled your belts, turn to what will be put back in drawers. The hallmark of the KonMari way is a particular method of folding. Have you ever rooted through your t-shirt drawer, looking for that concert t-shirt, messing everything else up in the process? In KonMari folding, you can see everything when you open the drawer.
To fold a t-shirt, for example, you fold in longways into thirds, and then fold it up from the bottom, several times over. Then organize each t-shirt side-by-side in drawers, instead of stacking. All of her folding techniques are best viewed rather than dictated, and you can find her YouTube channel especially helpful for getting a grasp on how to fold. For many people who’ve tried Kondo’s ways, the drawer organization is something they’ve stuck with, if nothing else.
The next time you have a few hours and can tackle a project, get to your closet and see if you can make some Marie Kondo magic happen. She insists that the joy you feel afterwards will be well worth your time.
More on Marie
After you’ve tackled your closet, Kondo says to proceed through your other belongings as follows:
Books – Magazines, cookbooks and your reading collection.
Papers – Receipts, bills, school papers, old newspapers.
Komono – The miscellany of your life, from art supplies to DVDs and kitchen tools.
Sentimental – Letters, photos, trophies, yearbooks and other keepsakes.
Shop: Konmari.com
Watch: Tidying Up with Marie Kondo, Netflix
Read: The Life Changing Magic of Tidying Up, Spark Joy
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