Most have probably heard of Marie Kondo by now, author of The Life Changing Magic of Cleaning Up. I read the book years ago and while I didn't follow it to the letter, it did inspire me to declutter even more.
One thing I didn't try at the time, but have been increasingly intrigued by is her method of folding clothing into small squares. With my drawers feeling increasingly stuffed, I finally decided to try it today. So I watched a few YouTube videos to fully understand folding method and dove in.
First I tackled my t-shirt drawer. I neglected to take a before photo, but here's my stack 'o shirts that filled the drawer.
It does take more time to fold the KonMarie way, but you quickly get the hang of it. Plus, I'll only have to fold the freshly laundered clothing each week.
Here's the after. I purged four shirts. While the 30 remaining shirts still fill the drawer, now I can easily see all of them instead of just the top three. Big improvement.
I'm even more pleased with the progress of the other drawers, which are much more shallow than the one above. The MarieKondo method works very well for these.. First up is a jam-packed drawer full of work shirts and sweaters.
And the amazing after. Look at that empty space! I purged one top and moved a t-shirt to the t-shirt drawer, everything else is still here and completely visible.
My pajama drawer has always been a mess. I used to roll my PJ pants and tops, but they still barely fit in here.
And after, with lots of new empty space here too, which is truly amazing. I relocated a curling iron, but kept everything else. My hair straightener lives here, because I do my hair in the bedroom (with only one bathroom, ya gotta do some things differently).
I also organized one of the half-size top drawers, which is full of work socks. I should probably purge everything on the right side of this drawer, because I hardly ever wear them, but for now I'm keeping them. Even so after refolding everything and tossing a few singles, there's empty space in here now and I was able to add a small box to store my extra Fitbit bands neatly.
I'm definitely a fan of all of this new space. In fact, I'm feeling inspired to tackle my remaining drawers and the closet next.
Do you use any special organizing or folding tricks on your clothing drawers?
I've never read her book, but for years I've used a similar system. I call it good stacks vs. bad stacks. If the items are all essentially interchangeable and it doesn't matter which one you grab, then you can stack them vertically - that's a "good stack." But if it matters which one you choose, then it vertical stacking would be a "bad stack" so instead you need to go horizontal. For clothes, I tend to hang everything that can be hung (t-shirts etc) because it automatically puts them in a horizontal layout. That only works if you have a very small wardrobe like I do. One thing I've never figured out how to fold into uniform little squares is bike shorts. No matter how I tray, they always just end up being a mess!
ReplyDeleteThis is a total crazy lady side comment, but whenever someone starts talking about konmari, my brain sort of involuntarily goes into musical free association mode and I hear Dean Martin singing... except instead of "Volare" it's "Konmare..." At that point, it becomes difficult to take the organizing terribly seriously! :-)
You're smarter than I am with your stacks system, Cat! I have tiny 1940s era closets, definitely not enough room for all of my clothes. And I gotta admit, I don't know Dean Martin or the song you're referring too, but I'll take your word for it. :-)
DeleteI love love love it!
ReplyDeleteI have tried to Kon Mari with what I've seen, my top drawer in a chest of drawers and have loved having all my summer tops and pants in one drawer! Now, with winter, I have another drawer for jumpers/pull overs, but the other drawer is V thin as I have a lot less long sleeves tops that are of the tshirt/fold type.
Thanks Sarah! I'm two weeks in and still going strong. I especially love being able to see all of my t-shirts. Suddenly it feels like I have so many choices!
DeleteGood work. I did it for my son's drawers. Looked lovely. Then he came home and used the drawers. Did not last for a week.
ReplyDelete