Tackling that closet the “KonMari” way.

So this will be the first of two posts on getting control of our closets (the second will be building a capsule wardrobe).  This one involves employing the approaches used by Marie Kondo in her book, The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up: The Japanese Art of Decluttering and Organizing.

I highly recommend it…I read her book several years ago and jumped in hard to rework my clothes closet and kitchen cabinets.  And I must say it really was “life-changing”.  And I learned a lot about my buying habits and dare I say, emotional well-being in the process, but more on that later.

Let’s start with why do this?  If you watched The True Cost on Netflix (this link is the trailer), you know the social and ecological implications of mass fashion consumption.  I would highly recommend watching the full documentary on Netflix.  But even if you don’t, we all know the anxiety created by the state of our wardrobes.  For most of us, getting dressed in the morning is irritating, guilt ridden and filled with self hatred because of amount of clothing we own and our inability to pick something that makes us feel good.

Enter Marie Kondo and the KonMari method. The Japanese believe that all objects have energy – either positive or negative.   And that energy is passed on to us when we interact with those objects.  Our clothing can make us feel good or bad depending on our history with that garment, it’s fit and it’s feel.  For Marie Kondo, determining that energy and keeping only positive items is the goal.  So if you are in, here’s the quick Tidying Up, step by step…

1. Take every piece of clothing you own from your closets, drawers, storage, laundry and pile it on your bed.  That’s right, EVERYTHING.  If you are a clothing whore (no judgement, we know who we are) you can do this in stages…tops, bottoms, outerwear, accessories.  But it has to be everything.
2. Once you’ve piled it all on your bed, pick up each item, touch it, look at it and be aware of how it makes you feel. This sounds a little crazy but it’s absolutely true that the items we own impart an energy to us.  You’ll feel it when you try it.  So think about the following questions as you do this. Do we look good in it? Is it comfortable? Do we have the dreaded muffin top while wearing it? Maybe we aren’t crazy about it but it’s designer and we bought it on sale? Is it a good color on us?  Is it a pair of pants we are hoping to fit into some day?  All of these questions reveal a feeling about each item.  The Japanese would say that bad energy saps us of good energy and  should be eliminated.  
3. Once you’ve decided on the energy, start three piles…keep, toss, share.
   1. The keep pile is obvious – you feel powerful, happy, pretty in the garment, it fits you, the color is great and you look forward to wearing it.  It stays!
   2. The “toss” pile included everything that is old, damaged, too small or too big or that doesn’t fit your current style.  In short, you make a face when you touch it.  It goes. Kondo says you should thank it for it’s service to you as you let it go.
   3. The “share” pile includes stuff that is in great shape but doesn’t fit your body, your style or your lifestyle anymore.  But it could spark joy for one of your friends.  So put it in the “share” pile.  A Maker’s Circle is going to host some clothing swaps this year to help you share these items, but if you aren’t near our studio, you can host a swap party of your own.  This post on Oprah.com gives you tips on hosting your own.  As an aside, we will be covering what can be done with altering and dyeing which might be an option for these items.  Look for that in a future post.
4. So now you have your “keep” pile and it needs to go back in the closet or drawers.  If it’s going in a dresser, there is a specific way to fold each item.  I know, you’re thinking “I know how to fold stuff”.  Well Kondo says most of us don’t.  The idea is to fold your things so that you can see everything.  That makes getting dressed easier in the morning, hence more joy! Below is a picture of how it might look and here is a video of Marie folding things so that they stand up in your drawers. 
5. As for your hanging things, hang by type of clothes (shirts, pants, skirts together), by color type and by length (shortest to longest).  This way, you can see quickly what you want to wear.  Kondo doesn’t recommend hanging anything since it takes up too much room.  But in the U.S. there tends to be more hanging space in closets than in Japan and besides, I like hanging my shirts and dresses to keep them wrinkle free.  But if you are short on closet space, folding may be a better solution for you.

So that’s the quick version of the Marie Kondo way.  Full disclosure, after having done this a few years ago, I had to “KonMari” my closet again last year.  (And yes, “KonMari” is now a verb in the lexicon.)   I had to do it again because I fell back into bad buying habits and ended up with stuff that really didn’t fit my life or bod.  Remember, the beauty of this process is that it makes you very clear on what works for you and what doesn’t.  Makes shopping a lot more effective if you are mindful of your KonMari process.  You won’t buy a color that doesn’t suit you, a shape that does you no favors or that 7th black t-shirt!

I have, however, kept up with the folding process and it makes a world of difference both in terms of the “grab and go” in the morning and in saving space.  Made my kids do it too…they loved that!  Not really, but one of them has kept it up so I feel like it was a win for me.

So put aside a rainy or snowy afternoon and KonMari the hell out of your closet.  You’ll be so glad you did.  And send us picks and comments if you try it.  We would love to hear your thoughts.

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