So, I knew it was coming… the part of The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up when it would get weird. And well, today it happened.
Marie Kondo suggests that folding clothes transfers energy. And I responded, “Weird.”
She suggested thanking your clothes. And again, I say, “Weird.”
Finally, she makes a case for why you should treat your socks with respect. And I say a resounding, “Weird.”
But contrary to what you might expect, I didn’t close the book and walk away from it. I plowed through and kept reading… and I’m glad that I did.
I’d heard/seen things about people folding their clothes a different way as a result of reading this book. So I was curious as to what that was all about.
She says, “The key is to store things standing up rather than laid flat.” Why? So that when you open your drawer, you can see everything at once.
I’m torn on this. On the one hand, it seems like a lot of work. She suggests: “Fold each piece of clothing into a simple, smooth rectangle.” {My kids do most of the laundry nowadays and I’m trying to decide if I want to put in the work to teach them to fold and put away this way or not.}
On the other hand, it does make sense to have everything in your dressers in a way that you can see everything and don’t have to dig to try to find what you’re looking for.
Do any of you fold and put away your clothes this way? I’d love to hear your thoughts on it as I am toying with trying it.
“Keep things because you love them, not just because.”
This quote is one I want to remember and follow. I’ve been noticing how much stuff I hang out because I think I should.
I should read that book. We should review that manners chart. I should teach my kids that. I should make that craft kit. And on and on it goes.
But none of these shoulds are bringing me joy. Instead, they are making me feel like I’m not doing enough.
I love what she said about books: “You are going to read very few of your books again. Keep only those books that will make you happy just to see them on your shelves.”
And then she said this powerful statement: “Having fewer books actually increases the impact of the information I read.”
Whoa. That’s thought-provoking. And it made me immediately want to pare down my massive stack of I-want-to-read-right-now books next to my bed that has been taunting me for too long.
Two more quotes that really challenged me:
- “No matter how wonderful things used to be, we cannot live in the past. The joy and excitement we feel here and now are more important.”
- “By handling each sentimental item and deciding what to discard, you process your past.”
Did you read along with section 3 today? If so, I’d love to hear your thoughts on it or on what I shared above.
Sentimental things. Here is where I lose it. Mama to 2 preemies, the micro ones, each weighed less than 2 lbs, I kept everything, so afraid of what if. They are now 18 and 12. The younger one has had so many surgeries and everything MEANS something. I remember dates.
And add in a brain and spine surgery for me. And notes and such. Life has been hard, but so much of what I keep is a reminder that it’s still GOOD.
And 2 hours later, in a mountain of tissues, with a tear streaked face, I have a bigger mess than when I started. But awesome reminders of a great journey.
So I rip a bunch of clothes I don’t wear off the hangers and throw them in the donate pile (I don’t think twice right now) because I need to show some progress. ?
I’ve read this book recently and it has truly galvanised me into sorting things out. I have always been a very organised person and love a really good clear out at least once a year but I never felt like it got me anywhere. I saw this book and wanted it to teach me how to get organised once and for all and also take me to a new level of organising (it helps me to organise when I’m stressed/worried etc – don’t ask!)
And… it did. Organising by category rather than by room – genius. I’ve taken seven sacks to the charity shops so far and still got a long way to go. I’m loving it, it is very freeing and inspiring.
I’m on a journey to working for myself from home and need to make sure my life, home and family are in the best possible shape to enable me to do this. In the UK we don’t have the same type of SAHMs as I think you have in the US although it’s growing. So… thank you for your blog, it’s inspiring too!
x
I use the folding method for my kids, and making every item visible has helped them. We don’t have drawers dumped out because they want the shirt at the bottom.
I used to fold my socks but at some point found rolling them worked better. Most of mine are plain cotton athletic socks to there’s no need to see them – just grab and go. I’m slightly OCD about organization, so socks are one thing I choose not to fuss over.
My mom and I are neither hoarders nor minimalists – I call it “enough-ists”. Aside from holiday decor and a few boxes of childhood mementos and my own children’s mementos, I keep very little excess. If I don’t need it, like it, or use it, it’s junk and I get rid of it. We purge regularly, and I just don’t buy much unless I LOVE it.
For the first time in my adult life I’ve been able to buy more clothing for myself in the last year, so I don’t go minimal there. Instead of picking through clearance racks for nearly-free deals with coupons and settling for whatever I could find, I’m able to buy the items that I instantly love to wear, and I now have the dilemma of deciding what to wear every day! I rather enjoy that change so I’m not paring down my waredrobe anytime soon. 🙂
Before I say anything, first know that I haven’t read this book, and I appreciate reading your blog and the insights that you give! I skimmed some of the comments and the ones I saw mostly referenced folding techniques, so you may have addressed this in a previous comment.
I too am drawn to the idea of living by doing things I love, rather than what I should be doing. I don’t want to take your words out of context, and knowing what I do know of you from other blog posts, I don’t think you would go overboard with living life like this either. However, I think its worth noting that there is definitely value to be found in life including things that we should do (or should keep) and not only things that we love.
I wish I could say that I always love reading the Bible or cleaning the kitchen (what seems to be never ending with littles) or serving my husband when I just want some alone time after a day with kids, or following a budget, but I don’t..and these are things that I should do and there is value in them.
I also am trying to narrow down my closet to a capsule wardrobe, and I’ve had to find a balance between when its justified for me to replace something I have with something I love verses when I should keep it and wait to have something I love later. Ideally, my home will be filled with only things I love, but I fear that even this mentality has some flaws in it. For me, learning contentment and appreciating what I have when I have it has been good.
Just thought I would share a few limited thoughts..thanks again for your insight!
I read this book and loved it, I got some amusement from those “weird” parts, but just moved past them to what was, in my opinion, the core of the information. And I’m so glad I did! I couldn’t follow her instructions to the letter (too time-consuming), but I still re-organized using the methods in the book and it was such a game changer for me. That folding method is incredible and I’ve recommended it to several people since implementing it for myself. I still ball my socks though! In life, we must pick our battles and do what really and truly works for us and since that works for me so much easier (maybe not better, but easier) it’s what I do! I apologize to my socks when I ball them up though. 🙂
My kids sort and “fold”(pause to laugh, they actually mostly make piles in their drawers, but that’s up to them) their own clothes, but I have been Kondo folding mine since I read the book and I think it makes a big,big difference. It actually takes no longer to fold this way than it did to fold and pile as I did before. Now I have every shirt I own–for all four seasons PLUS maternity for all seasons and transition to and from maternity–in one drawer. I can see it all at a glance. So I don’t have a ton of clothes, but having all of one type in one drawer really helps me know what I have and plan. We do laundry pretty frequently (due to not keeping a ton of clothes at any one time and also to having a biggish family) so I don’t empty the drawer of clothes before folding in clean ones, but when I have a row that isn’t finished, I find that the folded items just stand up pretty well. It’s not an issue. And I did put in a shoe box to hold underwear and another for socks, so that helps to corral that stuff (when before it was crammed into small drawers in a cardboard storage thing I had in college. Much nicer in my actual drawer, which there was space for now that I Kondo folded everything.
After reading early reviews of the book, I really had no interest in reading it, but I do like organizing books in general so I reserved a copy several weeks ago from our local library, and I should be getting it soon so I’ve really been enjoying your reviews.
I keep my clothes on shelves in the closet so I won’t be trying the folding method in the book. I thought the comment about having fewer books increasing the impact of what you read is very interesting and true. It reminded me of Solomon’s words in Ecclesiastes 12:12 “…To the making of many books there is no end, and much devotion to them is wearisome to the flesh.”
I have been doing the KonMari thing for a couple months. I just did a post about folding and storing in drawers. I couldn’t food her way so I shared my way of folding that works and looks the same way, but you don’t need any special skills.
And my hubby was hesitant to move to mostly drawer storage but he loves it now too.
I’m so excited to hear your thoughts on this book! I absolutely love this way of folding and organizing. I am not a naturally clean/organized person, but this way of organizing has really transformed my family! I would highly recommend trying the folding – I spend way less time folding than I did before because nothing ever gets out of place!
oh the books! I can relate. I’m a magazine reader (haha, i laugh at myself), but when you get 4 or so magazines a month, and you homeschool 4 children plus a toddler and an infant, and you have family worship every night, and you want to have time to read the Bible, the magazines start to pile up. i think “wait, now which one was i reading? where is that recipe/article/thing that i was interested in?” sometimes it feels really good to just take the whole stack to the library for others to read and me to not feel like i must read them since i have them!! out of sight, out of mind. 😀
O.K. I know it’s about treating your things with respect but I just can not bring myself to thank my clothes!
That was my concern, too, because I have just started having my 5 year old put her own clothes away. But, I taught her how to do the “magic” folding and she loves to do it! She thinks it is amazing that the shirts can stand up on their own, and she is able to find her clothes so much easier when she is getting dressed.
Good luck!
I haven’t read this book, but I do stand up our clothes that are in drawers and not hanging. I don’t know how long I’ve been doing this, or why I started, but it’s been awhile. It was just a big pain to dig through a stack, especially when I usually had two stacks (one in front of another) and an additional pair side by side. It was always chaotic. I found this way I could see all my shirts (for example) at a glance, better see what I didn’t really wear and could donate, and actually wear all the clothes I liked instead of that awesome shirt getting lost under everything. I fold them just like I did when I stack, but now its like a filing system and so easy to see everything. I definitely recommend trying it! Maybe try it for you first for a bit, then you can if its something you want your children to learn or not. 🙂
Here’s my take on the folding clothes issue. If your current folding system is working for you, then don’t change it. (I still put my shirts in my drawer in a stack for some specific reasons that I won’t detail here.) If your current folding system is NOT working for you, then give hers a try. I now fold my husband’s shirts this way and now his shirts fit in his drawer much better!
So maybe if your kids are frustrated about their clothes drawers, it might be worth it to them to learn a new way to fold. If they’re cool with it, then it might just be something else to “get right”.
I love “filing” our clothes! It really helps the kids see things instead of pulling them out. But it only works well if your drawers are somewhat full. If you are minimalistic on clothes, they might not stand up.
I fold my little ones’ clothing in outfits, and then stand them up this way in their dresser. It doesn’t take many outfits to fit in one row (column?) in a drawer. I put the top on top of the bottom and fold or roll together so that the top can be seen on the outside, and the bottom is tucked inside. Then when they go to pick out their clothes, they can just grab whatever outfit they want without digging through everything. We do keep a few items that can be matched with others (think plain shirts and pants if one item needs changed for some reason).
For years my teenage kids have been rolling their t-shirts and shorts and putting them in their drawers in rows so they can see each one. I haven’t made the change, although I do have my socks in rows from front to back instead of in piles. That works well for me.
I love your blog. Keep up the good work and keep resting when you need to. You can’t please everyone 🙂
I do fold my husband’s shirts and my tanks, along with my kiddos’ pjs so that they are standing up. This really does cut down on time for choosing and makes it so it’s not as messy as digging through the clothes to find what you want. I was inspired by Andrea Dekker from her blog post about how she folds clothes. 😀
My hubby and boys fold their shirts this way for their drawers and it works great! No more wearing the same few t-shirts that get washed and put back on top of the pile. Also it saves space for us…my 3 boys share a 9 drawer dresser for all their clothes (no closet in their room).
I hang most of my clothes, but the items in my drawers (mostly work-out tees & tanks) don’t file as well with the various shapes & lighter-weight material.
I had mixed feelings when reading the book from some of the talking to stuff to how to implement with a family. I don’t love a lot of things my family does. In fact reading the part about discarding books, I thought yep and this book is a first to go.
That said, I folded my clothes to standing at the beginning of summer and gave enjoyed how easy it is for me to see what is available and match items. Definitely a thumbs up there!
I fold all our clothes this way and have showed my teens the same way. My husband has work clothes, workout clothes, and everyday clothes. It allows me to fit all of his clothes minus jeans in one dresser and allows him to see all of his shirts. My friends think it’s crazy but a few of them have now started folding their clothes this way as well.
I can not wait to read this book. I’m on the waiting list for the digital copy through my library.
I fold my tank top drawer this way but haven’t completely done all of my drawers this way…and I don’t know why I haven’t! I absolutely love it! It’s so easy to see what I have and what I don’t. And quite honestly it doesn’t really take that much longer to fold my clothes! Try it, i’m convinced you will love it. Even if you only start with 1 drawer.
Yes, I thought the energy and thanking part was weird as well. But, I LOVE the folding method. It really does make it easier to see what’s in the drawer, and things are less creased (from when they used to get stuck at the bottom of a stack). Even some of my kids have picked this up.
So glad to hear that the folding method has worked well for you!
I have been folding our shirts like she suggests for years, but only because our now 16 year old daughter started doing this. We don’t use dressers in our house anymore (I know, sounds silly). We have always had large closets, with lots of shelving, so we have used plastic buckets for our t-shirts, pajama pants, socks, items we wouldn’t hang up, etc. She started folding her t-shirts upright, and it saved a ton of space. And if you children are like mine, they have a ton of t-shirts that they play around in, wear to bed, or just wear out, and now, not only can they see them when they pull those buckets out of their closets, they also save soooo much space. It works for our family, but I can also see the downside of it for those that use a dresser drawer where the shirts would fall over if you don’t have several t-shirts that would fill up the drawer. This just works for us. And, as far as resting, Crystal, take care of yourself, and make sure you listen to your body, which it sounds like that’s what your doing. You’ve got a whole audience here that is supporting you and wants you to recover to your fullest, and you need to take care of you and get back to 100%. We will still be here when you are fully rested:)
I love this book. I read it a few weeks ago and it seriously did change my life. Not only have I felt free to get rid of all of the stuff that doesn’t bring me joy, but it’s encouraged me to bring new items into our house that I love. For a long time I felt “stuck” in terms of decorating and wasn’t inspired to do anything to make our new house feel like a home. That totally changed and I’ve already bought a few new pieces that fill me with joy. So fun.
I am trying out her method of folding and it’s working really well. My kids’ drawers have never been so organized! I added a bunch of smaller baskets to my 4-year-old’s drawer because her clothes are so small that it was impossible to get them to stay up.
What about wrinkles? I know when I pack for a trip and fold clothes this way they wrinkle.
This book is on my list of ones to read – I’ve been intrigued by it. But I don’ t think I would use the folding technique. We don’t even have drawers, heh. I have very few clothes, and I hang all my shirts up in my closet – it’s easy for me to see them all and keeps them organized. My husband and I share a tiny closet, but it’s the perfect size for what we have. Oh and I can’t imagine taking the time to fold socks and underwear! I just throw them in a bin, haha. But it’s always interesting to read about what works well for others 🙂
I fold my clothes exactly the same way I used to, but I stand them up in the drawers instead of stack them now. (So if you want to try it without having to re-teach folding, just stand the clothes up. You can see if you like it & your kids can do that with minimum guidance & a very small habit change.) The only 2 drawers this has made a huge difference in is my t-shirt and pajama drawers. I don’t have many clothes so I’m guessing that’s why the other drawers aren’t as dramatically different. Oh…and I did not refold my socks or stockings. That was just “too much” for me…and I have no trouble finding socks or fitting them in their space.
I had borrowed this book from the library but had to return it before I finished. I’m not into the weird parts but I do fold my middle sons shirts that way because it fits more in the drawer. Problem is it does get messy when he takes one out and the remaining ones start falling over.
And no she didn’t say to get rid of books! That breaks my book loving heart! 🙂 I get what she says, we do seem to be on information overload by having such access to screens and info at the touch of a button. I think I’d rather downgrade my smartphone than give up my books, especially ones i haven’t read yet! Books bring me joy! 🙂
I folded my children clothes that way and I really liked the way it looked. I have always folded them differently-hard to change. My children were folding their clothes the other day and I jokingly told them to fold them so they bring them joy. They laughed and did it. Maybe I should do my own drawers also.
I haven’t read the book (yet), but I think it’s important to remember that the author comes from a different cultural perspective. Therefore, I’m not sure that “weird” is the best way to describe her writing. While it may be unfamiliar to some people, I believe that her comments are in line with (traditional) Japanese cultural perspectives. Therefore, instead of thinking, “weird”, I’d suggest approaching it from a “what an interesting difference” mentality.
Another way to think about this is when people say, for example, that British people drive on the “wrong” side of the road. Well, it’s not wrong to them! Describing cultural differences as right/wrong can lead to ethnocentrism, which is the belief that one’s one culture is superior to others. I’m not suggesting you do or believe this, but as I travel and live internationally I really try to approach many things from a “what an interesting difference” perspective instead of a “right/wrong” or “weird” perspective. Not only does it change the way you observe and interpret things, it makes a difference in cross-cultural interactions, as well.
Thank you for saying that.
Thanks for sharing!
I promised my readers my 100% honest perspective on this book and since I’m not one to hold back, that’s what you get here. I want people to know what they can expect when they pick it up and not be completely surprised or put-off by things. I think you can look past what we might deem as “weird” and find lots of great nuggets and I’m excited to be sharing those nuggets I’m gleaning.
I understand that you want to be honest with your readers, and that’s a laudable goal. But “Weird” has a somewhat negative connotation, and it may impart a sense of cultural superiority that you may not intend or be aware of. That’s something I thought you might want to at least consider since you 1. Have an international readership and 2. Are doing more work and travel abroad.
Meghan,
As a Japanese, living in the US(my husband is from here), I also greatly appreciated your comment! I will be more conscious of what words to use in the future as well. In this instance, though, Chrystal’s comment didn’t really bother me much because I myself thought, “weird” about that section when I first read the book in the original language 🙂
It seems a little ethnocentric to feel that saying “what an interesting difference” is superior to saying “weird.” Everything said or done has the potential to offend someone. I appreciate Crystal’s honest report of her reaction. To insist that she make it more politically correct it to tread on her rights to be who she is and respond accordingly.
I fold my kid’s shirts in half and then lay then vertically on their sides so they can find the color shirt they are looking for by just opening the drawer. It’s less folding and you can still see what you have, plus the shirts don’t get stuck in the drawers as often.
Go to Pinterest and search “folding a shirt in 2 seconds.” It is an extremely “fun” way to fold a shirt. We add one more half-fold to give us that rectangle and yes, we “file” our clothes. It is soooooo much simpler to find what I’m looking for! FYI…It took me about 15 minutes to teach my seven year old and my 15 year old how to fold their shirts this way. They love it and race each other. None of us have actually ever done it in 2 seconds, but we come close!
So I’ve tried to fold my clothes that way. I love the look. Maybe I didn’t do it right but basically a total fail for me! The problem is that they would fall over and become a mess pretty quickly. Also, I couldn’t fit as many in deeper drawers that way. I actually do an extra fold to make them small but stack them. They stay much better.
I am currently working my way through the book and I deside to test running the whole clothing folding thing and I wish I had started it sooner. My husband (who never comments on much of anything) went out of his way to say he loved his underwear drawer now. When I asked him why he said “I can find the right pair of socks at a glance.”
It allows me to rotate our clothes with more ease, keeping our clothes fresh. Just slide forward and put freshly cleaned items in the back. It also helps my son find the shirt he wants with greater ease.
I know talking to your clothes maybe weird but it can help with peices you are keeping for more sentimental reasons, even if you don’t realize you are being sentimental about it.
I do fold my clothes that way since I saw it on Pinterest a few years ago. It definitely keeps my drawers neater and makes getting dressed a lot easier. I even enjoy wearing shirts that I’d probably never wear otherwise because they’re on the bottom of the drawer and I forget I own them!
I tried doing my kids’ clothes that way too and it was great!…for a couple days.
There is no way I can expect them to keep them that way so I don’t even try.
I’m haven’t started the book yet, but I have to say that after reading this post maybe now I understand what’s been happening with my laundry. Maybe the reason I start out Monday full of motivation and energy to stay on top of my laundry but loose all of that energy by Wednesday day, is because I’ve been transferring all of my energy to my folded clothes! 😉 Just kidding…I agree, Crystal…that’s weird.
Ha ha! Enjoyed this comment!
I read the book a few months ago and I was unsure of the folding method, I tried it and love it. I can see what shirts I have now, and I like my socks folded way better than rolled up. I even fold my underware and store them vertical. I never thought that I would stick with it, but I have and will never go back.
I had been on the hunt for *another* dresser for my kids before reading this book over the weekend. I decided to go through two dressers in my girls room, and through the folding technique alone, I actually HAD to combine those two dressers into one. It was super easy to teach my 6-year-old daughter and we refolded all the clothes from 7 drawers in less than 30 minutes. She said it was much more fun (and easy) doing it the “right” way. For the first time ever, I feel like my kids don’t have too many clothes – and I saved the money I would have spent on a new dresser!
There are several videos online, if you think you might want to watch or have your kids watch. I don’t get the description! (I did read the book, the inanimate stuff did bother me.) I fold my socks the way I bought them at Express years and years ago when I was a teen. They put one sock inside the other, it’s easy to “fold” down the one sock so you can reach the toe, then insert the 2nd sock starting with the toe, then pull the 1st sock up so the 2nd sock stays inside. Easy and doesn’t stretch out the tops, keeps the socks together very well. 🙂
I kind of squish the 1st sock while still keeping it open. 🙂 It’s really hard to describe!
Wow! I have never heard of this type of folding for socks! I usually ball my socks, but I might have to try this! It reminds me of the techhnique I use to keep sheet sets together: keeping the folded sheet set inside one of the pillowcases so that the whole set is together and easy to pull out when you need to make a bed. Thanks for the sock idea!
Not sure I agree with the books thing. I may only read my books once, but my kids may end up reading them. Growing up, we had a ton of books, and so did my parents. I love that my mom kept all puts as my siblings and I split them up and ate now reading them to our kids. And now that we are grown, we all raid my parents shelves for our own reading material-it’s like our own personal library. I guess it books down to what you value, and books are pretty high up on my list! 🙂
The books thing made me squawk! I totally agree!! I don’t have children yet, but I loved reading my mom’s childhood books growing up.
I have tons of books, but I’ve reread all of them, most of them more than once. And others I refer back to for inspiration/information on a regular basis. The author should have definitely qualified that statement. 🙂 It really does depend on what you value/how much and how you read.
It sounds like she’d be totally good with you keeping the books because they truly do “spark joy” for you… For some people, they may just be hanging onto them “just because”.
It was the statement that ‘You are going to read very few of your books more than once’ that I disagree with. It’s just not true of a lot of people that I know!! People who make blanket proclamations like that bug me. 🙂
And like Beth says, even if you do, it doesn’t mean other people in your family won’t read them as well.
But the joy thing is fine.
I read this book and started folding my shirts the way she suggests and I love it. I can see where everything is. It helped me to pare down – if it doesn’t fit in the drawer, then I probably have too many of something. Sometimes the drawer is half empty, but that’s okay. It means I’m wearing the things that spark joy.
I read this book as I am a committed de-clutterer. I have been folding my socks for a couple of months now but I’m not noticing a change in energy. I’ll keep doing it for a while longer to see.
My goal is to be surrounded only by what I need or get joy from. I work hard to keep a balance of when I bring some non-consumable item in the house, an old one has to go. I repurpose things by selling on ebay, Craigslist, Amazon, and swap and sell pages on FB and also giving things away on Free-cycle. In the past, I have held onto things because I could not bear to trash perfectly functioning items. I don’t make a lot of money selling things but I put it in my rainy day fund and every little bit helps.
However, I have to say I get the most joy from donating stuff on Freecycle. I posted my first Kindle when I upgraded and the mother who got it for her son for his birthday was so happy, I threw in my old iPod too and she was almost in tears. Since then I have repurposed old paint (I’m a landlord) and people use odds and ends to paint their homes, old kids bikes, old tires people use for raised gardens and metal scraps and old car batteries.
So not only am I reducing the chaos in my environment, I make some money, I help other people make money, I recycle in environmentally responsible ways, and am able to share other people’s joy.
I have no knowledge of this book to comment on it, but since you asked about the folding style, I wanted to post.
For us, storing clothing in the upright file folder type way only required one additional fold (in half) for our shirts. It is SO much easier to see what shirt you want and not destroy the neat drawer by digging through stacks of shirts to get the “right” one. It also takes up less space. (I took the same shirts from the same drawer, folded them in half, placed them vertically, and had lots of extra room where there was none before.) We only do this with folded shirts — especially T-shirts.
As for socks, I’ve never balled them. I think it stretches them out unnecessarily and causes premature “elastic collapse.” I used to fold over the tops only to keep two socks together and quit that as well when I realized it was also causing extra wear and tear.
I haven’t read the book, so maybe if I got her full details about the method it would make more sense, but from others’ photos and blog posts, I don’t understand how this method works. I get it if a drawer is full, but what happens if you don’t have enough shirts/pants/etc. to make a row? Or what happens if you wear a few shirts and your row shrinks? Do you have to use a bookend? It just seems like the whole system is too complex.
Also, I can say that in our closet, we have lots of shelving so we attempted to go “drawerless” for a while and not use the dresser, but after a few weeks of sloppy piles of socks that get knocked over, etc. we are back to using drawers.
Bottom line, to me, if you stick to a minimalist wardrobe a fancy folding/stacking method is unnecessary.
I was wondering the same thing — I’m not sure that I have enough shirts to fill enough space for them to stand up in a drawer and then what happens when I wear a few and they are in the wash??
She suggests later in the book to use dividers! She actually just suggests pieces of cardboard, nothing fancy. Like one of the flaps you would cut off an amazon box, or you can use a full size shoe box or shoe box top if you have ones that fit the size of your drawer. That way, the divider touches two rows of clothes and if you take, for example, t shirts out of one row, the divider keeps your clothes standing up even though the row is no longer full. For a drawer with only one row, a shoe box or amazon box is a great fit because it holds the whole row upright. I hope that makes sense. I wish I could post a picture to show what I mean! And the folding this way does take longer which I was hesitant about (at this stage of life, I am firmly against anything that takes longer)- but it makes a huge difference in how organized the drawers are and it really is awesome to see all your stuff at once!
I only have a few shirts and pants so I put them together in a drawer by season. Or by length ( long pants and long shirts in one drawer). that way things don’t fall over. I taught my kids to fold this way. It’s easy and they can keep their drawers much easier. And when the drawer is full…pitch the rest.
Hi Crystal! I haven’t read the book, but I had read this tip a while back. I first tried it with my kids clothes and it made my oldest son able to pick his own clothing – really. It was so helpful. I think the clothes kind of slump a little when there’s not enough to fill a space, but they can easily be pushed right back up into place when more shirts are washed/folded. Even my husband loves this method. We don’t have lots of functional storage at the moment, so this technique really helps!
Thanks so much for sharing this! So glad to hear it’s working so well for you!!
Love the book. I do struggle a but with the folding. My shirt drawer isn’t full so things flop. If it’s too full it’s hard to put more in.
I’ve actually folded my kids shirts like that for a few years. I think I saw it on Pinterest. It makes it so much easier& neater and you can fit way more shirts in the drawer
I haven’t read the book, but I do fold my shirts that way. I love it – my drawers stay neater & I’m able to fit more shirts per drawer. Works great for my kids drawers too (ages 2 & 3).
You know, this reminds me so much of your book Say Goodbye to Survival Mode. Shortly after reading it, we made the decision to only do the things we love. We no longer do things because we should. We only do things because we love them. It’s just a different way to provide margin in your life and shed the excess stuff for the things we truly value. I’m so far from being “there” (not sure I ever will be), but baby steps!
I highly recommend her folding technique! My husband had been folding his clothes that way since before we got married. I recently switched over add I totally love it. A random thought on the thanking things for their service. What if we thanked God instead. As I clear out clothes that have been gifted to me I can thank the Lord that he provides for all my needs. I don’t need to thank the pants that I am donating but I can certainly thank the one who provided them. Just a thought?
Great suggestion to thank God (and not some inanimate object)!
i loved this suggestion…the thank you sweater for your service..makes me slightly nausious…like giving too much power to the objects..but thanking God for making sure i’m provided for…now that i can get behind
I thought the same thing about thanking God instead of thanking objects! I also was reading this after the loss of my mom and dealing with her things. It gave me a lot more objectivity. I look around at my own things and think that I don’t want to burden my kids with all the stuff. If I pass on and they really like and want to keep something, great! If not, sell it or pass on to someone who could use it. It’s just stuff that’s there to be useful and to serve us. If it no longer serves us, let it go! So freeing!
I think the folding techniques are really great and once you’ve done it a few times it is easy to continue. I’ve modified them a bit to fit my clothes and drawers, but I think that’s the idea anyway. There are also quite a few youtube videos (both in English and Japanese) showing how to fold. It made much more sense once I watched them. I’m sure your children can learn it and might enjoy the challenge.
While I think that Marie Kondo’s idea to thank the item for its service before she discards it has some basis in beliefs of Shinto religion, I think the other reason to do this is that it helps us mentally and emotionally release the item, recognize how our needs have changed, and in a sense have a moment of grief to let it go.
A lot of people (including me) have attachments to the oddest things so it makes sense that thanking that thing for what it was to us helps us let it go. I see no reason to not thank God for blessing us with the things in the first place at the same time.
I have a new lingerie chest with shallow drawers. I’ve recently started rolling my T-shirts neatly to lay in the drawers in a single layer. Also I put the items in place by grouping like colors together to help me better organize them! It’s working well so far. 🙂
I thought it was over the top at first too. But it’s really about treating your things with care and taking care of them, in addition to making the most of your storage space so nothing gets lost.
I hang most of my clothes, but I have plenty of closet space so I can do that without anything being squished in. My teen daughter’s room, on the other hand, she has so many clothes that she needs to use her dresser for clothes storage, and I like the KonMari folding organizing technique.
I used to be sock-baller-upper. I’ve only done laundry once since reading this chapter, and for the first time in ages I didn’t ball up my socks. I keep my socks on a shelf in my closet, not in a drawer. The nice neat stacks of socks looked so much prettier in my closet than the pile of sock balls. I went a step further and re-purposed a tray that I had laying around and arranged my neatly folded socks in the way the author describes and put them in the tray on the shelf. So pretty! Doing it was relaxing, and seeing it made me happy. Which is what it’s all about. 🙂
I have yet to read this book but we do fold our shirts straight up and file them instead of the usual way after I saw this tip on Pinterest. It’s been a few years now and I love it! It’s like pulling out a paper file and everything you can easily see. I highly suggest it!