My Year of Organization continues…
Getting more organized is one of my goals this year. You may remember one of my earlier January posts where I shared how I was excited about using my new Erin Condron calendar to help me better organize my time (click HERE to check out that post).
Next on my organization journey I have decided to tackle our entire family’s clothing mess… No matter how hard I try, it seems we have a never ending MOUNTAIN of laundry which either needs to be washed, dried, or folded. It takes way too much of my time. SOOOO… I started to consider how to get a handle on organizing clothes in general. I really like the idea of being more minimalistic in general. Less is more idea… Less “stuff” equals more time: more time to spend with my family, more time to work on my goals and dreams, and more time to rest.
I had been hearing so much about the KonMari Method through a variety of media and from my friends that I decided to check it out. There are so many resources to guide you through Marie Kondo’s process of getting organized. She has two books: The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up: The Japanese Art of Decluttering and Organizing and Spark Joy: An Illustrated Master Class on the Art of Organizing and Tidying Up . If you don’t have time to read a book, good news, you can check out her Netflix show, Tidying up with Marie Kondo. She also has a website, KonMari full of helpful information.
Do you ever have those moments in life where the timing is uncanny? Well, this was such a moment. I was sick of the clothing mess and ready to figure out a method to my madness. Enter Marie Kondo and her KonMari method. My first encounter with this concept was from a blog post by Abby Lawson at Just a Girl and her blog. Abby has amazing posts on organization and she wrote about how she used the KonMari Method to organize her clothes (click HERE to check it out)
Around the same time a friend brought up how she was watching the Netflix show Tidying Up and how inspired she was to get more organized. So I declared this was divine intervention guiding me to some much needed direction.
I decided to put on my hip waders and my tidying up shirt 🙂 and jump in…to my closet…
(The rocky song plays in the background).
Sorry these pictures are such poor quality but it was really hard to get the right lighting in such a small space. You get the idea, my closet is a hot mess.
Don’t judge. I know, I know, it is bad, right! I feel the need to say I am not this messy with the rest of my house…remember I work full time and have three kids… As you can see it is in MAJOR need of some attention (this is totally embarrassing😫). The first step is admitting there is a problem, right? Please keep reading so you can see the transformation AND also my redemption (which I really need right now).
In her books and show Marie advises you to gather ALL your clothes and pile them on your bed. Then go through each piece of clothing. If the item sparks joy, you may keep it; if not, you thank it and place it in a pile to be given away. I must say, the amount of clothes I gathered was more than I realized I owned. I also found that I enjoyed going through everything at once and sorting out what I really wanted to keep and what needed to go. The fact that my drawers and closet were empty created a clean slate when the time came to place things back. And while I don’t believe that clothes themselves can recognize my thankfulness for their use, I do think there is something powerful about being grateful for them. There is so much good in taking time to be grateful.
After each of my items took their turn with the “sorting hat” it was time to fold and hang what remained. Marie has a whole method to folding that is, in my opinion, revolutionary, people! You fold things in such a way that every item you own can be viewed. This reminds you that you do, in fact, own a gray, short sleeved T-shirt and therefore do not need to go buy one. (My dresser draws are shallow so I had to fold my pants and shirts rather tightly. Unfortunately this means my folded clothes don’t look as nice a Marie’s.)
I was so inspired by this clean up that the entire family got on board. Eric and the boys went through their things and joined in this new method of folding. SWEET!
I am excited, and a little embarrassed, to say that we recycled or gave away about 4 garbage bags full of clothes and shoes. LESS is SOOO much more. Less laundry, less folding, and less time spent on clothes.
This is now what my closet looks like. Newly organized and cleaned. SIGH…SMILE.
Even my sock drawer got a make-over…
Clouds part and angels sing the Hallelujah Chorus… Redemption!
Have you tried out the KonMari Method in your own space? How did you feel about the process? I would love to hear about it. Leave a comment below and share your thoughts.
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