Have you watched Tidying Up yet on Netflix? If not, you are missing out. I love watching her series. It has such a calming effect.
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If you’re not familiar, Marie Kondo is the woman behind the idea of only keeping items that spark joy. And she has a new series on Netflix.
The series has 8 episodes, and I watched almost all of them in one day. I actually had the show on while I was organizing my closet. Watching her makes me happy and makes me not mind looking at my pile of clothes that I have on the bed.
She came out with a book a few years ago explaining how her process works. I just ordered her book today (I got the Kindle edition, but it also comes in hardcover and paperback). She also has a follow up to the original that is on my list to read, named Spark Joy.
Tackling my closet, Kon-Mari Method
I clean out my closet usually on a regular basis – generally 2-3 times a year. But approaching it in her way made a huge difference. The idea is when you organize, you have 5 categories: Clothes, Books, Paper, Komono (this includes office, kitchen, and miscellaneous), and Sentimental items. But you organize in order of these 5 categories, committing yourself to do it, discarding items, thanking each one, and only keep what sparks joy.
The impact of putting everything in one pile in one category though is huge. See my bed with my pile of clothes on it as an example:
Looking intentionally at each item and deciding whether it sparks joy and I really want to keep it, led me to end with a closet like this:
I will let you know, when she says to commit to this method, you really have to commit to it. It took me about 8 hours to completely go through every piece of clothing I had, pack up what I didn’t want to keep, and fold (in her way) what I kept.
You may find you need some containers after you’re done to hold all your newly folded items. Marie Kondo loves to use boxes to help organize items and keep them stored vertically. Which I have to say, makes it so much easier to see what you have quickly.
I also personally like to keep my clothes on wooden hangers, like these. They make your closet look nicer than the plastic hangers do. Getting drawer organizers helps keep the clothes organized and neat.
Using the Kon-Mari Method in a multi-gen home
My family was so impressed with how neat and organized it turned out (and has stayed!), that they are starting with their own clothes. And we have intentions of using this method with the rest of the house.
Living in a multi-gen home, it is easy to accumulate even more stuff than the average family. More people generally means more stuff. This way of organizing is so helpful because you only keep what you truly want. But it only works if you commit to the idea of it. You really have to want to only keep items that spark joy.
But the end result is so worth it.
I love looking at my closet and seeing clothes that I like to wear and want to keep. Instead of just having clothes just to have them.
Next up I’ll tackle paper, which seems like a big obstacle, because I have a lot of paper, but I feel confident I can get through it now.