For the last few months, I have noticed friends on Instagram mentioning a little book called "the life-changing magic of tidying up: the Japanese art of decluttering and organizing" by Marie Kondo. I was curious about it and investigated a little. I visited the local book store to have a closer look.
I didn't buy the book right away, I read reviews of the book and also looked at more photos from others using the method. After a few weeks, I knew I had to pick up the book and give this method a try. Our local library did not have this book, and based on what others have mentioned, it would likely have a very long waiting list!
Anyway, I decided to bring the little book home and started reading it. Marie Kondo is a delight to read. I personally love her style. Not everybody does, but I think it's great and to the point. I also love the way she connects with the various items and the connections she makes to other parts of our lives.
I shared this quote from the book, one of my favourites:
I only have about 70 pages left to read, but decided it was time to start the process. I really wanted to see this method for myself. Marie advises to start with clothing.
While I read the section about the proper way to fold socks, I tried her way. It freed up so much space in my drawer!
This morning, I gathered all my clothes, including out of season, coats, shoes, purses and other accessories like hats and mittens. I dumped everything on the family room floor.
This didn't take very long, and I only had a few pieces of clothing in the dryer which I grabbed as soon as they were dry.
The next step was to sort by categories. This took less than 20 minutes. Sorting by types of clothes, and also keeping the out-of-season clothes separate.
Next came the magic part! This took under two hours. I had to pause to "fuel" my work...There is a specific method to go through with each piece of clothing, which I thoroughly enjoyed.
So two hours later, I had 3 bags to donate, and 1 for the garbage. What I had left is all in the photo below. All my clothes, for all seasons, shoes, purses/tote bags, hats, mittens, and coats.
I have never been a keeper of clothes, so I might have started with less than some people, but this decluttering still felt very good.
The next step was to put everything away. Folding the clothes a particular way is part of the KonMari method too. I watched this video to get a better idea. The description was clear in the book, but I like the visual too.
Putting my clothes away into my dresser worked so well because they were folded so nicely. In the bottom drawer: hats/mittens/scarves; in the middle drawer: pjs/tshirts/tank tops; in the small drawer on the left: bathing suits/belts; in the other small drawer: socks/underwear.
The top part of my dresser has the rest of my clothes. Bottom shelf holds the hoodies/sweaters/long sleeve tshirts. The middle shelf has exercise clothes/leggings/jeans/shorts. The only spot I didn't follow the vertical method of storing clothes was on this top shelf, for my dresses. They are too soft to stand vertically, even folded.
The only clothes not pictured are two skirts and a pair of "splash pants" that are hanging in the regular closet, where my husband keeps all his clothes. In the entrance closet, I have my coats, shoes, and purses/tote bags.
This was a great experience and I can't wait to tackle the rest of the house. Next are books...which will be a lot more difficult for me!
Here is the book trailer, if you are curious about this little magical book:
This review is based on my own personal experience. I did not receive any compensation for this review post. I truly am loving this little book and experience so much that I wanted to share my thoughts with you.
I didn't buy the book right away, I read reviews of the book and also looked at more photos from others using the method. After a few weeks, I knew I had to pick up the book and give this method a try. Our local library did not have this book, and based on what others have mentioned, it would likely have a very long waiting list!
Anyway, I decided to bring the little book home and started reading it. Marie Kondo is a delight to read. I personally love her style. Not everybody does, but I think it's great and to the point. I also love the way she connects with the various items and the connections she makes to other parts of our lives.
I shared this quote from the book, one of my favourites:
I only have about 70 pages left to read, but decided it was time to start the process. I really wanted to see this method for myself. Marie advises to start with clothing.
While I read the section about the proper way to fold socks, I tried her way. It freed up so much space in my drawer!
This morning, I gathered all my clothes, including out of season, coats, shoes, purses and other accessories like hats and mittens. I dumped everything on the family room floor.
This didn't take very long, and I only had a few pieces of clothing in the dryer which I grabbed as soon as they were dry.
The next step was to sort by categories. This took less than 20 minutes. Sorting by types of clothes, and also keeping the out-of-season clothes separate.
Next came the magic part! This took under two hours. I had to pause to "fuel" my work...There is a specific method to go through with each piece of clothing, which I thoroughly enjoyed.
So two hours later, I had 3 bags to donate, and 1 for the garbage. What I had left is all in the photo below. All my clothes, for all seasons, shoes, purses/tote bags, hats, mittens, and coats.
I have never been a keeper of clothes, so I might have started with less than some people, but this decluttering still felt very good.
The next step was to put everything away. Folding the clothes a particular way is part of the KonMari method too. I watched this video to get a better idea. The description was clear in the book, but I like the visual too.
Putting my clothes away into my dresser worked so well because they were folded so nicely. In the bottom drawer: hats/mittens/scarves; in the middle drawer: pjs/tshirts/tank tops; in the small drawer on the left: bathing suits/belts; in the other small drawer: socks/underwear.
The top part of my dresser has the rest of my clothes. Bottom shelf holds the hoodies/sweaters/long sleeve tshirts. The middle shelf has exercise clothes/leggings/jeans/shorts. The only spot I didn't follow the vertical method of storing clothes was on this top shelf, for my dresses. They are too soft to stand vertically, even folded.
The only clothes not pictured are two skirts and a pair of "splash pants" that are hanging in the regular closet, where my husband keeps all his clothes. In the entrance closet, I have my coats, shoes, and purses/tote bags.
This was a great experience and I can't wait to tackle the rest of the house. Next are books...which will be a lot more difficult for me!
Here is the book trailer, if you are curious about this little magical book:
This review is based on my own personal experience. I did not receive any compensation for this review post. I truly am loving this little book and experience so much that I wanted to share my thoughts with you.
I've been interested in this book! I think I'm going to have to buy it now. :)
ReplyDeleteI ordered the book, I can't wait :) We're getting ready for a move this spring/summer, and so timing is perfect to dig in and dig out from all of our stuff! I purge quite often, but I've never had a system while doing it, so I'm curious, for sure.
ReplyDeleteSo glad you gave the book a try because I am on the library list and it's a long one. Now I am even more interested as I see the folding techniques to use space better. A few times a year some friends and I do a clothing swap so I often go through clothes and some go to donation but I still want to rid myself of more.
ReplyDeletePlanning to take the boys to the book store today after a few days of hibernation due to weather (you know allll about that!) and was thinking of taking a hands-on look at this book. ;)
Wow! Your drawers and shelves look great. Sounds like I could use this book. ;-)
ReplyDeleteYou were the second person who put this book on my radar. I had just downloaded the Kindle book when I saw it pop up on your GR feed. Books will be more difficult than clothing for me, too. Thanks for posting the link to the folding video! That's going on my new KonMari Pinterest board. : )
ReplyDeleteThose looks great really!
ReplyDeletetoronto magician