My (Sorta) KonMari Closet

I've been hearing so much about the KonMari decluttering and organizing method that I had to take a look at what it was all about.  In short (in case you're one of the few like me that isn't up on it), it is a decluttering method made popular by Marie Kondo.  It's being called the "Japanese Method"... "The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up"... "Revolutionary"... and so on.

OK, whatever.  Let's see how it works.

Her first tenet/rule is that you only keep things that "spark joy" for you.  Ummmmm... right... You know, for some people EVERYTHING 'sparks joy'.  And there are quite a few things that don't spark joy that are kinda needed... like ye old toilet plunger.

But if you go middle of the road and use sense, that can be a good measuring mark.

Her next instruction is that you must declutter by 'type' not room.  For example, when you declutter books (which she says is the 2nd thing you must work on... clothes being first), you must bring ALL books to a central location.

That is so not going to happen in this 2 floor house.

Next principle is that you must physically touch each item and consider it.  That makes sense as it makes you actually think through the process.  Then after you've gone through things, everything must be put away in a permanent place all of its own.

Extremely little should be put in storage containers and you shouldn't buy any sort of organizing containers (tho she does use a lot of small boxes to keep things sorted).

There are parts that are not going to happen in this house... like thanking each item for its service to me, making sure things are put away in a method that makes the thing 'happy' and rested, getting rid of ALL paper, getting rid of any book you have not read yet, and so on.

But that being said, I gave her decluttering method a whirl with her first organizing area... clothes.

I've just recently committed to discovering and going towards my own signature style.  And my weight loss continues, so my clothes definitely need culling.

I pulled out all my clothes by type... winter jackets, sweaters, etc were first so I could prep them for summer storage.  I tried every single piece on and decided if it would be wearable next fall.  There were quite a few pieces that didn't fit well now... so they went into the eBay pile.  Then on to shirts... then slacks... and so on.

Although it has not been all that long since I did a culling, I was surprised at how many more things I let go of as I thought about "does it bring me joy".  Did it bring a smile to my face when I looked in the mirror?

I also put a limit on myself as to how many articles of 'work' clothing did I need to keep.  Those extras went straight into the trash since their sad condition is what landed them in the work category in the first place.

I've been using the 'upright' folding method for many years now, way before KonMari made it popular.  It works beautifully for drawers, tho I can't see it being used on a shelf area as some do.  Whatever works for you... right?

When it was all over, I had all sorts of extra space in both my closet and dresser.  I was able to rearrange how everything is organized to make it even easy to use.  Not bad for a few hours work.

Have you heard of this method?  If so, what do you think of it?