How Marie Kondo Changed My Room in 30 Minutes

I never knew I could make my clothing so small. I definitely never knew how much time I could save just by folding my clothing a different way.

If you don’t live under a rock, you’ve probably heard about the new Netflix sensation, Tidying Up with Marie Kondo. 

The Netflix show follows Marie Kondo, a Japanese organizing consultant, as she enters the homes of strangers and helps them to literally tidy up. She revamps their homes by teaching them the techniques of the KonMari method, or the Marie Kondo method. The method consists of working through items by category and dumping them all into a single pile to really see what you’re working with. Then, you go through all of the items– touching each one– and only keep those that “spark joy.”

One of the more unique things about the method is that she organizes by category, not by room. The categories are:

1. Clothing
2. Books
3. Paper (as in files and paperwork)
4. Komono (kitchen, bathroom, garage, and everything miscellaneous)
5. Sentimental

After watching only the first episode of Tidying Up with Marie Kondo–simply because there was nothing else on TV–I was hooked.

My favorite thing about Marie’s method is her way of clothing organization. I’m a huge advocate of only buying clothing you love and that makes you feel good, so I can get behind her idea of things that spark joy. That being said, I have dresser drawers that are full of so many clothes, they are busting open.

Marie has a different way of folding. It’s one that I’ve never seen. She takes all clothing and makes them so small, they are small squares. Then, she puts things in drawers so that they stand up. This changes the way your drawers look, and if you’re like me, how you feel about the space around you.

On a Saturday night, snowed in, I decided to try it. I took everything from all of my drawers and closet, and piled it on the bed. I went through each article of clothing I own, holding it, asking if it sparked joy, and getting rid of the things that did not.

This specific idea was not new to me, and I enjoyed the experience of getting rid of shirts I stare at for hours and never end up putting on because I don’t like how it looks.

When it came to the folding, things were more difficult. I wasn’t a huge fan of the way Marie folded her clothing, but I liked the concept behind it. I adapted her original folding technique into one that works for my own drawers, and lifestyle.

I was able to easily take my drawers from a packed-full mess to something that looked like it came from Better Homes & Gardens. I was most impressed with how small I could get my jeans and tank-tops. I did not know that folding my jeans a certain way could get them that small, and folding my tank-tops differently actually cut the drawer space they took up in half.

As I mentioned, I did not follow the Marie Kondo method exactly, but I did use it as a basis for my own organization. I have never felt happier with the organization of my room, and the entire process left me with one whole drawer empty!

My tank-top folding gave my drawers a dramatic makeover from the mess that they once were. I had stacks of tank-tops sorted by general color, with the ones I wear on a regular basis toward the front. I couldn’t see what was under the tanks on the top of the stacks, so I would often ruin the piles when searching below for my favorite black one.

After folding, my drawer looks like this:

The difference was immediate, and even now, weeks later, I continue to keep up with the folding. It’s just all-around better, and the folding that I’m doing now compared to the folding I was doing before takes up the same amount of time and effort. There’s nothing lost.

So, if I didn’t fold my clothes according to Marie Kondo, how did I fold my tanks in the above photo?

1. Take your tank, lay it facedown on a flat surface, and make sure it’s smooth. (I used the floor simply because space in my room is limited.)
   

2. After you’ve got your smooth tank-top out, take the side closest to you, and fold it up so that it is now in half. The straps should be included in this.

 

3. Now you have your tank folded in half. Next, take side farthest from you, where the seams should be, and fold it over toward you. Here, you’re taking the folded-in-half tank and folding it in half again.

 

4. For step four, we are borrowing more closely from the Marie Kondo method. Take the end of your tank, and fold it up almost all the way, but leave the straps out.

 

5. We don’t want those pesky straps sticking out, so fold them in.

 

6. At this point, the tank-top will probably look smaller than you’ve ever seen it. Fold it in half once more.

 

7. You’ve now taken your tank-top and made it into a teeny-tiny-tank-top! Your garment should now be about half the size of a standard tissue box. To put away in your drawer, stand it up. Then, move onto your next tank-top!

I hope your days (and your drawers) are a bit more organized and easy to navigate. It’s been over a month since I started folding my clothing this way, and I’ve stuck with it. It has totally changed the way my drawers look and feel, but also the ease at which I can choose an outfit. Everything is easily accessible and easily visible.

Have you tried any fancy organizing tips? How have they impacted your routines? Drop a comment below!