This month, it feels like everyone is refolding their drawers and I LOVE IT. It’s the perfect time of year for Tidying Up (and if you haven’t read it, The Life-Changing Magic Of Tidying Up) to inspire all of us! This time of year, I will take anything and EVERYTHING to create positive vibes in my own life and I have to say, organizing our home has been the perfect distraction!
Here are our drawers …
(Nova’s drawers)
(My drawer) Can you believe this is ALL my jeans, denim shorts and tees. ALL OF THEM. Crazy!
(Jeremy’s drawers)
It’s definitely a different way of folding than I have EVER done, but I’m really happy with it so far! I was worried my clothes would be more wrinkly because they are in such tiny squares, but I haven’t noticed any change in wrinkles. In fact, the only change I have noticed is that our drawers have more space.
If you haven’t tried it, I highly recommend it! Simple, but powerful. xx – Elsie
34 Comments
I actually haven’t read or watched anything starring Marie Kondo – yet… I really like her style of folding, though!
Charmaine Ng | Architecture & Lifestyle Blog
http://charmainenyw.com
I haven’t tried this yet! I have been decluttering in other ways and hope to tackle my wardrobe this week.
xo, Elisabeth
https://athomewithelisabeth.com
This is such a fun looking way to organise your closet. I will have to give it a try..
I read about that somewhere when I started to decorate my youngest daughter’s room from baby to toddler room. She doesn’t have enough space for a closet so I bought her a dresser. I started to fold her clothes like this too. It has given the dresser a whole lot more space for sure!
I feel like I am constantly refolding clothes in my sons dresser after he heads off to school. We pick out a shirt the night before and he always has a change of heart in the morning. ???? this seems like a much more efficient way to see everything brb while I go redo all of our drawers!!
I love this way of folding also! The only thing I do differently is I put my jeans with the folded side down instead of up. I have so many that are so similar in color, but some are skinny, some are straight, etc. I put the in the drawer so I can see the waistband with the brand to know which is which. That way I don’t have to pull several pairs out to find the ones I want.
I love this method. I’ve been doing it for a few months now. The only thing that concerns me is the thickness of some items when folded this way, but even that encourages me to let more things go to a better home.
If you are a size 0-4 and wear stretch jeans this folding method would work for you.
I’m a size 12 and believe it or not, it’s worked great! I needed the deepest drawer for my jeans, but that was the only small issue I came across 🙂
My husband is 6’3, 220lbs and we redid his drawers with the folding method. It works, he has more space, and he can better see what his clothing options are.
I did my whole dresser following her method when the book came out, it stayed nice for about 3 weeks and then I gave up…
This is one of my favorite switches I’ve made in January! We are already super minimalist and live a zero waste lifestyle, but are always looking for ways to improve and make life run a little more smoothly. Konmari folding has given us so much extra room, and I know exactly what I’m grabbing. My partner jumped on board as well, and now our laundry and tidying routine takes about two hours a week rather than five 🙂
I Kondo’d all of our drawers while watching the first season (I need another season please, Marie!). I am LOVING it – not only is there more space in my drawers, but I love seeing all that I own easily (I had “lost” a few t-shirts over time). Seeing how much I have is also helping me stay strong on my plan to not buy any clothing in 2019! ~Jenn
Are the clothes folded the same as you would normally fold them or is it a different folding method entirely?
It’s different! I found this helpful: https://goop.com/style/decorating-design/the-illustrated-guide-to-the-kondo-mari-method
I also looked on youtube for how to fold different sizes of towels!
Changing my folding method was a GAME CHANGER! I had always been a stacker and wasn’t sure I could keep up with the vertical folding method. Three years later and I’ll never go back!
I started using her method of sock folding and now I want to do it for ev-er-y-thing. Weekend project coming up!
Yes! I love this folding & putting upright method! Seeing it all at once is SO helpful. I think I choose with more variety now!
Dang! I’m gonna have to try this! I’m in the market for a new dresser and keep thinking everything is too small, since my husband and I struggle to fit our clothes into our current 8 drawer dresser. Maybe I just need to fold differently, though! That looks so organized. I do something similar to this for my 6 month old daughter’s clothes, but never thought to do it for my own.
I tried this method last week and I love it. It really saves space and it is great to be able to see everything I own, helps get a perspective of colour and patterns etc. I am trying to get my husband on board now but so far he only nodded on his sock drawer 🙂 And this method is great for underwear. I thought that I would get bored with folding underwear every weekend when i do the laundry, but I am enjoying not having to look for the right underwear every morning so much that it’s totally worth the effort.
I’ve actually done this after watching the Tidying Up series on Netflix and I love it! So much more space, it’s genius! I also love how I now think about “spark” and “joy” so the things I bring home become more purposeful. I’ve purged a lot, too, which has helped me with letting go of things that no longer serve a purpose in my life. ❤️
What if you don’t have enough clothes to fill the drawer? Or as you wear them and the content decreases, don’t they all just fall over and get wrinkled?
I have one drawer that has a lot of gaps and it still works. I think just do less rows.
Having extra space is actually amazing! 🙂
With this folding method, every item is supposed to be able to stand up on its own after you fold it. I didn’t believe it, but it actually works!
I remembering reading a magazine in a drs office when I was in fourth grade… about how to organize things more efficiently. So I’ve been folding my clothes like that for YEARS! Funny how things always circle back around.
I haven’t tried this method of folding yet, but I’ve been on an organizing kick after watching the show on Netflix. I’m glad you feel so positively about it. You’re kind of inspiring me to kickstart this new habit.
-Helen
http://www.sweethelengrace.com
Yesss! We did this starting with my son and then my husband (my daughter and I are next; I had to buy a dresser first!). It does take me a little more time when folding laundry, but I love it so much, and you’re right — it takes up so much less space! Woo!
Not my cup of tea. The clothes look like they’ve just been rolled up in a ball and stuffed in and it looks more cluttered than if they’d been folded and stacked or hung up. I got rid of my dresser which suits my very small cottage bedroom. All my clothes fit into my tiny closet. My clothes are either hung up or in a hanging closet organizer. I have several black tank tops, several black pullovers, a few blouses for layers, a hoodie, some wool sweaters, a few pairs of jeans, a coat and some scarves. I never have to think about what I’m wearing and that sparks my joy, actually. But what I love about the philosophy is that one size does not fit all. One has to choose the system that brings the home into service to them rather than they having to constantly manage the home.
I loveee this show and will be doing the same soon!
I’ve seen her show and use this method too! Once you do, you’ll never go back!
What happens when you take some of the items from the drawer? Do the folded ones still stand or does it all fall and unfold? I’ve been wondering how could it work when it’s laundry day and it’s no longer the full drawer, but you’re left with 5-6 items only….
I tried this method but I found that my drawers aren’t deep enough for a tri-folded shirt, so I ended up folding them over, making what looked like. thick burrito that took up more space. It’s hard to fold a sleeveless blouse with an asymmetrical hem this way too lol. I ended up trying to cram and fit my drawers this way and ended up breaking the bottom of my dresser ???? (probably a sign that I need to get rid of more of my clothing!)
I just love her appreciation for all belongings! I have been folding mine and my kids drawers like this for many years (i read the book when it came out). I’m an artist and one thing she mentions in the book is arranging by color and moving from dark to light. When the light values are close and the dark further back, it it so visually stimulating every time you open a drawer. Yay Marie Kondo!
I used to watch hoarders so I’d feel better knowing I hadn’t got that bad…lol. Then I knew what was missing was actual help in organizing. I didn’t need a shovel or have issues with unsanitary conditions, just needed ways to be more organized so I had things together. Well watching TidyUp I was so impressed that it gave me the ump’ to start sorting. I decided on books first. I went to the store to get those cubes. Now my bookcase looks really cool. Not only are the books in cubes, so I don’t have to dust them so often but they look awesome & sorted by size, subject, etc. I also used some cubes on their sides, to roll towels and wash clothes in & they stay better than just in the linen closet on their own. We’re preparing to move so having them in cubes will make things easier. I’m using under bed zipped storage & folding like this helps separate winter / spring/ summer clothes. I’ve sorted intimates by size, as I’ve been losing weight. With one size in back of drawer, more current in front. I got some cloth boxes to put my jeans in by color code. Also easy transport in moving. I still fold as usual, but I don’t want extra creases in some things. I do like the idea of whether something gives me Joy or not. That makes the final decision easier to let go. When I’ve seen that I’ve accomplished a section, it encourages me to move on to the next.