IMO a bit unreasonable in real life honestly if I get my socks sorted and folded and put in a drawer I don’t care if they look pretty .

Anyone who built a multi-million dollar empire off of telling people how to fold their clothes is brilliant. We are going to see a lot of these books at yard sales in 20 years and laugh.

Meh!

I agree that the William Morris quote is the best one; it's the one I live by. A close second (and this relates more to keeping my home looking good) is "Don't put it down, put it away." Nothing stays on my "landing strip" for more than a couple of minutes after I walk in the door. Shoes are put in the closet, clothes hung or in the washer, groceries put away, fabric grocery bags returned to the trunk, mail sorted and put in the recycle bin or shredded and binned, and bills paid that evening. In other words, I do what needs to be done as soon as I can--mostly!--so it doesn't become emotional or physical clutter in my home.

I dislike the fandom surrounding Kondo. But I have been a professional organizer so don't need help. At any rate, I'd never go to the trouble she seems to preach: folding socks, underwear, sweaters. I have a 1930s or 40s dresser with two drawers so I had to choose what to go in there and what to hang. The socks and underwear go in the second drawer and they are tossed in. It's no trouble to take out what I need. I keep two swimming suits in there as well but they are folded (not meticulously). The top drawer holds scarves and jewelry, the latter in boxes and the former just tossed. Again, to get what I want I just rummage around until I find it.

Sweaters, shorts and all other clothing is hung. The only things on the closet shelf are my hats since they are fashion hats and I don't want to hang them.

I watched some of her shows, I think putting all of your clothes into one pile makes sense, esp. for people who hoard clothes, it really sinks in then that you may not need as much as you think, and one person said she no longer felt a constant need for clothing shopping. She doesn’t address too extensively if at all in the shows what to do about seasonal clothing, or with clothing that might no longer be suitable for the wearer. Pooling like with like is sensible, putting photos into albums so you can enjoy them. Some of it is basic and reasonable. They don’t address work related things too much in the shows either. I’m not sure why it has become such a phenomenon except that people in NA are probably overwhelmed by stuff, there’s just so much stuff everywhere. I see stuff out on the curb. I see so much stuff in thrift stores, perfectly fine stuff like nearly new electric guitars and pairs of shoes and hostess gifts in packaging with prices on and everything. Stuff is a lot of peoples sickness.

I bought the book for my husband years ago because he's all into that stuff. I read it but did not feel compelled to do any organizing of my own. We started watching the Netflix show and I then felt like I "got it" on a different level. I find it very manageable to take a discrete subset at a time. For example, I started with shoes b/c I didn't think I had that many shoes. They did make somewhat of a pile, though! I enjoyed selecting my favorites and then taking a clear-eyed look at the rest for donation or trash. I didn't think I had time or interest to do "all" clothes at once so I started with t-shirts/casual shirts and then it went so fast, I ended up doing all my clothes. Afterwards, I realized I feel better every day reaching into whatever drawer/shelf, etc. and not having to root around to find a favorite item or constantly reach past clothes that weren't really working for me. Today, we worked on games to get down to the ones our family is actually likely to play and arranged them on a bar cart in the den for easy access. Next is going to be jackets and then homeschool/office materials, keeping to subsets that can be DONE in less than an hour - that's my sweet spot.

I do like the way she makes clothes stand up in a drawer. Looks like it would be more "shoppable" and hold more stuff! Only watched one episode and thought it was silly.

One aspect I like is that it makes you pay attention. Attention to what you own, how you care for it, store it, use it. If you do none of those, why do you own it? Not just clothes, but household items, tools, decorative objects, memorabilia. And when you do choose to keep something, you are inclined to not shove it back in a box in the closet, but to use it or display it.

I don't think it's dramatically different from other systems, is it? Things like how you fold your shirts are just variations.

I like to be organized and I am a bit anal about where stuff is put in my kitchen and I love the Morris quote that I think I try to live by. I do however have a thing for dish and glass ware and have to admit 200 glasses are proably too many but can’t seem to part with them.

the method to fold clothes is very nice, a perfect way to organize drawers imo. the part "sparks of joy" is bs

I have been folding her way since I was a kid. I don’t do the joy method but especially after watching her o n Netflix I really like her. I would not let her near my closet though!

Random thoughts:

- I've read her book, and while some of it makes sense -- some of it is downright weird; for example, thanking your old socks before you "release them", is just odd behavior.

- I prefer the "Keep what you know to be useful or believe to be beautiful" concept better than the "Spark joy" idea. For example, I don't receive any joy from my vacuum cleaner, but I think I'd better keep it.

- I started folding my tee-shirts as she shows, and I like it: it's space-efficient, and I can see what I'm choosing. Folding the tees takes no longer than folding the way I've done it all my life. On the other hand, folding socks into little squarey-squares takes about 4Xs as much time -- not worth it.

- I agree that pulling out all your clothes and clearing out is a good idea. When you see that you own three red dresses or five pair of black shoes -- all very similar, it's easier to get rid of some of them.

The ‘stand up’ method for storing folded clothes in drawers is great because you can actually see every item in the drawer without rifling through whatever is on top. But yes, you absolutely need to keep what is useful even if it doesn’t spark joy.

My husband & I read her book a few years ago & it helped us clean out our house of unnecessary things. We’d been participating in the Apartment Therapy cures for several years, too so were familiar with organizing our home. Having fewer things needing to be put away or organize gave us the freedom to enjoy our time on weekends instead of needing to constantly “clean up”.

I caution against getting rid of too many clothes. I found my shorts became quickly worn out because I only had about 10 to wear!

I’m interested in watching the show as I’ve collected too many clothes since going back to work full time. Time to cull the wardrobe again ☺️

She addresses the emotions around decluttering possessions, which most how-to's do not. I think that's why she has been successful. For example, the idea of "thanking" your possessions before you let them go is an interesting one. It addresses the unpleasant guilty feeling that you are just throwing out stuff willy-nilly. Same with "sparking joy". Maybe it's corny but it is a way of sorting through the emotional aspects of possessions, not just the practical. And of course different people will find some aspects of her method more helpful than others. I think she's definitely on to something when she addresses the emotional issues.

Questions: Don't your clothes have lots of fold lines if you make them into these tiny packages with so many folds?

After visiting Japan recently the stepping into the home the feel the energy, thanking things that no longer serve you, or appreciation of things that spark joy are things that I actually admire. It’s about respect and appreciation, something we could have a lot more of in this country.

We are slowly packing up our house for a move this spring and I will be rewatching a few episodes to see where I can improve. This is the perfect opportunity to eliminate the things I will no longer need!

I was talking about this with work friends, and one of them sent me this meme:

"I tried the Japanese method of decluttering where you hold every object that you own, and if it does not bring you joy you have to throw it away.

So far I've thrown out all of the vegetables, the electric bill, the scale, the mirror, and my treadmill."

Diane, I loved the meme your friend sent you. Thanks for posting.

HAHAHA!!!

Lots of these comments had me laughing, but Diane's was the best!!!!

On a serious note, however, I'm naturally super organized so I really don't need Marie's method. But I realize that others aren't so it may work for them.

I think long and hard before I buy anything, asking myself "do I really NEED this?" and also think long and hard before I dispose of anything.

The biggest issue I have is receiving housewarming or other gifts, or inherited items. Most of the time they aren't anything I would choose to buy for myself, so it's difficult to figure out what to do with them. Last year I gave away lots of things inherited from my husband's parents. They basically just took up space in my attic/closets/basement/drawers, and I finally said sayonara to them!

I watched one episode. I'm never going to be thanking my stuff for anything. Ever.

I don[t think it matters how you do it, how you fold it, pile it, shelve it etc. I am almost certain the point is to look at the often LARGE pile and ask one word: "SERIOUSLY??!!"

Which makes me realize I have nine pair of "perfect" black leggings. Two are Theory, size small. No better fit on earth. No bag, sag, slide. The other seven........one has tags still on. And are just in case. Just in case WHAT? They have been there last year, and this year. They are going to donation today.

I like the overall focus on less consumption and being thankful for things in your life that make you happy. And - I do use her clothing-folding method, and LOVE it. We recently moved into an urban apartment (780 sq ft) from a 3000 sq ft 4-bed 3 bath home. All my clothing/shoes fit in a 8-drawer dresser. Love having everything at-a-glance. I don't think it takes any more time to fold and store my clothing than it took to search for items in my large walk-in closet in the past. And, I find I use more of what I have.

When you realize such cultural differences as the fact that some, but perhaps not all, of the Japanese may actually attribute a soul to a robot, you can better understand their attitude toward inanimate things being on a more personal level than here in the west.

I love her folding method, all my dresser drawers are folded that way. I like her methods although I don't have a lot of clothes so I don't need to put mine in one big pile because I am constantly tweaking my wardrobe - finding things I like better and giving away other things.

While some think this decluttering method is hokey, it works really well. Mari Kondo keeps the process positive with her suggestions, such as thanking items as you discard them. Her folding methods are also a point of ridicule by some, but being able to open a drawer and see everything in it, is quite useful. I also like her containerization methods for other items in drawers, under sinks, garages, etc. Very useful! I recommend watching an episode or two online to see how the method works in reality with real people for inspiration. Not everyone is naturally organized or knows how to organize their belongings and I think this is why the Konmari method is so popular.

Well, I folded my tee shirts her way and got them all in one drawer, so she's probably onto something! I'm just not attached emotionally to clothing, but I suppose many are. She makes the assumption people share her connection to things, and it isn't always the case.