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The Konmari Method

If you’re at all into cleaning and organizing, you’ve heard the name Marie Kondo at some point in the past few years. Kondo is the author of The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up: The Japanese Art of Decluttering and Organizing. She’s also taken the neat freak

Learn a little more about organizational guru Marie Kondo, then check out these instructions for storing some of your clothing using the KonMari Method™ of folding.

Who is Marie Kondo?

While Kondo is now a best-selling author and world renowned organizational consultant, she was once just a child who was really into tidying up. She started an organizing consultant business when she was 19 years old, and the rest is history.

Kondo’s writings focus on decluttering, simplifying and organizing life using her KonMari Method™. In addition to tips for tidying, she’s known for encouraging people to get rid of clutter
 

What Makes the KonMari Method™ of Folding Different?

Figuring out how to organize drawers seems like it should be simple. In reality, it can be a massive pain. What’s the best way to sort and arrange clothes so that you don’t end up with a jumbled mess every time you need a shirt or sports bra that isn’t on the top of the pile?

This is where the KonMari Method™ of folding comes in handy. You see, when you fold clothes Marie Kondo style, they stand upright rather than lying flat. This can help prevent wrinkles and also means you can see everything in your drawers as clothes aren’t stacked on top of one another.
 

Folding Shirts Using the KonMari Method™

Imagine opening your t-shirt drawer and not having to rummage around to find the one you want to wear. Here’s how to make that happen:
  1. Lay the t-shirt down flat.
  2. Fold the shoulder in towards the center of the collar. Make sure you make this fold through the length of the shirt, all the way to the bottom.
  3. Fold the sleeve out from the midline you’ve created, toward the outer edge of the shirt.
  4. Repeat steps 2 and 3 on the other side so that your shirt is a long rectangle.
  5. Working from top to bottom, fold the shirt almost in half. Leave about one inch of extra room at the bottom.
  6. Fold the shirt in half two more times from top to bottom. It should now stand upright when you place it on a hard surface.

Folding Underwear with the KonMari Method™

Ready to solve the mystery of how to fold underwear so your drawer doesn’t look like a hot mess?
  1. Place the underwear on a flat surface.
  2. Fold the underwear in half, working from the crotch to the waistband.
  3. Fold the left side in towards the innermost edge of the right leg hole.
  4. Fold the right side in to cover the left.
  5. Once more, fold the crotch of the underwear towards the waist band. The underwear should now stand upright when placed in a drawer.

There are many variations of the KonMari Method™ of folding, so keep this in mind when thinking about how to organize drawers or declutter your closet

And if you’ve found yourself suddenly inspired to kick the clutter out of your home, check out this post that identifies some of the most cluttered places in the home, before picking up five tidying tips