Closet Before and After Watching Marie Kondo

I watched Tidying Up with Marie Kondo and it made me clean out my closet.  I’m not really one to get into TV shows, but I read Marie’s book The Life Changing Magic of Tidying Up last year and it really left an impression on me.  I am a highly organized person and I hate clutter.  Over the holidays I let my closet get a liiiiiittle out of control.  Naturally, this made getting ready for work in the mornings tough.  If I didn’t like what I put on, it was gently placed (HA!) in the bottom of the closet.  I had great intentions to hang it up later.  Later never seemed to be happening, and it had reached the point of frustration.

Can Marie Kondo Help Us?

My husband and I started watching Tidying Up with Marie Kondo on Netflix about a week ago.  I couldn’t believe he was on board, but he loved the show!  We have vowed to start incorporating some of Marie’s tidying tips into our own home life.  What I love about Marie is that she doesn’t force people to get rid of their possessions.  She teaches people how to part with things on their own terms with an attitude of gratitude and to use her KonMari Method™ to organize.  I also feel 100% better when my house is nice and tidy and not all cluttered up.  Less clutter to me means less time cleaning and organizing.

Using the KonMari Method to Organize

So, with my closet glaring at me this weekend, I decided to channel my inner Marie Kondo and to finally tackle the problem.  This was the state of my closet before I started (bottom and top):

OK, so not too horrendous, but certainly not serving me in a way to help me get dressed quickly and efficiently each morning. Random Christmas packaging and boxes in the floor aren’t helping a THING! On Marie’s show, she helps people clean out their closets by first telling them to pull out EVERYTHING from their closet.  Yes, EVERYTHING.  So I did.

Next, I had to pick each and every item up and ask myself did wearing the particular piece spark joy.  This is where I learned so much about the state of my closet and my clothing choices.  I held each piece and thought about what I loved or didn’t love about wearing it. Had I worn it in a while?  How many times do we buy something or keep something for “just in case” and “just in case” never seems to happen?

Sorting Through It All

It helped to make a small pile for items I wasn’t sure about.  For instance, I haven’t worn my jeans in over a year or more, so I wasn’t sure if they would still fit.  Those would need to be tried on.  However, if it was a piece that had stains or I hadn’t worn in a while, it went to the trash or donation pile.

There was no trouble parting with uncomfortable shirts or pants.

A decision was made to keep only the hangers that matched and made a point to clear out the random colored ones and cheap plastic hangers that come with clothes when you buy them.  Quality clothes hangers can make a world of difference.

The Results

I didn’t really arrange strictly according to the KonMari Method™ because  I just like my clothes hanging in certain places in my closet and just tried to order like items together.

It took me about an hour to completely clean out and tidy up my closet, but the end results were worth it:

What I Learned From Tidying Up

51 pieces of clothing (not counting what’s in drawers, like pajamas and undergarments) remained, and I’d eventually like to whittle that down to even more.  Going through each item piece by piece helped me to understand some truths:

Purchases need to stop without trying them on.  I had quite a few items that still had price tags left on them and after trying them on, realized that I wouldn’t be wearing them.  Those will be listed for auction on Ebay since they are still new.

Dark colors rule my closet.There is a ton of blue and black and very little color in my wardrobe.  I’m OK with this, but a pop of color every now and then won’t hurt.

Fast fashion doesn’t add up.  I noticed that the cheaper the piece of clothing was, the faster it wore out.  I was constantly replacing things bought from less expensive stores because the shirts started pilling.  Now, this is not to say I think everyone should buy expensive clothing.  Not at all!  I just believe that being more intentional with my money and purchases is the way to go for me.  I’ll have to work on this.

Besides learning these things about my clothing habits, the end result just left me feeling accomplished and organized.  I am excited now for the work week to roll around because I know what I have and exactly where it is in my closet!  I also definitely recommend watching Tidying Up With Marie Kondo on Netflix for some motivation.