Have you ever stood in front of your wardrobe in exasperation? As the deadline for getting dressed looms and you cannot find the top you had in mind? Consequently you may end up dressing differently. All those hours of preparation with your outfit planner app gone in vain! Remember you are not the first one to face this. And this will not be the last episode either. After all, things are just not sorted in your wardrobe. The question is, can you afford this again and again? Of course not!
Here is where the Marie Kondo organizing tips come in handy. Of course you all know about Marie Kondo and her work under the name KonMari, right? She is a pioneer organizing consultant who lends her expertise in organizing and tidying up. Incidentally, not only your wardrobe but also your life’s mess as a result.
Enumerated below are some essential points from her famed KonMari method. This includes not only throwing away unnecessary items but identifying things that give most joy. This leads to flow of positive energy in one’s life. As you can imagine, there are lots of aspects to tidying up. There are clothes, papers, kitchen basics and many more.
Being organized and tidy is a way of life with the Japanese. They are taught to be thus right from childhood. In fact Marie Kondo attests to being organized as a little kid. She also attributes her fascination with organization to her faith in Shintoism.
Here are the Marie Kondo organizing tips for your wardrobe:
Break it all down
This is the first essential step towards order. Meaning you create order out of chaos. Accept that your closet is chaos. And no outfit planner app can help if you cannot find the clothes. All they can do is suggest outfits. If you struggle to find all elements or keep buying replacements, it doesn’t work. Even the outfit planner app Chicisimo will give up so first things first. Begin with taking down each item from your closets and drawers. And everything means just that, every single thing. Put them in different piles on the floor. Although everything gets supremely chaotic at the very first step, don’t panic! Let the piles be of different categories. For example, tops, skirts, dresses, jeans, shoes, scarves, sweaters, jackets, and so on.
Do the “spark joy” test
With everything on the floor, first thing that hits you is how much stuff you really own. It can be overwhelming actually. And all this time, you have been plaguing your outfit planner with ‘nothing to wear’. Next, pick each item up and subject it to the ‘spark joy’ test. Does that faded and misshapen sweater still give you joy? What about that very old jacket with holes in many places? If your answer is ‘no’, put these in the ‘discard’ pile. Do this with each and every item. It is painstaking and time-consuming, but needs to be done. Thank the item in your mind before bidding it a final adieu. It is the Japanese way. It is also the Kondo way.
Let go of nostalgia
Granted there are memories galore. Each item in your wardrobe will trigger a memory. There will be happy moments when you picked up something. There might not be such joy with another garment. It is possible someone gifted you an item and that person is no longer around. Or that sweater your grandmother knitted for you, albeit with holes now.
Sentiment and nostalgia is all very good. But ask yourself something. Would you wear any of those at all now? Would your outfit planner ever recommend those now? Times change and people change over time. Letting go of nostalgia would not mean you let go of ties. Making space in your wardrobe this wayis a wise step. You are on your way to free up space and allow free flow of energy. You are taking a definitive step towards taking control of your life.
Marie Kondo folding technique
Did your outfit planner app ever share with you the fabulous KonMari folding? To be honest, no is the answer, right? They are not supposed to, you say. True indeed. But your things end up in a wild mess and folding is something most people hate. Even if you do fold things, you invariably end up not finding what you want. Marie Kondo teaches you to fold and keep things vertically. Every item in your drawer is now visible. Not only are they easier to find but also to retrieve. Make use of dividers in your drawers to better sort things.
New hanging method
Last but definitely not the least of the Marie Kondo organizing tips is hanging. She advises that things in a wardrobe ought to rise to the right. By which she means to hang heavier clothes on the left. Heavy in terms of their weight as well as colour. In other words, how they look to the eye. For instance heavy gowns and coats to the left. Similarly dark coloured clothes to the left. As your eyes pan to the right, the clothes ought to get lighter in every sense. This is the Kondo way and seemingly eases the mind and the eyes. In other words, the mind’s eye.
It can seem quite challenging though, all of this. From utter chaos to this state of organization takes time. And for those of you who have managed to exist in chaos, it could be a double whammy. Not only all the hard work but the resultant problem of not finding anything, because it is so organized. Jokes aside though, sooner rather than later you will have it no other way!
To sum it up, use the Marie Kondo organizing tips in order to sort out your wardrobe perfectly. You will find your life sorted out too. Granted you will always have the outfit planner app Chicisimo by your side. You can download Chicisimo here for IOS and here for Android (if you need information on how to start with the Chicisimo fashion app, please check this previous post.). But sorting out all your stuff for real is a different deal altogether. Follow these guidelines and feel liberated from now on!