So it’s about a month since I read and acted on the Kondo book, I thought people might enjoy an update. If not, just scroll ahead, this might be long!
The biggest revelation is that I am STILL folding all of my (non-hanging) clothes including underwear! She said to give it a try, and I did… and I really like it. I don’t even ball socks anymore - they take up less space folded and I do feel it’s better for the elastic. I never thought I would be this person, but I actually enjoy putting things away neatly now!
I thought I would give up on the underwear, and also start just throwing my loungewear into its dedicated drawer. But I haven’t. Each night, I take off what I was wearing, and fold / roll it and put it away. This is huge. I used to just step out of it and leave it on the floor. About two years ago I cleared out a whole drawer just for loungewear, and got in the habit of just throwing it in there, all balled up. I hardly recognise myself.
I cleared out so much stuff from the bottom of my hanging area I can see the carpet, and I hadn’t realised how bad it looked with stuff crammed under there. Now the two boxes left, despite being attractive, are annoying me, I want to see the carpet! Must find a home for them. I’ve also cut down my clothes a lot, so having ample hanging space is really nice - easier to get stuff out and put it away without wrinkling.
We had unseasonably cold weather on Monday, so I pulled down my one remaining bag of ‘off-season’ clothes. Turns out there were only 6 items in there, so I have now incorporated them into my hanging and folding space. I never would have thought I could have got ALL my clothes in - I used to pack away 4 or 5 large bags each season. Glad to never have to mess with that changeover again.
As for people saying that they felt they had more to wear after clearing out - I definitely don’t feel that way. There was stuff I didn’t like but was wearing for variety, and now it’s gone I feel like I am repeating outfits a lot, and need some new things for work. But I am enjoying my clothes more, and feel like the trade-off is worth it.
A few things that struck me about the book that I didn’t like and haven’t tried: I don’t empty my handbag each day and put it away. It has a ‘place’ where i put it when I get home, and I keep it clear of receipts and things, and empty it fully regularly, but moving things in and out each evening and morning when the contents is always the same seemed silly. Did anyone try this?
I also don’t nest handbags by occasion, as she suggests. To me, this goes against most of her other advice, which is not to hide things away where you forget about them. I have a shelf where all my bags live out in the open so I can see them. Now that I’ve weeded a few out it’s much more attractive.
I’m glad I bought the book. I thought I was doing well before (about 1000 things out of the house since January IIRCC) but I was losing steam and finding it harder and harder to find things to get rid of. I’m now up to 1400, so it’s definitely been a huge boost to decluttering, and that’s even more impressive results when you consider I’d got rid of all the easy stuff before reading the book. Thanks Marie!