Hey there. How has your week been? We have been having some ok weather again in Germany after lots of rain, so I have been trying to make the most of it and get outside with the dog as much as possible. I have also been using those little 15-minute blocks of time I keep suggesting you try to find, to do some tidying up in the garden. It’s amazing what you can get done when you know you don’t have long to do it!
Last week’s episode Organized Styling with Kay Korsh, had a fantastic response. It obviously really resonated with lots of you! If you haven’t had a chance to listen yet, I highly recommend it. There are so many amazing take aways. As I said during the episode, I was motivated to go back to my own wardrobe, and reassess what I have in there, and what I perhaps haven’t been wearing as much as I used to. My style has changed a little over the last couple of years, and there are some items that used to spark joy, that don’t so much anymore. Any way, it got me thinking that perhaps what you could really benefit from is a one-to-one session on how to KonMari® your clothes. So here it is, in the form of a podcast episode. You can either listen to the whole thing, and then apply the method, or you can pause it at each stage while you complete each phase. It will be like having me there next to you as you go through the process. I can unfortunately not help you out with all the physical stuff as I would if I was working with a client, but it will be the next best thing. So…let’s get started.
Ok, a heads up. If you KonMari® all of your clothes in one go, it is going to take a good few hours, depending on how many you have. If I am working with a client and they haven’t got too many clothes, we can usually complete the whole process in 5 hours. That includes putting everything away again afterwards. If someone has lots and lots of clothes, I usually recommend breaking it down into categories of clothing, such as all dresses, or all sweaters. The lovely Amber Ehrlich, KonMari® Consultant from The Tidy Bungalow kindly shared a wonderful checklist of all types of clothing with me, and I have made it available to you in the show notes. Or go to www.caroline-thor.com/explore. This way you can make sure you don’t forget anything if you are going by category. It is very comprehensive, and a great aid to decluttering your clothes.
So, if you are going to joy check and organize by category, just choose one type of clothes when I say ‘all of them’. Are we ready, let’s do this!
The first thing you need to do is collect all the clothes you own together in one place. Yes, all of them. Think where they might be hiding. Check every closet space and drawer in the house for clothes that belong to you. Look in suitcases in case you have forgotten something there. Check the laundry and ironing pile. Have you left a coat or 2 in the car? Is there anything in the garage or in the cellar? Under the bed. Did you look there? Ok, pause this episode here if you want to do this in real time, while you gather everything together, otherwise, keep listening.
Welcome back. Are you shocked by how many clothes you actually own? Most people are! The next thing to do is to hold each item of clothing in your hand to see if it sparks joy. If you need more help with this, listen to episode number 8 ‘What Sparks Joy’. Start with something you know you love and wear all the time. See how it makes you feel to hold this item. This is an item that sparks joy, and you should keep it. Do this for each item of clothing, until you have a pile of clothes to keep, and a pile to let go. If you are not sure if a garment sparks joy, then it probably doesn’t! Check your facial expression in the mirror and try to read from your body language how you react to it when you hold it. I am sorry I am not there in person to help you with this. This is when having a KonMari® Consultant there in person is incredibly useful. That and to keep you motivated! One idea that Kay shared with us in the previous episode is to have a friend there to help you. Pause this episode here while you complete the joy checking!
How did that go? Are you letting many go? So, the clothes you have decided not to keep. What do you do with them? You have 3 options. You can try to sell them, you can donate them, or if they are no longer wearable you can put them into a fabric donation bin. Where possible we should be trying to avoid putting them in the bin. There is enough waste material from homes going to landfill, and just because a garment doesn’t spark joy for you anymore, doesn’t mean someone else wouldn’t love to have it! Every item you choose to let go, do so with gratitude. It has served a purpose, and it will inform our shopping habits in the future if we are aware of what a service our clothes do for us, and how we can perhaps save a lot of money by only buying clothes that we feel amazing in. If you are even slightly unsure, don’t buy it. Always give yourself some time to think, and you can always go back if you decide you do want to have it.
Having sorted the clothes to go into 3 piles, you can bag or box them up, label them, and put them in a sensible place to remove from the house as soon as possible. Pause this episode here while you complete this stage of the process if you are doing it in real time.
You now have the clothes you want to keep! How great is it to look at clothes you know you love wearing and feel amazing in. Life is too short to wear something that makes us feel ok. Sort the clothes into categories. So, all short sleeve t-shirts, all the jeans, all the dresses etc. Then look at the storage you have available to you. What is you best use of it? If you are short on drawer and shelf space then you may need to hang more things than the KonMari Method® would recommend. But that’s ok. Start by putting away thinner items, fold them, and organize in the drawer by colour, going from light to dark. For some great folding tutorials, Marie Kondo herself has lots to see on you tube. The link is in the show notes. If you have shelving, you can use inexpensive boxes to store folded items in. Try to avoid plastic, as it really isn’t great for the environment. Instead go for felt or wicker, or even card boxes are great. I have often used recycled packaging boxes with clients. If you want it to look amazing you can always cover them in beautiful paper. Ikea do really good ranges of inexpensive boxes.
When you hang items, again go from light to dark. If you have a definite work clothes and home clothes section, then you could separate them, so you now when you get up on a weekday morning, exactly where you need to be looking.
Can we just talk about those clothes you decided to keep because you love them, but actually they don’t fit you at the moment. I know you did that! You can’t hide anything from me (even if I am not there!) Do not put them away with the rest of your clothes. Be honest with yourself. Are you really ever going to wear them again? Really?! Ok, if you must keep them for now put them away somewhere else, and if in 6 months to a years’ time, you still aren’t able to wear them, it is time to let them go. It is really demoralising hanging onto things in the hope we lose or gain a few kilos. It is better to embrace the size you now are, and dress to feel great, rather than always be wishing you are different.
And you’ve finished! How does that feel? Celebrate. Do a happy dance. If you have got a friend there crack open some fizzy stuff. The start of each day when you get dressed, just got a whole lot easier and a lot more joyful.
If you think this sounds like a process you would love to complete, but you know you need a bit of accountability, and some motivation, then I am offering you the chance to take part in my KonMari® Your Clothes 5 Day Challenge! You will get an email every day with motivation and tips, and by the end of the challenge your clothing decluttering and organizing will be complete. Once you have your clothes organized you will have the skills to help the rest of the family do theirs! Sound like a plan?! Click on the link in the show notes or go to caroline-thor.com/explore to join up for the challenge! How about you tell a friend about it, and you motivate each other to complete the challenge? We all know what a difference having some accountability can make!
And don’t forget I am also giving you the clothing checklist this week, in case you want to KonMari® by clothing categories. Both the challenge and the checklist can also be found on the podcast page of my website. caroline-thor.com/podcast
Well, I hope you have found this episode inspiring. Wouldn’t it be amazing to go into the next season of the year with all your clothes organized?
Follow me on Instagram @caro.thor for even more daily tips and tricks, and please send me a DM to let me know how you are getting on. I am your biggest cheerleader!
Until next time!