File folding our apparel -- also known as the KonMari Method of folding -- has helped united states of america to keep our drawers organized and uncluttered so that we tin can always notice the habiliment items we need without searching through stacks of messy shirts and pants!
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In 2015, I read a little volume called The Life Changing Magic of Tidying Up by Marie Kondo. Forth with changing the mode I think about decluttering our home, information technology also had a significant impact on the way I fold and store our clothes.
I recently shared a detailed guide to the entire KonMari Method, merely I wanted to dig even deeper into file folding and organizing apparel considering it is the area I receive the most questions about!
Table of Contents
Click on the links below to exist taken to a specific office of the post.
- Choosing the Clothes that Spark Joy
- Benefits of KonMari -ing Your Clothes
- File Folding Wearing apparel
- How to Fold a Shirt
- How to Fold a Long Sleeved Shirt
- How to Fold Camisoles
- How to Fold Pants
- How to Fold Shorts
- How to Fold Socks
- How to Fold Underwear
- How to Fold Bras
- File Folding Video
- Marie Kondo Folding FAQs
- Does KonMari folding brand the clothes more than wrinkled?
- How do you lot continue the clothes from falling over when using the file folding technique?
- With KonMari folding, how do yous tell the deviation between similarly colored shirts?
- Doesn't file folding take a really long fourth dimension?
- How do you know what to hang and what to fold?
Choosing the Clothes that Spark Joy
Marie Kondo has a very specific order that she has her students go through when tidying their items, and clothing is first on the list!
Before we even become into folding anything though, Marie instructs her students to do a thorough decluttering of their clothes, keeping simply what "sparks joy."
To do this, she says to gather upwardly every single article of vesture you own and put it in ane large pile. (If you happen to own a huge amount of habiliment and putting it all together in a pile doesn't seem realistic, effort taking out every article from one category of clothing at a time-- all of the tops at in one case, all of the dresses at once, all of the pants at once, etc.)
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Seeing my apparel all together at once was helpful when I went through the KonMari process myself because information technology showed me merely how much wearable I owned! It too made information technology easier to compare pieces and effigy out what I truly loved and what was ready to be discarded.
To decide if an detail sparks joy or not, Marie recommends handling each item. Fifty-fifty information technology it seems difficult to pinpoint exactly what "sparks joy" at the showtime, as students become further and further into the tidying process, making decisions gets easier and easier!
Discarding items can exist tough, particularly if the items are still in skillful shape. Marie advises students to be grateful that the clothes served a purpose in the past-- even if it was just to show you what yous didn't honey!-- and so let it go. (And if it's in good shape, it can be donated and volition exist able to spark joy for someone else!)
Benefits of KonMari -ing My Apparel
Even if it feels challenging, keeping only items that I truly love actually does pay off in the long run! I recently did a mini KonMari session with my apparel because my closet and drawers were starting to feel cluttered, and even though I am the furthest thing from a clothes horse, I ended upward being able to donate a large trash bag full of items.
After paring down my items, I've found that I really wearable more than of my habiliment because every single item in my closet and drawers fits comfortably and is reflective of my style.
Getting dressed in the morning time is quicker because I don't have to look through all of the "meh" clothes to find something I actually love.
And my closet has stayed much neater since my purge because there is plenty of room for everything, and I'one thousand motivated to keep it looking nice!
File Folding Clothes
Once I have discarded any clothes that do non spark joy, information technology'southward time to figure out the best way to store the wearing apparel that I have left.
Marie Kondo recommends folding equally many clothes equally possible-- using the file folding method that she is famous for-- merely because clothes folded with the KonMari Method take up much less infinite than hanging apparel.
No thing which article of clothing nosotros're folding, the goal is to get it into the shape of a small rectangle and so that it tin stand on its own.
Before I discovered file folding, I used the more than traditional stacking method to store my apparel in drawers, and they looked like this:
The drawers weren't terrible, but when I inverse to KonMari folding, I loved that I could encounter every unmarried article of article of clothing in the drawer.
File folding likewise immune me to fit more items in each drawer, which especially came in handy in my boys' room. Connor and Caleb share one small dresser, so the only possible way to fit all of their clothing items in such a limited infinite was by file folding -- information technology was a total game changer!
The KonMari Folding Method
Considering file folding tin can feel confusing to execute, I created super short videos of the most mutual type of habiliment items below, along with explanations for each type.
How to Fold a Shirt with the KonMari Method
- Beginning past laying the shirt out flat, with the front side facing upwards.
- Fold 1 side of the shirt across the eye.
- Fold the sleeve of the shirt dorsum.
- Fold the other side of the shirt across the center, stopping a piddling before the edge.
- Fold the other sleeve back.
- Fold the superlative of the shirt toward the bottom of the shirt, stopping a footling before the edge.
- Fold the folded edge of the shirt over toward the bottom.
- Fold over the shirt again to create a small rectangle.
- Stand up the shirt upright.
How to Fold a Long Sleeved Shirt with the KonMari Method
- Start past laying the shirt out flat, with the front side facing up.
- Fold one side of the shirt beyond the heart, with the sleeve laying apartment.
- Fold the sleeve back across the folded portion of the shirt, laying the sleeve apartment.
- Fold the sleeve then that information technology lays along the folded portion of the shirt.
- Fold the other side of the shirt across the center, stopping a fiddling before the edge and letting the sleeve lay flat.
- Fold the sleeve back across the folded shirt, laying the sleeve flat.
- Fold the sleeve so that information technology lays along the long rectangle that you lot have created with the shirt.
- Fold the top of the shirt toward the bottom of the shirt, stopping a little before the border.
- Fold the folded border of the shirt over toward the bottom.
- Fold over the shirt once more to create a minor rectangle.
- Stand the shirt upright.
How to Fold Camisoles with the KonMari Method
- Offset by laying the camisole out flat, with the front side facing upward.
- Fold one side of the camisole beyond the center.
- Fold the other side of the camisole across the center, stopping a lilliputian before the edge.
- Fold the camisole in half, including the straps, leaving a minor gap between the end of the straps and the bottom of the camisole.
- Fold the folded border of the camisole over toward the bottom.
- Fold over the camisole once more to create a small-scale rectangle.
- Stand up the camisole upright.
- I like to shop my camisoles in the narrow SKUBB boxes from IKEA.
How to Fold Pants with the KonMari Method
- Starting time by laying the pants out flat, with the front side facing up.
- Fold the pants in one-half widthwise, with the pant legs stacked.
- If the seat sticks out, fold it over against the legs of the pants.
- Fold the ankles of the pants up toward the waist, leaving a gap before the waistband.
- Fold the folded edge of the pants over toward the waistband.
- Fold over the pants again to create a small rectangle.
- Stand the pants upright.
How to Fold Shorts with the KonMari Method
- Start by laying the shorts out flat, with the forepart side facing up.
- Fold the shorts in half widthwise.
- If the seat sticks out, fold information technology over against the legs of the shorts.
- Fold in half, folding the waist of the shorts toward the leg openings.
- Stand up the shorts upright.
How to Fold Socks with the KonMari Method
- Get-go by laying the socks out flat, with both socks facing the same direction.
- Stack one sock on top of the other sock.
- Fold the toes of the socks toward the heart of the socks.
- Fold over socks once more to create a modest rectangle.
- Stand the socks upright.
How to Fold Underwear with the KonMari Method
- Start by laying the underwear out flat, with the back side facing up.
- Fold the bottom of the underwear up toward the waistband.
- Fold 1 side over to the center.
- Fold the other side over.
- Roll the bottom of the underwear up toward the waistband.
- Turn over so that the waistband is at the front.
- IKEA SKUBB boxes piece of work well for storing underwear.
How to Fold Bras with the KonMari Method
- Start by laying the bra out flat, with the back side facing up.
- Fold in each side of the bra's band.
- Fold downward the bra straps into the cups.
- Turn over and store with the forepart of the bra facing upwards.
- When storing multiple bras, nest them inside one another.
File Folding Video
If yous're looking for even more than examples of how I fold different types of apparel in our household, this video I made a few years ago can help!
(Note: You may notice that the techniques I apply in the video vary slightly from the ones shown to a higher place. I filmed this video after I had read The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up, merely before I read Spark Joy, which explains the exact folding technique in greater particular. The finish outcome is even so the aforementioned, though-- all wearing apparel end up folded in a small rectangle.)
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Marie Kondo Folding FAQs
I've been file folding for several years now, and every time I share a photo of our KonMari -ed drawers on the weblog or social media, I seem to get the aforementioned questions, and so I wanted to exist certain to answer the nigh common ones here!
Does KonMari folding make the clothes more than wrinkled?
One of the about common questions I go about folding t-shirts using the KonMari Method is, "Does it brand the shirts more wrinkled?"
I have actually found the opposite to be truthful. My shirts seem less wrinkled with this method than when I was stacking them all up in a large pile.
Every bit I fold, I am sure to pull the clothing taut then that everything is nice and polish, which keeps wrinkles from forming.
Since I am not piling items on top of one some other, they don't get smushed in the drawer, which also helps them come out wrinkle-free when we're ready to wear them.
How do you lot keep the clothes from falling over when using the file folding technique?
My clothes and the boys' clothes are small plenty that when I fold them into a modest rectangle, they are able to easily stand on their own without falling over.
Sometimes, fifty-fifty if they're pocket-sized, shirts that are dri-fit material are harder to get to stand up considering the cloth is and so slippery. In that case, I endeavour to file them in the drawer next to the sturdier cotton shirts to give them a little extra assist standing up.
Men's clothing items, similar Donnie's, are larger, which tin sometimes exist a little more hard to get them to stand up upwards on their own. I typically do an extra fold in his shirts to make them smaller, which helps.
To help keep Donnie's clothes upright so the drawer stays neater, I also use drawer boxes for added support. My favorite boxes are the SKUBB boxes from IKEA, which come in three different sizes.
The SKUBB boxes work perfectly for Donnie's t-shirts...
...and I use them for a picayune extra support in my sock drawer as well.
For Donnie'south shorts and able-bodied pants, I needed a box that was a piffling larger, and I found these ones, which ended up working perfectly.
Expandable drawer dividers similar these would work to assistance keep items upright likewise!
With KonMari folding, how practice you tell the difference betwixt similarly colored shirts?
Since many times with the file folding method, the design of the shirt will end up on the inside, many people worry that they won't exist able to easily tell which shirt is which.
This hasn't really been a problem for us at all; I am familiar enough with the color and texture of our vesture items to be able to know which is which.
If I have a few shirts that are like, I can easily peek in the side to meet which blueprint is on the front end without messing up the fold, and information technology is still quicker than sorting through a pile of stacked t-shirts to find the one I want.
If yous had a agglomeration of t-shirts that were the same colour and cloth and information technology was becoming a problem, you lot could always tweak the KonMari fold so that the design ends up on the outside to brand information technology easier to tell them apart-- you won't get put in "KonMari jail," I hope! 🙂
Doesn't file folding take a really long fourth dimension?
When I first started using the KonMari folding technique, it did take me longer than my previous "stacked" method of folding; however, at present that I take been doing it for years and years, I am but equally fast at file folding as I was at the traditional fold.
Plus, I actually save a skillful amount of fourth dimension when I'thou getting clothes out of the drawer because I can meet everything at once rather than having to search through piles for the clothing particular I'thousand looking for, then overall, using KonMari folding is actually saving me fourth dimension.
How do you know what to hang and what to fold?
Marie recommends folding every bit many clothes equally possible, only she does brand a few exceptions.
InThe Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Upwardly, she says, "My standard is this: hang any apparel that look like they would exist happier hung upwardly, such as those made with soft materials that flutter in the breeze or highly tailored cuts, which protest at being folded" (page 78).
I typically hang all of my non-tshirts, so blouses, collared shirts, vests, blazers, and cardigans. (I do fold my sweaters and so they don't get nubs on the shoulders!)
I hang all of my dresses and skirts as well.
For the longest fourth dimension, I hung my jeans, only I recently started folding them instead, and I'grand really liking the alter so far!
Marie instructs that clothes should be hung by type (all jackets together, all suits together, all dresses together, etc.) and then by length, with longer items on the left, sloping up to shorter items on the right. This is because, as Marie claims in The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up, "Lines that gradient upwards to the right make people feel comfortable" (page 79).
Again, I don't follow this rule to an absolute "T," but I like to at least make sure that all of my clothes are grouped by category and then I can easily discover what I'm looking for.
Related: File folding likewise works perfectly for packing! See how to pack an organized suitcase .
So that's file folding and wearing apparel co-ordinate to the KonMari Method! I promise that this post was able to reply some of the most common KonMari questions and give you some ideas for organizing wearing apparel in your own home!
If it was helpful for you, don't forget to pin the image below so yous can come back to this post and reference information technology afterwards!
You lot can larn more about the KonMari Method and see how nosotros've used it in our home in these posts:
The Ultimate Guide to the KonMari Method
File Folding and Organizing Clothes with the KonMari Method (You're here!)
The KonMari Method: Organizing Books
How to Organize Paper with the KonMari Method
Organizing Komono (Miscellaneous Items) with the KonMari Method
The KonMari Method: Organizing Sentimental Items
The KonMari Method: Ane Yr Later
[Psssttt… Don't miss our meridian 100 tips for organizing every single room in your firm!]
Have you tried the KonMari Method in your home? I'd love to hear your thoughts almost it in the comments!
Sources
The Life Changing Magic of Tidying Up Volume
Spark Joy Book
SKUBB Boxes
Target Bins for Organizing Donnie's Pants and Shorts
Thank you so much for following along! Have a wonderful twenty-four hours!
This post contains chapter links. For more data, come across my disclosures hither.
The images below are from a previous version of this post.
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