Active discussions

Meet the Other Phone. A phone that grows with your child.

Meet the Other Phone.
A phone that grows with your child.

Buy now

Please or to access all these features

Talk
AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

To think Marie Kondo's clothes storage method is bat shit??

167 replies

TellerTuesday4EVA · 09/02/2019 22:08

Not actually sure why but I'm watching Tidying Up on Netflix.

I was a bit Confused when she started talking about holding each item & it sparking joy then saying thank you to the items they were throwing away but I've preserved to them reorganising the clothes they're keeping.

A T-shirt is folded down to the size of a purse then they're all stored upwards facing in a drawer. I do actually think it would be good to be able to see them all at a glance but surely everything would come out like a dish cloth it's got that many fold lines in.

Then the jeans.... 6 folds!!

OP posts:
caughtinanet · 10/02/2019 12:14

It's not a rigid compulsory system, take the bits you like and ignore the bits that don't work for you.

MK isn't going to come round and tell you off if you decide to keep your wedding dress or have 11ty billion books.

I see it as very similar to the contented baby method (no need to pile on and slate it, I know the MN view) some bits work so just use those.

SuePerb · 10/02/2019 17:12

i've just done my shoes. I only have about 3 pairs that spark joy. What about the rest though? For example, the trainers that I do wear a lot? If I keep only my 3 pairs, I don't actually have anything to wear on a day to day basis. Should I just get rid of them all?

That said, I've really enjoyed the process and now do feel a lot lighter. I'll move onto other stuff this week - including books.

My children have done this too this week (we're all on a sorting mission) - none of us have any clothes left!

I now need to fold everything - I've ordered the book so I know how to do it. Are clothes dividers also necessary for drawers?

picklemepopcorn · 10/02/2019 17:22

Remember to keep what is useful as well as what sparks joy!

SoupDragon · 10/02/2019 17:29

none of us have any clothes left!

Then you won't be needing to fold anything... 😂

C8H10N4O2 · 10/02/2019 17:36

Most of the negative comments about Kondo are misrepresentations of what she says. She frequently reiterates that the method is there to help people who feel overwhelmed by "stuff" or want a system to help tidying. There is no need to chuck out anything at all if you want to keep it.

I found the folding/drawer/organisation stuff quite useful - gave it a trial and I'm still using it. I still have several thousand books in the house but they are better organised than they were. Nothing in Kondo's suggestions made me feel I had to get rid of them but I did find the focusing on keeping only what has use or meaning to be helpful generally

As PP says upthread - not so different from the ideas of the Western William Morris.

This is an interesting read when considering some of the comments:

www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/marie-kondo-white-western-audineces_us_5c47859be4b025aa26bde77c

TonTonMacoute · 10/02/2019 17:40

It's not a rigid compulsory system, take the bits you like and ignore the bits that don't work for you.

^ This!

I think the folding is brilliant, and I've even got DH folding his underpants up.

I also really liked the idea of going through your house and getting everything in one place, then sorting it, rather than doing one room at a time.

I love books and ignored that bit, but I live somewhere with plenty of space and lots of bookshelves.

Motoko · 10/02/2019 18:10

The logic of putting all the same items together in one place, like pens is crap, Each room in this house has pens and scissors because who wants to go traipsing down 3 floors to find a pen when you need one? I don't rate it at all. Use your common sense people, don't waste money on a book.

Well, if you used your common sense, you'd realise that you have one place in each room to keep your pens and scissors! Going by your logic, the Kondo way would also mean keeping all the family's trousers in one place, all the underwear, etc, etc, but we don't, we each have a space for them in our own rooms.

And nobody needs to buy the book, because as has been mentioned, there is now a TV series about it.

Did any of your HUSBANDS Kondo their drawers, or did the ladies do it all for them?

We've been watching the series. My husband disappeared upstairs for a while yesterday. He came back down later, and showed me a photo of his t-shirt drawer, all nicely Kondo'd! (He also does the laundry.)

Motoko · 10/02/2019 18:10

i've just done my shoes. I only have about 3 pairs that spark joy. What about the rest though? For example, the trainers that I do wear a lot? If I keep only my 3 pairs, I don't actually have anything to wear on a day to day basis. Should I just get rid of them all?

You've completely missed the bit about keeping what's useful, and those trainers of yours, come under that category.

Iggi999 · 10/02/2019 18:15

I have been storing make up in about three different places in my house. When I put them together I found 6 eyeliners - I had “buy eyeliner” on my list as I though I had none! Nothing wrong with now dividing those eyeliners around the 3 different places I tend to put make up on, once I’ve worked out how many I have.

SuePerb · 10/02/2019 19:44

Ha *Motoko" I haven't actually read the book (well I've got it but it's lost somewhere in the house) - so am going on the sparking joy criteria only.

Lweji · 10/02/2019 20:12

I just have one question. How do you fold shoes? Grin

Isleepinahedgefund · 10/02/2019 20:21

I have organised my Daughters clothes with the Marie Kondo folding, it's a godsend. She can see what's there easily and now we don't start every morning with "where's my.....????l" and rifling through drawers of stuff. Was a well spent afternoon organising that.

JumpOrBePushed · 10/02/2019 20:54

I love Marie Kondo’s method of storing clothes.

Yes, it takes a bit longer to put them away, but that’s repaid by how much easier it is to see exactly what’s in the drawers. My clothes don’t usually get creased with the folding.

And we don’t have much wardrobe space, so most of our clothes would be in drawers anyway.

RockyFlintstone · 10/02/2019 20:58

It's so funny that Marie Kondo is now everywhere since the Netflix programme - people on MN have been talking about her forever haven't they?!

Lweji · 10/02/2019 22:24

people on MN have been talking about her forever haven't they?!

As with most things...

Andromeida59 · 11/02/2019 00:03

Having read one of her books, I can absolutely say that the system works. I started a year ago and am still keeping it up. My drawers used to be horribly messy and I never had matching socks.

Getting dressed has never been easier. I do have to go back at times and go back through things but I really enjoy the method and will keep with it. There's a lot of negativity around the hearsay around her methods.
I have hundreds of books and each of them "spark joy". There's no way I'd get rid of them and she doesn't suggest doing so.

I don't think I'd organise things any other way, now. Everything is tidy. Things are where they should be in places that make sense. It's brilliant.

angelikacpickles · 11/02/2019 00:10

@SpringForEver

"The logic of putting all the same items together in one place, like pens is crap, Each room in this house has pens and scissors because who wants to go traipsing down 3 floors to find a pen when you need one? And then have to go back because you forgot the scissors. I write notes and cut things in various rooms, not just the one that I would be keeping the pens and scissors in."

Does she say to do that? I thought you just bring all the same items together to cull them. I didn't think you had to keep them that way. Be a bit of an awkward way to store toilet paper.

SpringForEver · 11/02/2019 00:33

I saw it somewhere, to bring all the items together, may have been on one of the you Tube things. I also recall that she lives or lived in a very small place and started doing it to make it easier for herself, then became obsessed with it.

I only read part of the book before thinking it was rubbish and all I needed was to do what I usually do when I am having a sort out. Get rid of things I don't like, want or need, and tidy the things that are staying, in the easiest and most efficient way. I bought the book to see what the fuss was about, and knew that I really didn't need it.

As for bringing all the trousers together in the house, seems like a good idea, just have one room, a dressing room for all the clothes.

Putting things away in order so you can find them is common sense, some people find it difficult to do it and need someone to show them how.

halfwitpicker · 11/02/2019 00:35

I am so sick of hearing about this woman already

SpringForEver · 11/02/2019 00:40

Me too halfwitpicker, she keeps cropping up on here, like Zoflora. It is possible to manage without either or both.

sulflower · 11/02/2019 06:41

I said upthread that I've been doing the Kondo fold forever. My friend taught it to me twenty years ago. She is amazing at organising and decluttering and also at the time said 'if it doesn't make your heart sing then send it to the charity shop'. She missed a trick, I wonder if she realises that!

glamorousgrandmother · 11/02/2019 08:04

She suggests putting everything in one category in one place to sort it, you don't have to keep it all in one place.

Rapidmama · 11/02/2019 08:08

..

To think Marie Kondo's clothes storage method is bat shit??
Lweji · 11/02/2019 09:08

try folding them with the front printing at the front?

Doesn't everyone? Isn't that how she teaches it? Do people fold towards the front? Why?

Iggi999 · 11/02/2019 09:58

Halfwitpicker by posting on this thread you are going to see far more references to Marie Kongo than if you hadn’t bothered...

Please create an account

To comment on this thread you need to create a Mumsnet account.

Join Mumsnet Log In

This thread is closed and is no longer accepting replies. Click here to start a new thread.