The Life Changing Magic of Tidying Up has been everywhere this year. After some of my sisters and friends got on KonMari kicks I decided to do some folding even though I haven’t finished the book (keep getting distracted by books like the new Mindy Kaling).
Historically I’ve mostly thrown the kid’s clothing into drawers. It’s easy and works and in the past we’ve had enough space, and not so many kids, even in apartments, that everything fit in drawers without folding. But with the addition of a third child, and our recent move back to our spacious but small closeted condo, I’ve had to start folding clothes. Our three boys store their wardrobes in two IKEA Algot units. They each have two slim baskets each and there is one large basket for bigger items. It’s tight. Even with relatively small wardrobes.
Can you KonMari fold when you do laundry for five people?
My attempt at KonMari folding started with all the kid’s clothing baskets on the living room floor, a napping baby and The Fall (thanks Netflix!) on. It was enjoyable. I could see how it could be like knitting. A bid meditative. Very satisfying.
I didn’t strictly follow Maria Kondo’s folding method (for good tutorials check out these really short KonMari videos on Goop). Her method is all about folding into thirds. I do that with some of the clothing but I spent a summer as a housekeeper many years go and really mastered the quarter fold. The quarter fold is my go to for bigger items of kid’s clothing. For very small items I’ll do thirds or even just in half. Also, I don’t fold kid’s socks. So this experiment was not strictly KonMari.
The good: I really enjoyed how all the baskets looked with the clothing in neat rows. It was easy for me to find things. Setting aside some time for folding while watching a television show was really enjoyable. Touching the clothing more made me consider if the item was really needed, if it still fit and where it should go when it was either out of season or had been grown out of. I even, haha, saw that some of the clothing sparked joy. Some. Not all. Just the really sweet pieces that are hand-me-downs.
The bad: folding takes time. We’ve had some changes in our household and I’m now working four and a half days a week. Most days I try and get a bit of housekeeping done in the morning and just after dinner. The beautiful folded baskets started to fall apart about a week after I set them up. Those precious extra minutes needed to fold a load of laundry were, in my opinion, better used on something else.
Also, if you want your children to get their own clothes out the KonMari folding method may not be for you. My younger children love pulling clothing out of the baskets so they undid a lot of work one afternoon with a few minutes of play. My oldest child struggles to find things even when they are nicely folded and right in front of him. He also undid a lot of work looking for an item.
Here’s the other confession: I haven’t attempted to fold my own clothes KonMari style. Right now I have a lot of room in my dresser so I’m not folding anything. More of a toss and go system. I think I could get into KonMari folding if I just did it for myself. Perhaps that’s the secret for those of us that aren’t passionate about laundry and/or tidying? Just fold your own clothing into beautiful little packets and let the rest of the family fend for themselves.
Have you tried KonMari folding? Were you able to make it work?
I only use drawers for pants, shorts undies and socks, each of which they only get 2-3 pants 2-3 shorts and a pack of undies usually 6? the socks are in a drawer separate near their shoes.
(I have 4 under 4yrs) but the ‘baby’ (2months)does not count he pukes and pees on everything… he needs more outfits…
the Shirts I fold go on a shelf up high (one shelf a yard and a half long a foot deep). Otherwise I will face the same kid-mess of everything pulled out and dumped. Personally i don’t like drawers i like to see the items ( few items) out with a visual. It forces you more to keep it looking ok. But my kids travel a bunch and often share a room so I can get away with the one shelf for shirts.. and the bottoms go in a tiny sized night stand with 3 drawers. so far its worked.. i find my girl would pull out the shirts more than anything and do multiple wardrobe changes, but mostly with shirts and dresses… but now she can’t reach them, their not hanging on a hanger to grab. (plus she’s not toddler-bored are comes across clothes to play with- i guess they look more boring to her up high folded?)
Short answer? No. Children are the third category of mess that Marie Kondo completely ignores in her multiple books.
I have clutter that I can control by tidying, dirt that Nature brings in that I must clean, and then there is the utter destructive force of my children. While I am sorting through a pile of books, they are smearing the contents of the cat box on the walls. While I clean that up, they are bringing in handfuls of dirt and mud and rubbing it into the carpet. Then pouring a bottle of dish soap on it. Then cutting the rugs with scissors. Then each other’s hair. Then smearing my brand new lipstick on the drapes. Then dismantling the gas stove and trying to light it with the safeties off.
Every day is one long battle to keep the house standing and the children alive.
There is no joy in Mooreville, ergo, I cannot do the KonMari method in my house.
I also read the book and immediately set to folding our family of seven’s clothes the KonMari way. As my 4 and 6-year old daughters and I watched the videos, we were enthralled and practiced along until all of our drawers were KonMari-d. I followed up with my three boys’ drawers and attempted to teach them how to fold the “right” way; they were less than enthused.
Fast forward a month: I am the only one folding the laundry now; I often fall behind because of the time-consuming nature of the folding process. My boys have reverted to stuffing their clothes unfolded in their drawers, while I continue to maintain the girls’ drawers. My drawers are the same as the first day I started; I love it for myself.
But, for the sake of my sanity and to get some help with the laundry again, I am thinking of letting the kids fold the old way, just so they will actually fold laundry again. I have discovered that eliminating more of their wardrobe has been a more effective means of maintaining order anyway. I just removed 70% of my girls’ clothes, leaving them with one drawer each for everything (clothes, pj’s, socks, underwear)- so much easier!
We are a family of 6 and my kids are ages 5, 3, 2, 1 and surprisingly, the Konmari method works for us! Nobody was more shocked than me. I did it as an after thought for my kids thinking it would last 1.5 seconds, but they love it! They see all their clothes at once and don’t make a mess anymore. They also have the ability to fold/roll their own clothes at times, which helps.
We are in the process of going through all our categories/possessions Konmari style and it is life-changing….and this is coming from a minimalist!
This is great to hear, Sarah. Do you have open drawers/shelving? I’m thinking KonMari folding might work better for us if we used a closed dresser.
Like you I had to read the book when it came out…didn’t finish it, but I feel I have a pretty good grip on my house, so it was more just to see what the hype is about 🙂 And, I’ve decided that when our kids are older, and can fold for themselves, I will implement this, but while we’re still in the “pull and destroy” age frame, we have a similar system with boxes that their clothes go into unfolded. It doesn’t feel messy because the boxes completely contain the clothes 🙂 http://www.ithinkwecouldbefriends.com/2014/10/21/cut-time-takes-laundry-50-seriously-gimmicks/
It’s interesting how folding may be perceived – I did not realise it could be a time consuming chore! I always folded my clothes, everything – socks, tops, jeans, underwear, I can’t imagine how I could store my clothes without it being neatly folded and piled into categories (everything has its place!). For me folding is a normality, a ritual resulting in a neatly organised and pleasant to look at wardrobe/ chest of drawers/ other storage. I’ve resumed the same system for my little one without perceiving it as a chore or a duty and will pass it on when he grows up. I guess we are the ”folders” 🙂 I actually thought that I was not doing enough with folding because I don’t iron his clothes first! Thanks for the link, checking it out now.
I haven’t tried this with my kiddos due to not wanting to spend the time, like some others have mentioned, BUT, I KonMari’d up my kitchen towels all snug in their drawer (I’m not sure if this is specifically recommended in the book) and I love it! Instead of messy stacks filling the whole drawer, they’re neat and tidy and only take up about half of the drawer.
I Folded all of the clothes with the KonMari way but I’m the only one that keeps it folded that way! Sometimes when I need more space in my sons’ drawers I will go through and stand them up.
I do laundry for 5 and have been KonMari folding for several months now. It’s made a huge difference in storage and how much fits in a smaller space. I haven’t found it difficult and it gets a lot easier the more you do it…now I’m pretty quick! I’ve taught my 6 year old how to fold this way and she loves it!
Using this method, my husband and I were able to go from an 8 drawer dresser to a 5 drawer chest of drawers and now we have more space in our bedroom. Hooray! 🙂
Love hearing this. I do love how it looks and space is at a premium in our home. I might give it another try once I have more of a working parent routine down.
Funny, how my husbans’s mom has always folded clothes the KonMari way, even though she probably never heard about that method.
My boys have a Flexa three drawer unit each for their clothes, and as I get them to fold and put away their clothes most of the time without help, I don’t mind which way they fold, as long as the clothes are (more or less) neat in their drawers. 🙂 However, if they ever complain that they cannot find things or about not having space, I will introduce them to their grandmother’s (or KonMari) way.
I am a folder (not KonMari style, mind you). Clothing, bath towels, dish towels… even things that are horrible to fold, like fitted sheets. I have very specific ways to fold each type of item, so that everything always stacks into satisfyingly neat piles. The only thing I don’t fold is the pile of four dozen microfibre washcloths, which are instead sorted into two baskets, by colour: yellow for household cleaning and blue for child/human cleaning.
I think that tossing clothing into drawers, unfolded, would destroy the very essence of my soul, lol. For the most part, the kids don’t rifle through their drawers too much, so at least I don’t have to keep re-folding. Though I suppose that might change as they get older and want to have more say in the clothing they wear each day.
I found the folding method a new concept as our storage is all hanging. I bought a couple of plastic containers for t shirts, sweaters and jeans and can now access everything much more easily.
KonMari folding makes for a very pretty drawer. Until you pull one shirt out and in the empty space, the rest fall down into a pile, same as the stacking method.
If I had kids, I would SO not bother with KonMari for them. Let them fold their own laundry if they want it to look pretty.
i kondo-ed my kids clothing a while ago. They’re actually pretty good about keeping their clothing mostly tidy. They actually used to mess up their drawers a lot more when their clothing was stacked because they would pull everything out to find something.
Yes! I found my ability to fold faster increased with experience and the pay off is worth it 🙂
If my kids make a mess in their drawers, which isn’t too often as I’m still mostly picking options for them, I don’t mind putting it back in in exchange for them getting themselves ready.
Kondo folding is life changing. I can fit my entire wardrobe in my closet — no more seasonal switching!! Ah, the joy!
We’ve been doing it awhile and it works for us, although I do periodically have to straighten out the t-shirt drawer. My son turns 4 this week and my daughter is 2.5. I also have a strict rule that they are not allowed to play in their closet – closets are only for taking out their outfits. I find that they can see everything better than in piles, so it works.
Well, I’ve been doing this with socks and underwear for many, many years, but for some reason it never occurred to me to try it with other types of clothes. I actually hang up all shirts (including t-shirts) and pants (including jeans) in the closet because it makes them easier to find, so what’s left in the drawers is stuff that’s decidedly not uniform or same-sized – pj’s, workout clothes, shorts (including those hard-to-fold bike shorts), sweatpants, camisoles… hmmm… It may be worth a try.
Actually, I keep my sweaters & sweat shirts in plastic milk crates on the top closet shelf and I’ve tried this method there without much success. The milk crates are set up so the opening faces forward, so when you stack the sweaters & sweatshirts vertically, they tend to fall over once you pull one out… either that or the act of pulling one out makes the rest come tumbling down on your head. Maybe I could try putting the milk crates so the opening is up and then pulling the whole crate down to get to a sweater. Not sure that would make life any easier though.
Thoughts to ponder…
This is the same conclusion I came to with folding . I tried KonMarie on my t-shirts and I love it. I won’t do it for my three kids, because they will just mess it up. My oldest is 8 years old. I may teach her and if she wants her drawer neat, then she can fold them herself. Mama ain’t got time for that. I will also continue to ball my socks and all my kids’ socks. I usually dress in a hurry and I know I’d mess up any folded socks.