Konmari folding - YouLookFab Forum

Category

General

Welcome! Read about what to wear and how to wear it on the YLF Blog. Join the YLF Forum to ask specific questions or just chat about fashion and personal style. Or check out the curated list of things we love in YLF Finds.

Outfits Ensembles Trends Advice

Konmari folding

Laura G

Veteran

I've done the Konmari clothing triage in the past, but I didn't take the next step of organizing my clothes her way. Yesterday I emptied one drawer and Konmari-folded the clothes in it. Before and after photos below. The after isn't beautiful because I organize by color instead of size, but it works. It took about five seconds this morning to find the right color top for a skirt I just bought.

P.S. That's my real "before". I guess most people fold their clothes before putting them in the drawer, but mine fit full length so I never bothered.

This post has 2 photos. Photos uploaded by this member are only visible to other logged in members.

If you aren't a member, but would like to participate, please consider signing up. It only takes a minute and we'd love to have you.

General

24 replies

Latest reply was from Style Fan

ClaraT

Veteran

It always feels good to organize a drawer! I fold mine the same as your after (but just because my mom taught me that way ) However, the "before" method would probably give you fewer creases (?) It will be interesting to see if the new way suits you longer-term.

Jenni NZ

Veteran

Most interesting! My tops live on a shelf or hung, not in a drawer. I can see the colours really well in the "after" shot. Hope it serves you well!

Laura G

Veteran

ClaraT, your mom stored her clothes on edge in the drawer? Here I thought Marie Kondo invented that!

Becky

Veteran

I like Kon-Mari too, although I've only managed to reorganize about half my clothing that way so far.

Anonymous

I've never understood how all of that folding and cramming in doesn't leave a top with a million creases. I cannot get myself to do that. I fold t-shirts and sweaters only in half across the body and lay them in a drawer full-width. I suppose it wastes space, but I couldn't imagine stuffing so much in a drawer anyways. I am the anti-konmari

Jules

Veteran

I absorbed a bit of her methods via osmosis or something, and I do find folding items so that you can see every item instead of having piles is very useful. It helps to have shallow drawers so I am planning to include more of those when/if we build more clothing storage.

Anonymous

I folded all of my knits similarly. I did my entire wardrobe one weekend after having been introduced to her book on this website. I love her methodology. I can literally see my entire closet in a single glance. I kept it up for all my knit tops. Less so for my lingerie.

Barbara Diane

Veteran

I did my own version of her method for my socks and underwear (mine are not folded so crisply that they stand on their own, etc.). I like being able to see them all at a glance, so I can find the ones I want.

Joy

Veteran

I do my jeans like she does in a drawer but hang tee shirts as I have very few. I use a variation for underwear. As there are two pair of undies for each bra, I fold them and tuck into the cups, then fold the bra in half and "file" vertically in a box that is on a shelf in the closet.

Anonymous

Bras are hard, Joy. I have yet to really figure out a good way to store them. Right now, I lay them on top of one another with no folding whatsoever. It looks messy.

Anonymous

ClaraT, it's too bad your mom didn't write a book about her folding method. You'd be an heiress!
Laura G, Your kon-mari'd drawer looks great. I tried it, but everything got really wrinkled and didn't stand up very well. Obviously, I'm not great at folding.
I'm looking forward to hearing how this works out for you over the months ahead.

gryffin

Veteran

Your drawer looks beautiful. I hope it works for you. I went off Konmari when she trashed the little "potato" sock folding method. I like my little potatoes and they stay every neat. I do a combo of Konmari and Flylady. Another cleaning and organization site for anyone who has not found her!! I'm off to shine my sink!

K.M.

Veteran

Laura G., I love this post, as I was going to do a post on the topic as I'm having trouble with this. I Konmaried my drawers a couple of years ago and it's been wonderful to be able to see everything at once--I definitely wear more items than before because they're not forgotten, and I can fit sooo much more in a drawer (which is not what she would have wanted, I suppose).

But, as Lisa P. said, I'm having trouble with clothes looking crumpled and creased. It's not the same for every piece--depends on the fabric--but many of them come out so prune-y I have to re-iron before wearing. Was curious if people have any tips on this.

Also, gryffin, I feel the same way regarding the potato comment. It was one of the few parts of her book I didn't like because I love the potato method. My potatoed-socks are all neatly organized within those lozenge-shaped dividers and I can find them quite easily, and they are neither deformed nor stretched.

lyn67

Veteran

Hah, I did unconsciously folded all my life and actually never thought of putting cloths "full length" in a drawer:-((....but I find it a really apealing idea:-)) especially for the more crease free looks, did that work in that regard?

Laura G

Veteran

It's great to see all my tops at a glance in the drawer but...last night I tried on four or five before finding what I wanted, and you can't refold them Konmari style just standing in front of the drawer. So they all wound up crumpled in that formerly empty corner "for now".

lyn67 I think full-length only works if you have long drawer and a short body. My tops were always wrinkled but as you can see they were just tossed (crammed) in the drawer. If I folded them neatly in half like lisa p
it might work better.

But I really do love seeing all my tops at once. Maybe folded the regular way, but on a shelf so I can see all the edges...

ClaraT

Veteran

My $.02 as a long-time user of this 'new' technique for tees is that it may work better to do the last fold in half rather than in thirds (making more of a square than a stand-alone rectangle). This size fits better in my drawer--all my tees can be seen easily and more fit in the horizontal 'stack'. Ryce, in order for this to work, you have to have a 'big enough' stack so that they aren't sliding down all loosey-goosey (e.g. it wouldn't work well for, say 3 tees, but for more (15+ tees and tanks?) it does. I use shoe boxes in my drawers to hold the horizontal stacks as this corrals shirts on all sides but the top (gosh, this sounds complicated but isn't)

K.M.

Veteran

Laura G., this happens to me all the time--pulling out stuff then having to leave it all in piles for lack of time of folding it back neatly. It does keep me from trying too many things in the morning (not sure if it's a good or a bad thing, and it makes me wish I had some sort of digital matching system to create outfits without trying them).

ClaraT, that sounds interesting but I couldn't quite picture it--would you mind sharing a pic? My drawers do have to be packed tight otherwise the items fall sideways.

Staysfit

Veteran

I have been using this method for over a year now. I love it for everything that can be folded. It's strange, but I don't think my clothes get wrinkled when folded this way?! It's almost a modifies roll rather than a fold. In any case, it's helped most with my gear. I'm now wearing everything equally and wearing it out, whereas before I had items that sat at the bottom of stacked folded piles in my drawers. Out of sight, out of mind!

RobinF

Veteran

I did this with all the clothes in my dresser a few months ago. I wasn't sure I would be able to stick with it but I have and I really like it. It's great to see everything and I like how neat it looks. If I fold it carefully it doesn't seem to wrinkle any worse than it did before. It does take me longer to put away my clothes but not too bad, definitely worth the effort for me.

unfrumped

Veteran

I love her book for decluttering but have not been able to bring myself to folding. I ascribe to the theory that things need to be much easier to put away than to get out and I was worried about how I would do!

Laura G

Veteran

Yes unfrumped! That's how my household storage is designed, and Konmari is just the opposite, at least for clothes in drawers.

But that neat row of colorful edges showing exactly what's available...it's so tempting. Seeing your whole closet at a single glance, as Sterling says, would be so useful now, as I try to use or cull older items and also incorporate new colors into my existing wardrobe.

Marina

I had to google what konmari folding is. That is more or less what my mother does. But I'm still a faithful user of the "organized mess" system.

ClaraT

Veteran

This is for KM--Here is my T-shirt drawer. I keep them all there (long sleeve, short sleeve, and camis in the middle). The shoe boxes give the rows a little structure so they don't jumble together sideways...

(There are probably nicer looking boxes but this is a *drawer* and I'd rather re-use than buy something for this purpose.)

I've done my drawer this way so long and never questioned it. Yes, there are creases. I think any folding gives creases. But I have a small closet so there is no room to hang all of the shirts! I'm not sure where this falls on the effort scale. I'm not trying to convince anyone to organize this way, but it works for me.

Taking this photo makes me wonder if I should get more colored t-shirts

This post has 1 photo. Photos uploaded by this member are only visible to other logged in members.

If you aren't a member, but would like to participate, please consider signing up. It only takes a minute and we'd love to have you.

Style Fan

Veteran

Your drawer looks so pretty now. I hang all my T shirts up.