“Marie Kondo folding”, aka “KonMari folding method”, aka “file folding method” is the need of every woman with limited space in wardrobes. Today I’m going to explain what is this method and how you can use it fold shirts, sweaters, pants, or even towels too.
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Do you want to keep your wardrobe free from clutter, so that you can take the clothes that you want easily? Do you want to avoid the mess of searching through rows of unkempt clothes to get what you want? If yes, you can try the method that I recently learned – the KonMari folding method – the file folding technique.
I learned about this technique in 2o19 when I read Marie Kondo’s book of “The Life Changing Magic of Tidying.” After reading this book I understood how to fold and arrange my clothes, while keeping my drawers and shelves clutter-free.
What is Konmari Method?
In all her growing up years, Marie Kondo tried several techniques of decluttering and tidying up her clothes. She came up with the KonMari method, eventually. Today, she helps her clients with this method and trains them on the art of keeping their homes organized and sorted.
Kondo teaches us that two steps are very important for this decluttering process:
- To know what can be kept and what can be thrown away
- To find out the right places for the clothes you decide to keep
In the KonMari folding technique, you can make the clothes stand upright on your shelves, so that they are not prone to wrinkles or damages. Yes, this technique teaches you to utilize the space in your wardrobe better than before. However, the most important point that I learned from this technique is the art of appreciating my clothes better by touching, feeling and folding them properly.
How Do You Choose Which Clothes to Keep?
The first step of the tidying up process is to decide which clothes to keep and which ones to discard. Marie Kondo suggests that organizing clothes is first on the list of activities we need to do when we want to tidy up our homes.
In her book she asks to keep only those clothes that spark joy? To know this, she suggests to first put all our clothes in a huge pile. If you have too many clothes, like me, you can make small piles of different categories of clothes you have. (shirts in one pile, pants in one pile, etc.)
I personally enjoyed this process because the KonMari technique helped me realize that I owned too many clothes, indeed! Getting all of them in a pile helped me to analyze them carefully, so that I could decide which ones I might need, and which ones I can discard.
Marie recommends us to touch our clothes carefully while analyzing to identify the ones that spark joy. It was a little confusing for me initially; however, as I started tidying up my home more and more, I learned a lot in this process.
According to Marie, all clothes might trigger some memories in us. However, it is important for us to realize that we need to let them go. She also teaches us to be grateful to those clothes for the reason they were in our lives. If our clothes are in good condition, we can donate them to the needy. This way, these clothes will light up someone else’s lives.
Benefit of Konmari Folding Technique
Yes, the Konmari technique of tidying and folding clothes may look like a challenge initially; however, it can give us loads of benefits in the long run. Recently, I did a similar tidying up routine at my house. After getting rid of the clutter on my shelves, I gave away a huge bag of clothes that I didn’t need anymore.
Now, my wardrobe looks like a perfect representation of my personality and attitude. This is because I am wearing all my clothes more frequently than before.
I can now pick what I love without any hassles, without rummaging through the mess in my drawers during the peak morning hours. Thanks to this technique, my closet looks so much neater and more organized than before. I hope to maintain it this way.
File Folding Clothes
The second step in the tidying up process of Marie Kondo is to store the existing clothes properly.
Why does Kondo recommend the KonMari technique or the file-folding technique for folding as many clothes as want? In this technique, we get to keep our clothes stand upright in our closet, thereby helping us save a lot of space in there.
In the traditional style of folding, all clothes are stacked one above the other, making it difficult for us to take out one item when we want. However, in the KonMari technique, all we need to do is to fold the clothes in the shape of a small rectangle, so that they can stand upright by themselves.
After following this technique, I loved two things about the way my closet looked. Firstly, I could see every single item of clothing that was kept inside. Secondly, I was pleasantly surprised that I could fit in a lot more clothes in my closet than before. I have two kids who share a dresser, so the KonMari folding technique helped me utilize most of this small space.
How to Use the Marie Kondo Folding Method?
If you have just started this technique, it can be quite challenging and confusing for you to file-fold your clothes. So, you can refer to these short videos that explain how each type of garment should be folded according to Kondo.
How to Fold a Shirt
Learn how to fold a shirts to save space for packaging using the konmari Folding method.
Lay out the shirt flat, with the front side facing upwards.- Start by folding one side of the shirt and bring it to the center.
- Now, fold its sleeve towards the back.
- Proceed to the other side of the shirt, fold and bring to the center. Don’t go till the edge now, as you have to stop slightly before that.
- Now, fold this sleeve towards the back.
- Neatly fold the top of the shirt and bring it towards the bottom, but not all the way down. You need to stop just a little before the edge.
- Now bring back the folded edge of the shirt towards the bottom.
- Create more folds so that the shirt becomes a small rectangle.
- Make it stand upright.
Lay out the shirt flat, with the front side facing upwards.Also Checkout: Best Shirt Folding Board of 2022
How to Fold a Long-sleeved Shirt
Learn how to fold a long sleeved shirts to save space for packaging using Marie kondo folding method.
- Lay out the shirt flat, with the front side facing upwards.
- Start by folding one side of the shirt and bring it to the center. The sleeve should remain flat.
- Now bring the sleeve back on the folded portion.
- Create a fold on the sleeve in such a way that it lies in the same direction of the folded portion.
- Now fold the other side of the shirt and bring it to the center, but don’t fold all the way till the edge. You should stop slightly before that. The sleeve should remain flat.
- Now bring back this sleeve on the folded portion of the shirt, while it still remains flat.
- Fold the sleeve in such a way that it positions itself on the same rectangle that you have created by folding the shirt.
- Bring back the top of the shirt towards the bottom, but don’t fold all the way till the edge. Slightly stop above that.
- Bring back the folded portion towards the bottom of the shirt.
- Now create more folds again to make the folded shirt look like a small rectangle.
- Make it stand upright.
How to Fold a Camisole
Learn how to fold a camisole to save space for packaging using the Marie Kondo Folding method.
- Lay out the camisole flat, with the front side facing upwards.
- Now fold one side of the camisole and bring it towards the center.
- Now fold the other side of the camisole and bring it towards the center, but you need to stop a little before the edge.
- Fold the entire cloth, including straps in half; fold in such a way that you have a small gap between the straps and the bottom portion of the camisole.
- Fold again, as you bring back the folded portion of the camisole towards the bottom.
- Create one more fold to make camisole look like a small rectangle.
- Make it stand upright.
- Store them in good boxes; I personally like the SKUBB boxes from Ikea.
How to Fold Pants
Learn how to fold a pant to save space for packaging using the konmari Folding method.
- Lay out the pants flat, with the front side facing upwards.
- With the legs of the pants in a stacked in a position, fold the pants in half along their width.
- Protruding seats, if any, can be folded against the legs of the pants.
- Fold the ankle in an upward position and bring it towards the waist; however, stop slightly before the waistband itself.
- Now bring back the folded portion of the pants towards the waistband.
- Create one more fold to make the pant look like a small rectangle.
- Make it stand upright.
How to Fold Shorts
Learn how to fold shorts to save space for packaging using the Marie Kondo Folding method.
- Lay out the shorts flat, with the front side facing upwards.
- Fold the shorts in half along their width.
- Protruding seats, if any, can be folded against the legs of the shorts.
- Again fold the shorts in half, while you fold the waist portion in the direction of the openings of the legs.
- Make it stand upright.
How to Fold Socks
Learn how to fold socks to save space using the konmari Folding method.
- Lay out the socks flat in such a way that both the socks are arranged in the same direction.
- Arrange one sock above the other.
- Fold in such a way that you bring the toes towards the center of the socks.
- Now fold again to make the socks look like a small rectangle.
- Make the socks stand upright.
How to Fold a Underwear
Learn how to fold a underwear to save space for packaging using the Marie Kondo Folding method.
- Lay out the underwear flat with the back side facing upwards.
- Fold in such a way that the bottom of the underwear is folded towards the waistband.
- Fold one side of the underwear and bring it towards the center.
- Now fold the other side of the underwear over this folded side.
- Fold the bottom portion of the underwear in an upward direction and bring it towards the waistband.
- Roll over the underwear, so that the waistband is in the front-facing position.
- Store them in appropriate boxes; I strongly recommend the SKUBB boxes from Ikea.
How to Fold Bras
Learn how to fold bras to save space for packaging using the konmari Folding method.
- Lay out the bra flat with the back side facing upwards.
- Fold on each of the bands of the bra.
- Fold in the downward direction so that you bring the straps into the cups.
- Roll the bra over so that the front side of the bra is facing upwards.
- You can nest one bra inside one another, if you are storing multiple bras, to save space.
Video of File-Folding Clothes
Are you looking for some more support on how you can file-fold different clothes using the KonMari method? You can watch these videos to know more about the same.
FAQs About the Marie Kondo Folding Technique
As someone new to this file-folding technique, you might have many questions in your mind. Here, I have attempted to answer a few questions that you might have about the KonMari style of folding clothes.
Does this technique make my clothes look more wrinkled than before?
Many people have this doubt. However, from my personal experience, I can tell you that it is not the case. In reality, my shirts and T-shirts look better and cleaner now than when I was arranging them in the traditional stacking method.
I ensure that I pull the clothing taut when I fold my clothes, so that they remain smooth and wrinkle-free for a long time. In this technique, I am not stacking clothes one above the other, so my clothes don’t get crushed when I arrange them in the closet.
Using the Konmari technique, how can you prevent clothes from falling over?
In my case, I have noticed that my clothes and my kids’ clothes can stand neatly without falling over, when I fold them into small rectangles.
However, certain other materials such as dri-fit can be slippery, and they tend to fall over. So, I keep them next to some strong cotton shirts, to give these slippery clothes the much-needed support.
My husband’s clothes are slightly bigger, so I fold them more to create smaller rectangles than before. I use my favorite SKUBB drawer boxes from Ikea to keep these clothes, so that they don’t fall over. I love that these boxes come in 3 different sizes to hold different clothes.
In this technique, how can you identify similar-colored clothes in your closet?
With the KonMari technique, you keep folding the clothes into small rectangles. This way, the design goes towards the inside. Hence, many people wonder if they would be able to identify their clothes by looking at these rectangles.
However, I have never faced any issues because I am quite thorough with my clothes’ color and texture. If you have similar clothes, or if you are new to this technique, here is a simple trick in which you can identify your clothes correctly.
You can simply modify the KonMari folds slightly so that the design is outside and not on the inside. This way, your clothes won’t look like identical triangles anymore.
How long does it take to fold clothes using the KonMari technique?
Initially, when you start using this file-folding technique, it may take you a long time to fold your clothes, sometimes longer than your traditional folding methods as well. However, once you get a hold of the technique, you should be able to fold your clothes fairly quickly. I have been doing it for many years, and now I can fold my clothes in the KonMari technique quicker than the time I took while using the traditional system.
Source:
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCNaPKFA1niUFRgzkVqqhJVg
https://konmari.com/marie-kondo-how-to-fold-plus-size-clothes/
All Images are from Justagirlandherblog
