I like to think that I regularly go through my wardrobe getting rid of what I no longer wear. In reality there are always those pieces that I struggle to get rid of. A friend recommended reading The Life Changing Magic of Tidying by Marie Kondo as it helped her sort out her wardrobe. I’ve always wanted a wardrobe of clothes that ‘spark joy’ so I had nothing to lose in giving it a go.

The KonMari Method

The book is based around tackling your whole house in the right order so that it becomes organised and stays organised. This should be done all at once and mean that you only keep what you truly love or what ‘sparks joy’.

KonMari is quite obviously taken from Marie Kondo’s name. She reckons that by following it you will become more confident and successful. While I understand what she is getting at with her method I’m quite sceptical how getting rid of clutter is going to change my life.

I actually didn’t start with my wardrobe so I broke the rules straight away. You are technically supposed to start with clothing but I actually started with books and DVDs. When I am tidying the house I move from room to room putting everything away in the dining room, then the living room and so on. Apparently this is wrong and we should actually tidy by category not location. It does kind of make sense in a way as I went round the whole house picking up multiple coats and handbags and putting them away. It actually did stop me moving the mess from room to room.

Anyway, how did I get on with my actual wardrobe?

Making My Wardrobe Spark Joy

When you start you are supposed to remove every single item from the wardrobe. I can’t cope with that level of mess and I was trying to complete the process as quickly as possible. You’re not supposed to involve family members either as it runs the risk that you just pass what you don’t want on to them. I did get my sister to help as she encourages me to get rid of things I don’t use. We have very different tastes so we won’t often wear the same thing.

I was determined to be quite ruthless and if items didn’t ‘spark joy’ then I couldn’t keep them. I did remove each piece one at a time as you are supposed to handle each item. Surprisingly I was able to make decisions faster than I thought I would. Normally I tend to dither over whether to keep things or not. There were a lot of coats and blazers in there and quite a few times I did quickly try them. This actually made me get rid of more than I would have done just by looking at them.

How I Got On

I only went through my wardrobe not my chest of drawers. You are supposed to tackle all of the clothes at the same time. I got rid of two big bags full of clothes for charity. I also made a sizeable pile of pieces that had barely been worn or were designer so I’m now in the process of listing these on eBay.

While I didn’t follow the rules religiously I do feel like the book was more of a helpful guide. It encouraged me to get rid of items that have sat in my wardrobe not bringing joy to anyone. It’s now easier to see what’s in my wardrobe and even easier to get items in and out.