It is called The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up by Marie Kondo. I've read through it and am seriously excited to put it into practice.
I'm at a bit of a standstill for the moment, because we are living out of town for the summer for a job. But, while I was cleaning out the house in preparation to go, I did notice how fresh and light everything felt when I finished with an area. So the good news is that at the end of the summer, we will get to move back into our home with a fresh eye and a large majority of the clutter already out of the house. Woot woot!
The bad news is that all the clutter is stuffed floor to ceiling in our garage.
I did try a modified version of KonMari on my clothes. I know you're supposed to do it a certain way, but it was impossible for me to implement in its fulness at that time. You see, you are only supposed to keep the things that bring you joy. And...well...my wardrobe situation has been anything but joyful for a very long time.
I don't like to shop. So I don't. So most of my clothes come to me by way of other people's cast offs. (Which I have been very thankful for!) I am happy that I have had them, that they came conveniently to my doorstop, and that I did not have to spend the time and money to purchase them myself. I think there were a half a dozen shirts in my closet that I have purchased for myself in the last 9 years, and those were for special occasions or from gift cards (or family members offering to get me something for my birthday). Maybe one or two I picked up out of the blue because I was so desperate to get something for myself.
The problem with getting clothes in this way is that things tend not to fit very well sometimes (this problem is compounded by my recent pregnancy and current postpartum weight fluctuations) and that I have a very poor understanding of what my style preferences are. Simply put, I don't know what kind of clothes and colors that I actually like.
Anyway, The total number of clothes in my closet that brought me joy was limited to 1 dress, 1 skirt, and 1 T-shirt. Only the dress actually fits right now.
I am not even kidding.
If I got rid of everything else, I'd be running around in the same outfit Every. Single. Day. So I made my criteria anything that wasn't damaged, that fit my body, and that I didn't hate. I ended up with this:
There were also a few things that didn't fit that I didn't hate. I thought I might slim down enough to wear them later, so I kept those but put them away. Here they are:
So...not a lot. (I didn't throw out any pants whether I hated them or not. I have so few that it was incredibly impractical to do so.)
This is all I kept. Everything else went away. And when I looked at how depressing my wardrobe was, and realized that I didn't even really like most of the items I could wear, it all made sense. It made sense to me why I feel so frumpy all the time and why I cycle through the same 2 outfits day after day.
Interestingly enough, as small as this is, I actually have been wearing a larger variety of things than before because they weren't lost in the jungle of other stuff that didn't fit, or was damaged, or that I hated.
Also, realizing how miserable my clothing situation is, I actually went out and bought a shirt! I got it at Wal-mart for $12.99, but true to the actual KonMari criteria, I love it! I feel good in it. It brings me joy. A week or so later I found another shirt that brings me joy for $3.00 at a thrift shop. So I now have one dress and two shirts that I love.
I'll be working on improving this while my husband has his summer job. Hopefully in the fall when I come back to KonMari my house back into shape I will have a decent set of clothes that I love to wear. Wish me luck!
