Have you been KonMaried yet?
Someone asked my husband this question at work the other day. His answer?
“Yes. Yes I have. And after learning to fold clothes the KonMari way, I can’t ever see going back”.
I bought the book on the KonMari method last year.
We’ve lived in this house for 26 years. We raised our kids here. Before this house, I didn’t ever have to do spring cleaning or decluttering. We just moved.
I’m drawn to minimalism.
Nothing’s more frustrating than looking for something only to give up and buy a new one. It’s wasteful and adds more to the clutter.
Take tea for example! Did you know tea propagates? We have our favorite teas. I haven’t much space in my kitchen so I cleaned out our ‘tea’ shelf and said let’s stick with one green, one black, a Chai and Cold 911.
Somehow, I now have 42 containers of tea on my shelf. Granted it’s been two years or more. But still . . .
Tea anyone?
Don’t get me started on spices or kitchen gadgets.
Like how many wooden spoons does it take to stir the pot? Haha, you don’t even need a spoon to stir the pot. Some of us are better than others at doing that. Both my sons-in-law for example. Don’t tell them I said so. Oh well, go ahead if you need to. They know I love them.
My husband and I are opposites.
He enjoys shopping. I hate it. We’ve lived in some very remote locations so this did come in handy. He traveled a lot so if I needed an item of clothing, even if it was a new bra or underwear, he was quite happy to buy it for me. But shoppers like to shop and with shopping comes stuff.
Despite his shopping, my husband is organized and craves tidiness. He’d pick up the kids’ toys while they were still playing with them. Volume doesn’t bother him though. As long as it’s in a cupboard.
As he follows my trail of socks through the house, he doesn’t quite believe that cluttered cupboards cause me angst. A lot of angst.
He can patiently search – forever – for something in a overstuffed cupboard if I tell him with certainty it’s there.
However, I have little patience for disorganized shelves. I’m better at finding things than he is, but I think it’s because as I dig through the cupboard, items end up strewn across the floor like kitty litter
My mantra is the less you have, the less time you spend looking and caring for it.
We have other irregularities.
He’s a linear thinker and well I’m not. When he writes or plans presentations, he knows his beginning and end and systematically plans the in- between.
I brain dump. And then I look for order amid the chaos.
It should have surprised neither of us that he took to the KonMari method. But I’m still slightly astonished. He’s even folding his underwear the KonMari way.
Oh here’s the thread of my story.
I didn’t get too far last year with decluttering.
I have a hard time making decisions. He doesn’t like to get rid of stuff. We were at an impasse. As long as rooms were tidy and everything fit in a closet – did I tell you we made one of the bedrooms into our very own walk-in closet? And we could shut the door, he was content.
Earlier this month, I watched a movie of his choice on the condition that he’d watch an Netflix episode of KonMari with me.
Up to this point, he was highly suspicious of my minimalist tendencies.
No matter how I tried to explain it, he wasn’t buying.
For some reason my trail of socks undermined my argument. However, the 46 minute show was pivotal.
The next morning I found him refolding all his clothes.
Today my husband finished his laundry before going to work.
He was deliberating over the best way to fold his underwear the KonMari way.
As he folded the pair in his hands, he said, “These ones are getting kind of ratty. How do you know when it’s time to throw away your underwear?”
‘When they no longer bring you joy”.
He looked at them and said “The appearance no longer brings me joy. But they’re Sax, so the material and design bring me great joy”.
That was a conundrum I was not qualified to solve.
I did notice they found their way into the folded pile though.
I don’t like to fold clothes.
Again, like dishes, I blame it on my childhood where even though individually we didn’t have a lot of clothes, there were so many of us that laundry day was an epic event.
When I look in Budd’s drawers though …. Wait, no not those ones. I mean his chest of drawers. And seeing how neatly his clothes are organized and how easy everything is to find, I want to follow suit.
Who knew that one TV show would yield such great results.
We’re working our way through the house one closet or room each weekend. With his ordered mind, he’s so much better suited to leading the way on organizing our house.
The unwilling student has become the teacher.
Have you discovered the KonMari method?
Or do you have rules of thumb that help keep your household organized? We’d love to hear about them. Share them below.
P.S. My husband would like me to notify all men that if you haven’t discovered Sax underwear yet, go shopping now. Like right away. No delay. They’re that good. And no, we don’t get paid to advertise them.
P.S.S. He also says that packing for trips is much easier now that he’s been KonMaried, because he can find what he wants to pack quicker, it fits in the suitcase better, and no rummaging required at the hotel.
P.S.S.S. If I went back in time, I’d teach this method to my kids. No pawing through dresser drawers. How great would that be?
P.S.S.S.S. Supposedly, Clutter increases creativity but decreases productivity. So does that mean that if my sock trail leads to tidy cupboards, I’ll find creative productivity? Just wondering.
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Haha! I love this. In some ways we are like you two but I have to admit his drawers have always been more tidy than mine, he always folds the laundry & does the dishes but he puts things in the wrong places in the kitchen. It drives me nuts. I love the idea of minimalism also but easier said than done. I can’t believe how many sets of knives we have. He loves knives & frying pans. Lol
LOL – thanks for your comment! What is it about knives and frying pans? We have way more than we need as well. Too funny!