“Tidying is just a tool, not the final destination. The true goal should be to establish the lifestyle you want most”

-“The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up,” p. 21

I finished decluttering my wardrobe and wanted to sit down to write out the steps that I took in more detail than I did in my other post. I followed the KonMari way of decluttering as closely as possible, but also added in a few steps of my own to help me declutter more efficiently. I think that no matter what style of decluttering, it is important to use it in a way that feels fits each individual. Hope the steps are helpful, and if any of you have decluttered your wardrobes using this method, I would love to hear your opinions on it! Also, don’t forget to sign up to receive an e-mail notification every time I post a new blogpost!

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1. Have a vision and a reason why! This is perhaps the most important step to take in preparation to any form of decluttering. Like Marie Kondo also mentions, decluttering is not the final destination, but rather it is a tool used to get to the final destination. The end result of decluttering should be to arrive at -or at least be on the way towards- the ideal lifestyle that one wishes to live. I took some time the week before I started decluttering to think about this and to write down some ideas. My final “vision” is not done yet, and I am still working on really visualizing this in detail, but I found it helpful to at least have a general idea of why I was wanting to declutter as I was doing so.
2. Write down some key questions to help you deliberate! The key question that Marie Kondo advocates is “Does this spark joy?” which is an extremely helpful question, but that can sometimes be a little hard for me to determine, so I wrote down some additional questions to help me out. The questions I wrote down to use as I declutter were:
   1. Does this spark joy?
   2. Would this piece of clothing help serve me in reaching or living the ideal lifestyle that I am working towards?
   3. If I saw this in the store would I buy it?
   4. Does this item fit the colour scheme of my closet?
   5. Does this item fit my personal style?
   6. Has this item fulfilled its purpose in my life?
3. Clean your room (and closet)! Also in preparation for decluttering I cleaned my room and made sure that the floor was vacuumed clean and that I had made the bed. I also cleaned my wardrobe once I had all of the clothes out. I find this step important because it both ensures that you are in a clean and wholesome environment while decluttering, and it also ensures that none of your clothes get dirty in the process of decluttering.
4. Gather all of your clothing in one place! To start the process of decluttering I gathered all of my clothing from around the apartment on my bed. When I was doing this I forgot about a box and a suitcase full of clothes in my basement, which I had to go get later when I realized it. I would urge anyone who is planning a closet declutter to really remember all of the places that you might store clothing. Marie Kondo even states in her book that after this step, if there is any clothes that you forgot then it will be automatically discarded when it is found. I really find this step of gathering all of your clothes in one place important because it gives a great overview of how much clothes you actually own! I was a little shocked myself at the magnitude of all of my clothes gathered together.
5. Sort your clothes into different piles according to category! Marie Kondo suggests dividing your clothes into these piles: Tops, bottoms, clothes that should be hung, socks, underwear, bags, accessories, clothes for specific events, shoes. I divided my clothes into my own piles and used the following categories: Shirts/blouses, pants/skirts, dresses, sweaters, jackets/outerwear, sports clothing, pajamas/loungewear, socks/tights/leggings, bags and belts, special event clothing, shoes, swimsuits, and underwear. This step really helped me feel that the task in front of my was a lot less daunting because instead of having one big pile to tackle, I now could break it down into a lot of smaller piles that I could declutter step by step (perhaps a lesson for life as well as for decluttering? 🙂 ) This step also helped me realize in which categories I might own an excessive amount of clothing.
6. Declutter your clothes! Finally it was time to actually deliberate and declutter. I used my guiding questions and made sure that I focused on those as well as making sure that I handled every single item individually. I didn’t listen to music or have any other distractions during this time because I wanted it to be a quiet time of reflection where I could focus entirely on my decluttering and where I could carry an internal dialogue in peace with myself. I know this might sound over-the-top cheesy, but it truly did help this entire experience feel more therapeutic and enjoyable. This was also
7. Fold your clothes! After decluttering I folded all of my (foldable) clothes vertically as Marie Kondo suggests. I really took my time with this and enjoyed being able to handle each piece of clothing because I felt like it was a way for me to really appreciate each piece and to show my gratitude towards them.
8. Put everything into your wardrobe! Certain items that are resistant to folding like a lot of my dresses, my coats, and blouses were hung in my wardrobe. I tried to make a progression of heavier fabrics on the left and lighter ones on the right to create a diagonal line doing upwards to the right. This is supposed to create the illusion of “lightness” and supposedly helps spark joy. I usually colour-coordinate my closet, but I am trying out this new method for now. I placed all of my other pieces back into my closet standing vertically allowing me to have a nice overview of everything I own.
9. Admire your aesthetically pleasing and conveniently organized closet! One of the things I like the most about the KonMari method in regards to closet organization is the fact that because of how your clothes is stored when opening up your closet, you will immediately have an overview of everything you own at a glance. None of your pieces get shoved to the back and forgotten and it is easy to see and find any piece that you are looking for!

Although I might not have decluttered as many pieces as I would have thought I would be able to, I am happy with my progress for now! I feel extremely satisfied with the fact that all of my clothing fits in my wardrobe now without having to store any of it, and I feel confident that I truly do appreciate every piece in my closet. In the end it is not about the amount of clothing discarded or kept, but it truly is all about finding happiness with what we have and feeling grateful also for those things as well as the things we had. I did end up with a “maybe” pile and will be going through my closet again at a later time to see if I can discard anything else, but for now I feel very content.

I hope that this post was helpful, and don’t forget to sign up below for e-mail updates every time I post here on the blog. Also check out my video below where I walk you through the KonMari decluttering steps and also share some insights!

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Have a beautiful day!