KonMari Method - Extreme Clothing Purge

It was Winter of 2019 and like almost everyone who subscribes to Netflix and all their moochers – I too watched the Marie Kondo series. The series is based off her best-selling book.

Despite moving from my small Southie condo of 488 square feet to an over 2,000 square foot, colonial under 5 years ago, I had a vast amount of 1 thing: clothes.

This herculean effort maybe have got me too addicted to Poshmark and maybe created some unrealistic expectations – but that’s a post for another time. Feel free to check out my closet!

To accomplish the KonMari method of tidying, there are 5 categories: clothes, books, paper, miscellaneous, and sentimental. I focused on category 1 exclusively, you guessed it – clothes. If you want to know more about the method, consider her book “The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up: The Japanese Art of Decluttering and Organizing”.

Per Marie Kondo you are to empty every drawer, wardrobe, storage tote, and closet where you are storing clothing and put it in a pile. I did not have enough empty floor space anywhere so I used my bed. I gathered clothing from all dressers, 2 large storage bins, and 3 closets! When I was done collecting all my clothing and I saw my pile, I felt an overwhelming surge of.. Dun dun dun…

GUILT.

OMG, the guilt! I was looking at a mountain of clothing and I felt so ashamed. Why did I have so much clothing? I definitely did not need all of this, and I wasn’t wearing at least 75% of it. The mountain was the realization I spend waaayyyy too much money on clothing. I felt very wasteful. But it was time to get to work.

I started sifting through my pile. I had 3 groups into which I sorted my clothing: keep, sell on Poshmark, and donate. The question, “does it spark joy” is actually super effective. I found I was holding on to so many pieces of clothing I downright hated!

Tip: just because it fits doesn’t mean you have to keep it!

How to get prepped for the big purge:

First Step: Pick a day. Make sure you have ample time to complete your category, especially if you’re using your bed to make your clothes mountain like I did.

Second Step: Prep & Plan. Decide if you are going to just donate everything or attempt to sell some items. Then, make designated locations for the following – Keep. Sell. Donate. Discard.
Keep – items you love, look forward to wearing, fit properly, and feel good in (feeling good can mean different things for different pieces: comfortable, cute, pretty, sexy, etc.)
Sell – brand names with minimal wear (mid-level to designer), unique items, shoes, and accessories.
Donate – basically anything you are not keeping & cannot sell that does not have irreparable damage.
Discard – items with tears, stains, or just are downright gross.

Third Step: Clothes Mountain! Empty every area you have stored clothes – the closet(s), dressers, storage bins, wardrobes, attic, etc.
You might start trying to lay the clothes nicely, or give yourself some organization… But, you will quickly learn this is a waste of time.

Fourth step: Sort. Put anything you are donating or discarding into big trash bags (keep these 2 categories separate so you don’t confuse them) so they are immediately out of sight once sorted and you won’t have the temptation to go back in after them! For sellable items, put them in a bin or basket to be photographed and listed later. After they are listed you can organize and fold nicely to store. Finally, for anything you are keeping you can take a few different approaches – fold and organize as you go, organize as you go to where you plan on storing the item for future wear, or create a “keep pile” and organize and fold at the end.
I ended up creating a keep pile and reorganized my bureau drawers & closet to how I want to access my clothing.

Fifth Step: Remove items. Get the bag(s) of discards directly to the trash or recycle bin (please check what your city allows) and then haul the bag(s) to donate immediately into your car so you can donate at your favorite donation center. Next, fold/hang/store your keepers. Last, get your bin of sellable items and put it somewhere you plan to take pictures of them to list.
If you are feeling energized by this process, by all means, get to listing! But, if you are exhausted, relax and enjoy your newly lighter wardrobe and more organized closet & dressers.

When I was finished I had about 40 items to sell on Poshmark and 3 of those huge black trash bags filled to donate. Everything I kept I folded in KonMari style or hung. I swear my closet hanger rod sighed with relief! I even ended up with extra space in my drawers!

What I kept:

Anything I loved that fit
Suits
Special occasion dresses I loved
Shoes I loved
Bags/Accessories I loved

What I sold:

Mid-level brands and higher (I had 1 Gucci shirt!)
Shoes
Athletic brands
Bags (I used to buy exclusively designer)
Anything super cute or unique

What I donated:

Anything Unsellable –
- Ripped or stained clothing
- Not a brand that does well on Poshmark

The Results:

I freed up space in my house, especially my bedroom and dressers.
It was so much easier to pick outfits because I didn’t have anything I hated in the way and I knew everything fit.
I made a bit of profit on Poshmark!
I felt lighter! It’s amazing how a clothing purge and organization can make your bedroom feel open and a place of rest. Less = less stress!

Conclusion: I highly recommend this approach to clothing organization. It helped me tremendously. I find myself making sure I really love something, even before I buy it because I don’t want to return to hoarding clothing! I feel less guilty about purchasing something new after applying this method, I know it’s something I really want or need. This thought process also motivates me to try on every piece of clothing before I leave the store to make sure I don’t just like it on the hanger; I can’t tell you how much money and space this saves me! I am also quick to remove an item if it’s no longer serving me or it’s something I start to avoid wearing. To help with this, I usually have a brown bag for donations at all times. Once the bag is full, it goes in the car and to the donation center.

Don’t be afraid to take the leap! Let me know how it goes 🙂