Marie Kondo’s Approach to Organization

Like a lot of you, I dipped into the Marie Kondo phenomenon over the past winter to learn about decluttering. I came away more committed than ever to simplify and declutter in my own life.

Our Tuxedo Top in basic Black makes a good candidate in a simplified, clarified wardrobe.

She advises decluttering by category rather than by room, and that really makes sense. When it came to clothes, though, I found my reaction was a bit complicated. Kondo suggests beginning with the clothes category because we have formed the least attachment to them. I found that disheartening, but also realistic in a world that’s awash in fast fashion.

The places I was able to wholeheartedly get aboard with Kondo's views focus on the core values of respect and care. My parents both experienced the Great Depression and their respect for possessions was instilled in me early on. So it was easy to buy into a lot of her fashion advice, based as it is on the same principles that can help shape a minimalist yet stylish wardrobe. And I loved her advice about properly caring for a wardrobe of carefully chosen, well-made clothes and accessories.

Get organized: fold things like socks and scarves that otherwise become forgotten as they migrate to the back of your dresser drawer or closet. Give things you have no further use or desire for to someone else before it loses its value.

Like all the truly worthwhile things in life, adopting your own version of the Kondo way can add clarity. Clarity can come in mundane ways, such as figuring out what your wardrobe really could use, now that you’ve stripped it down to the essentials. But also clarity can be of a higher order. When figuring out what to wear is no longer a chore but instead a pleasure, there’s time to to bring that same clarity to bear in focusing on the truly important things in our lives.