The core concept of Marie Kondo’s tidying philosophy is that if anything doesn’t spark joy for you personally, it has to go. So I gathered all my clothing, threw it on the bed, and picked up each item to see if it inspired any “joyful” feelings. 

Not surprisingly, it turns out I was ambivalent about most of my wardrobe – so those pieces went straight into the garbage bags, or were set aside for donation.

KonMari says clothing should be discarded in this order: Tops, bottoms, jackets, socks, underwear, bags, accessories, clothes for specific events, and shoes. 

Her logic is that clothes worn closer to the heart (like tops), are dearer to us, so we will have a better idea of whether they spark joy or not. 

This is one of the strangest parts of KonMari’s philosophy. Thanking your inanimate objects seems a little kooky and New Age-y, and I wasn’t sure I was up for it. Still, I said a quick “thank you” to each piece of clothing that had come into my life that I no longer needed – especially clothes with sentimental value, like old school PE shirts that had faded beyond recognition. 

Like most people, my shirts are stacked in a pile, like the displays we see in boutiques. Apparently, that’s wrong! Marie Kondo believes clothes should be folded until they can stand on their own, and arranged so you can see and access everything at a glance. Darker coloured clothes, like black, should be at the back, with lighter coloured clothes in front.

The folding did take some getting used to, but it did give me a thrill to see all my clothes in a row once they sat tidily in my wardrobe. 

I parted with two-thirds of my wardrobe after my Marie Kondo quest, but I’ve never been happier with the contents. I can honestly say I love everything in there now. Getting ready in the mornings is much easier – everything is available at a glance – and I can shop guilt-free for the clothes I know I actually need. Having thrown out most of my PJs, I treated myself to three new sets. I feel more light-hearted and free, and everything I wear does spark joy.

Amazingly, I also freed up an entire section of my wardrobe, so I have a free space I can use to store other household items. And everything is hung so longer items are to the left, and shorter ones are to the right. This creates a “sloping upwards” effect which KonMarie swears will add an optimistic “zing” to your life.

I’m very pleased with the results, and I think my wardrobe is very close to what Marie Kondo would’ve wanted. Now, I just need to tackle the rest of my house…

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