Like many other fashion people susceptible to media brainwashing, I've lately been KonMari'ing my home and my closet. For the uninitiated, "to KonMari" – verb – references Japanese organizational guru Marie Kondo and her methods, best recapped in her best-selling book, "The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up: The Japanese Art of Decluttering and Organizing."
Joy is at the center of Marie Kondo's advice – she advises that you handle every object in your home and ask yourself, "Does this spark joy?" If the answer is no, you must thank the object kindly for its service (really), and then send it off into the world/garbage. It's easier said than done, particularly for those of us who keep more, after having grown up with less (me).
I tackled the easy stuff first, the kitchen, and saved the really loaded assignment, the closet, for last. And in recent weeks (sorry, Marie, I wasn't able to tidy all at once, as per your advice), I've made real headway and KonMari'd everything from a Clarisonic to a 10-year old fitted sheet (the matching flat sheet and pillow cases were inexplicably nowhere to be found), 150 bottles of nail polish to a malfunctioning Dyson vaccum. From my closet, I've exported everything that I didn't love - trends gone by like colored denim, ratty cashmere sweaters I would have once demoted to loungewear (a Kondo no-no), and multiples of once staple items like American Apparel Deep V-Neck tees (sadly for my wallet, I've progressed to Iro). The difference is stark. All the clichés are true – getting dressed in the morning is easier, I look better, and I feel, inexplicably, like there's more room in my life, having freed myself of some unnecessary things.
But make no mistake about it, I'm no minimalist. I do like things, and so, while I hope to continue to make do with less, I will be making some thoughtful additions to my closet this Spring. On my list:
- A dress or two from The Reformation, including the Sandy seen above
- A pair of white leather pants from J. Brand because I can never get enough leather
- A crisp short like these from Babaton
- A breezy floral blouse from Joie – this one's so good, I'd buy it in both colors
Oh, and in case you were wondering, while Marie Kondo's book may have sparked a small transformation – it did not, at the end of the day, spark joy. So accordingly, I passed it along to a new home with my friend Marina, who wrote her own post on KonMari today.
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