Minimalism – Clothing

“the life-changing magic of tidying up” Chapter 3 summary for clothing:

Gather every last piece of your clothing together from every part of the house (check your car too).  Make a rule that anything found after you finish will automatically go into the discard pile.

Sub categorize everything by:
– Tops (shirts, sweaters, etc.)
– Bottoms (pants, skirts, etc.)
– Clothes that should be hung (Jackets, suits, dresses, etc.)
– Socks
– Underwear
– Bags
– Accessories (scarves, belts, hats, etc.)
– Shoes

Starting with off season clothing is usually easiest.  You can ask yourself, “Would I want to wear this immediately if the temperature suddenly changed?”.  Be sure to hold each piece of clothing and decide to keep or discard it based on if it sparks joy in you.

Do not keep clothes that you used to wear outside as lounge wear (clothes you only wear at home) or pajamas, including t-shirts.  I am guilty of this with t-shirts and tank tops for sure!  Indulge yourself in pajamas instead of sweats or a t-shirt for bed.

Once you are left with what you will keep, there are two ways to store them, hanging and folding.  Folding should actually be the main method because it saves the most space.  20-40 pieces can be folded in the same space it takes to hang 10.

Folded items in a drawer should be organized so you can see every item at a glance, like spines of the books on a shelf.  Store everything standing up, not laid flat on top of each other. Most pieces of clothing has it’s own “sweet spot” of folded state where it will stand on its own. (Tiny underwear such as g-strings and bikinis are very difficult or impossible to fold to stand.)

Fold every item into a simple, smooth rectangle:
1. Fold each lengthwise side of the garment towards the center to make a rectangular shape.
2. Pick up one short end of rectangle and fold it towards the other short end.
3. Then fold again in half or thirds until the folded item fits the height of the drawer when standing on edge.

Shirts should be folded lengthwise about a third with the sleeves folded in. Take the neck and fold it in half towards the bottom and fold it again either in half or in thirds.

Socks should never be balled up with the tops folded over.  They take a beating trapped between your foot and shoe so the time in your drawer is their time to rest. Place one sock on top of the other and fold into a rectangle.  For low-cut socks, fold twice.  For ankle socks, 3 times.  Knee and over the knee socks, 4-6 folds. Store socks on edge.

Stockings/Tights: Lay the toes on top of the other and fold in half lengthwise.  Then fold into thirds with toes inside and waistband slightly protruding at the top.  Finally, roll the stocking up toward the waistband.  Store them so the swirl is visible.  A shoe box can act as the perfect divider for footwear.

If an item is difficult to fold (thick & bulky like jackets or light & airy material like dresses, which wouldn’t stand on it’s own) then hang them.  Hang clothes in a closet so they rise to the right meaning hang heavy items to the left and light items on the right.  As you move to the right, the length of clothing should be shorter, thinner and lighter in color.  Going by category from left to right, it should be coats, dresses, jackets, pants, skirts and blouses. Lastly, try to eliminate storing seasonal clothing in bins, they should go into your drawers and closet with all your other clothing.