UPDATE: This Giveaway is now over! Winner announcement has been posted on my homepage. See more Giveaways being dropped on my blog here.
(This is a new series of articles on Fridays called “Favorite Things Friday” where I’ll be sharing some of my favorite things, products & life tips, in hopes that you might find it useful in some way for your family. Join me back here every Friday. Plus, every Favorite Things Friday article will have a giveaway on it!)
I’ve been on a journey this year to declutter my life and my house. As a child, I didn’t grow up in a very organized household. There was clutter and things everywhere. Every drawer you opened. Every surface… had clutter. And as an adult, I never learned the skills and habits to keep a home organized.
Seeing that my home reflected that of the cluttered environment I grew up in, I felt really determined to take some action this year and to change. I wanted to learn new habits and to invite more peace into our home. Plus, I didn’t want my kids to grow up in and to adopt the same bad habits I did.
While I still have a lot to learn, and changing one’s habit is a process that will take time and practice. I’m really proud of what I’ve started to adopt into my family’s life so far.
Marie Kondo’s book “The Life Changing Magic of Tidying Up” was LIFE Changing! I started with the physical book but ended up listening to the Audiobook instead. If you wanna dive in quickly like me, I highly recommend that you listen to the audiobook – You’ll get thru it much faster, plus you can listen and tidy at the same time (that’s what I did lol).
You can get TWO Free Audiobooks here if you are new to audible.
If you listen to the audiobook, I do have to warn you that the narrative is a little dry. Listen for the content and power thru it. It’s worth it. 🙂 Okay. You’ve been warned … so you’re not surprised.
If you follow me on SnapChat, you may have seen my transformation this year with decluttering my closet and re-doing the dresser drawer for each of my kids (and myself). Many of you wrote in and started doing the same (see pics below).
One of the sweetest new habits I picked up from Marie Kondo is her method and philosophy on folding clothes:
- Fold as much as you can instead of hanging
- You can fold almost anything into a little rectangle shape (more on this later below) – Even underwear and socks
- Store folded clothing vertically (standing up)
- Give everything a home
Ever since converting over to the “KonMari” folding method. Opening my drawers each morning to pick out a pair of tees, leggings, and socks has turned into a joyful ritual. I can’t explain it. You have to experience it to understand. And folding fresh laundry no longer feels like a chore. It feels like a peaceful medication that’s calming and fulfilling.
How to Fold Clothes Using KonMarie Method
I had a hard time visualizing and understanding her folding method from the audiobook, so I googled videos of Marie Kondo actually doing it. And it made so much more sense to see it visually. There are tons of video on YouTube you can look into, but here are a few to get you started:
- Marie Kondo: Basic Folding Method
- KonMari Method – Marie Demonstrating in English
- Folding Awkward Items on Rachael Ray Show
- Marie on Folding the Perfect Underwear Drawer
- Marie on the Ellen Show – Teaching Ellen to Fold
- Basic Folding Illustration
I found that by converting to her folding method, not only does it look nice, you can fit a lot more into a dresser than stacking them flat. I used to use 3-4 drawers for the same content I now keep in one drawer.
Tools I Love for Keeping Drawers Organized
While you don’t need to buy any tools for KonMari folding method (you can use cardboards as dividers), I ended up using these Dial Dream Drawer Organizers as dividers for my dressers. It looks so much nicer to have these plastic dividers to separate the different sections. I’ve also tried these wood dividers but didn’t like them (they were hard to use and I don’t recommend it).
For my kid’s drawers, I also got some of these clear storage trays for socks, underwear and swimsuits.
That’s it! 🙂
Here are more pics of examples using the clear trays for my daughter Sophie:
When I started converting our dressers, I first started with my own clothing. I used to have several drawers and shelves, now have two fully converted dresser drawers that fit everything. One drawer each for socks, underwear and bras. And one drawer for tops and leggings. I breakdown tops into tank tops, short sleeve tees and long sleeve tees.
Both my kids dressers are now fully converted too. My kids have a lot more clothes than me. So they have a drawer for tops, a drawer for bottoms, a drawer for PJs, and since we’re in SoCal and swim a lot, a drawer for swimsuits.
My son is on the Autism spectrum. Like all children who has ASD, he needs (and craves) structure. One of our biggest daily struggles is getting him ready in the morning, groomed and dressed. It’s chaos every morning! I started using the dream drawer dividers to carve out a spot for each day of the week in his dresser. I would pick out his clothes (including underwear and socks – not shown in pic above) at the start of the week, so mornings during the school week can go a little smoother.
I wanted to share this pic of my son’s “days of week” drawer, just in case it’s helpful. I have been brainstorming different ideas and found this to be helpful for our family. I think even for children who doesn’t have Autism, this can be helpful in morning routines to get your young kiddos ready for school.
I Want to See Your Progress
If you plan to adapt this folding method into your life, I would LOVE, love, love to see pictures of your progress. Here are some pictures some of you already sent to me on SnapChat. I love seeing your pics. They make my day. ❤️
Thank you @isabel_mn and @bluebudderfly for sharing these pics.
Giveaway Time! Win a Set of Dream Drawers + Tray
As I mentioned last week, I’m gonna include a Giveaway to go with each of these Favorite Things Friday articles every Friday. Check back every Friday for more of my Favorite Things.
For today’s giveaway, I’m giving away a Prize Pack to THREE People. Each Prize Pack includes:
- TWO packs of Dial Dream Drawer Organizers (each pack comes with 2 dividers. So you’ll get 4 dividers to help you get started)
- One Clear Storage Tray
This giveaway starts on Friday 8/31 and will end on Monday 9/3. Winners will be announced on this blog only on Tuesday 9/4 before 12pm PST. You’ll have 48 hours to claim your prize.
To enter in this giveaway: leave a comment below with a useful tip you use at home or something you recently learned or tell me about one of your favorite products. Or you can tell me about some of your frustrations that you would love help with. And tell me where you’re reading from (city and state). Let me know by leaving a comment on this post.
This post is NOT sponsored by anyone. I just really love this product and wanted to share my experience. All prizes are paid for by myself.
Do You Have a Favorite Product or Life Tip? Want to be published in a future “Favorite Things Friday”? Shoot me an email with your write up and pictures. If I accept your submission and publish your tip, I’ll also send you a $50 Gift Card to the store of your choice. Send an email to tina@FreeStuffFinder.com with subject “Favorite Things Friday Tip”.
I roll my kiddos clothes but I really need to use the system for myself. It’s so easy and saves so much room!
I safety pin socks, so when I was them I dont loose any pairs! Once they are out of the dryer I fold them, remove the safety pin, and I’m done!
I would love tips in organizing kids toys.
Dallas, TX
My biggest closet space saving tip from someone who’s closet is extremely tiny, is to change all your plastic, wood, or store brand hangers with the skinny velvet hangers you can find at like Ross or Marshals or TjMaxx in a large pack of 25 for $10, they make you have SO much more room in your closet it’s crazy honestly like I had a good foot of extra space after changing all my hangers to them.
I love folding my shorts in half after folding them for normal flat storage. I now store them vertically in the drawer in a row, so easy to see what is there and can grab and go! Thank you for sharing all the ideas and sponsoring the giveaways!
I live in a fifth wheel rv since my husband works construction and we don’t have a permanent home yet. but I am currently trying to figure out how to organize my clothes. We have a closet big enough to fit totes where I’ve been putting my clothes in. Do you have any recommendations on anything to make my clothes fit better? Im reading from brazoria, texas.
I Just started to use this folding method also and it works amazing! I’m expecting another baby so I’ve been using the cube storage shelves for my kids toys with the cubes
Nice!!! 🙂
Hi I’m from Fontana, CA. I definitely love the folding in a row method. I use the rolling method for clothes when I pack in my travel bags or luggage. This reminded me of that so much because it does save space, time and you can still see what you rolled up or folded. But for drawers I discovered not to do them together so tightly since some other pieces end up coming along with whatever you pulled out. Lol Now I need to see a method to organize my daughters toys. It’s always good for the first few days but then it becomes like a tornado scene after a week. I try to keep certain toys in boxes but then somehow she puts them together. Lol
I definitely love the folding in a row method. I use the rolling method for clothes when I pack in my travel bags or luggage. This reminded me of that so much because it does save space, time and you can still see what you rolled up or folded. But for drawers I discovered not to do them together so tightly since some other pieces end up coming along with whatever you pulled out. Lol Now I need to see a method to organize my daughters toys. It’s always good for the first few days but then it becomes like a tornado scene after a week. I try to keep certain toys in boxes but then somehow she puts them together. Lol
I hear ya! I have that problem with toys too. I can’t seem to keep up with he. lol.
For clothing, if you keep them vertical like this post, and don’t pack too many in a row, it won’t come out if you pull one. It’s only when they are packed tightly that they come out as you pull. I’ve been experimenting with my daughter’s dressers and found that to be helpful.
I need help how to organize my precious BRAS lol. Thanks
I almost posted pics of my bras and how I store them lol. But didn’t at the last minute. I keep them in a storage box. There are also videos on YouTube using KondoMari method.