Last night as I folded away Lilli’s 0-3 month clothes I thought of how sad it is that she only wore most pieces just one or two times. I had to make a conscious effort to get her to wear everything at least once. Babies grow so quickly! Sometimes even skipping over a size. That’s why I’d love to see more baby clothes resale shops. Or gently used clothes being encouraged at baby showers. Anyhow, that’s for another post… We have very limited storage space in our house and I have found the Kon Mari method very helpful with storing our clothes as well as keeping Lilli’s nursery organized. I thought I would write a quick guide on folding onesies and pants.

So, if we’re staying true to the philosophy of the Marie Kondo books, there is MUCH more to the method than just folding. In fact, according to Marie Kondo, your organization methods will ALWAYS fail if you don’t take the proper steps beforehand. This involves learning to recognize unhealthy thought patterns surrounding the objects you keep, ultimately throwing most of your crap away, and devising permanent systems and places. I highly encourage you to read the books, if you haven’t already. I also have the audible versions and they are great to listen to when you need extra inspiration.

I know it’s cliche but they were truly life-changing! Especially toward the end of pregnancy when my nesting tendencies kicked into full force. The Kon Mari overhaul gave me a serious outlet for that. And it’s stuck! Our household runs so much more smoothly. And to my husband’s horror (or delight) our underwear drawers look like a fancy store display.

The basic idea behind folding (most garment types) in KonMari is that clothes should take on an initial tall rectangular shape and then be folded up three or four times until they can stand up on their own. Clothes are then loaded into the drawer standing up so that you can see everything at once. This way, when you pull an item out, the rest stay neatly folded and undisturbed. Genius.

I was never really interested in folding, honestly. I would happily pick my clothes out of a rumpled pile. But this has made folding enjoyable. Relaxing, even. So find a nice flat folding area, turn on some music and let’s do this! The more you practice, the faster you’ll be able to fold neatly. But at first, really take your time and perfect the method.

Onesies

Turn the onesie face down. Make sure seams are even and smooth down arms and any wrinkles.

Fold in left side. I use the edge of the neckline to determine where my fold goes.

Smooth the fold then bend the sleeve back to rest over top of the folded area.

Repeat for right side.

Now you should have a pretty rectangular shape. The left and right edges should be  straight/ flush. From here, imagine the onesie in thirds start folding up. If it helps, count aloud with each fold “1, 2, 3”.

ONE.

TWO.

THREE.

The third fold should line up with the top of the onesie.

Press the onesie together between your palms and stand it up. It should remain standing on its own.

If not, try refolding. Experiment with just 2 folds, or increase to 4.

Pants

Fold one leg over the other.

Fold the crotch area in so that the pants retain straight lines on either side.

Holding that triangle of fabric down, start from the ankle and fold into thirds.

ONE.

The second fold should secure the crotch fold you made.

TWO.

THREE.

Press the pants together and stand them up. They should remain standing on their own.

Again, if it doesn’t stand, try refolding. Experiment with just 2 folds, or increase to 4.

Let me know if you liked this and I’ll feature other articles of clothing. In the meantime check out the hashtags #konmari #konmarimethod and #konmarifolding to see other examples on Instagram.