New Year’s is almost here, time for me to clean up my house as I traditionally try to do every year. I watched a couple of decluttering / organizing videos and learned about a Japanese method called Konmari.

Marie Kondo herself, wearing a dress and black tights. She wears a lot of tights!

At first I thought that any person following this method would toss out all the pantyhose except for 2 pairs or something of that sort… but I was wrong, turned out this method, even though highly admired by minimalism, is not about having next to nothing, but about keeping only those items that bring you joy and storing / folding them in a way that is easily accessible.

Konmari method was started by Marie Kondo, a Japanese woman obsessed since childhood with cleaning and organizing. She made a very successful living by teaching women how to clean their house and get rid of clutter despite that her parents initially thought she’ll simply be a good house wife. Keep this story in mind next time you hear someone tell their child that there is no way to make money with whatever they are into…

Marie Kondo shows how to fold lingerie.

Marie devotes some time to talk about underwear, socks, and pantyhose! She has a whole method of how to fold pantyhose and she says that tying stockings into a knot is a terrible thing to do because it will stretch them out and ruin them. Same applies to men who roll their socks up into a potato like ball.

To her, underwear is just as important as outwear. One thing you should throw out for sure is worn out and stretched out underwear that doesn’t bring you joy, she says.

For example, Kondo holds a great deal of respect for the home and honors that by never wearing anything schlubby, even to sleep. “If you are a woman, try wearing something elegant as nightwear,” she suggests. “The worst thing”—emphasis added—”you can do is to wear a sloppy sweat suit.”

My own attempt to fold my panties and thongs using Konmari method.

I immediately thought about what kind of stuff I am wearing to bed and got somewhat disappointed. I wear long sleeves, long pants. But what can I do, I’ve got ice on my window frame! Calgary is really cold and I’ll freeze now wearing a silky negligee.

Marie Kondo is against folding clothes and piling it on top of one another like retailers do. She says it’s better to have it in a drawer stacked vertically, meaning that you’ll be able to pull out any piece without making the wile clothing tower fall apart.

Getting back to pantyhose storage, I may actually change my ways. I used to put everything back into its original packaging, but it does take up a lot of time and space. My main issue about keeping it out of the package is that I’ll forget what brand and what denier this is and then later wonder what it is that I am in fact wearing.  I handle many hosiery brands and it is important for me to have an ability to compare them in terms of fit and durability. I’m open to suggestions!