Marie Kondo's foolproof tip for keeping the messiest of wardrobes tidy

Wave goodbye to messy clothes for good

Marie Kondo has revealed the top wardrobe tidying mistake that could be preventing you from keeping your clothes in order and her foolproof tip for tackling it.

Even with the best bedroom wardrobe ideas in place, keeping a wardrobe tidy can often feel like an uphill battle littered with hangers. However, according to Marie Kondo, if you're struggling with a messy relapse it could simply be a matter of not knowing what you actually have in your wardrobe.

bedroom with wardrobe and chair

(Image credit: Future PLC/David Giles)

The Japanese-born organising expert sprung to fame in 2010 as the author of the best-selling book The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up, available on AmazonSince then she has inspired a Netflix original show Tidying Up with Marie Kondo, and helped homes across the world tidy up with her KonMari method.

Speaking exclusively to Ideal Home to promote the latest edition of her new book Joy at Work, Marie Kondo shared the mistake that causes most of her client's wardrobes to relapse.

'If you don't know how much you really have people tend to rebound and have difficulties keeping them in order,' she says.

marie kondo

(Image credit: Future PLC/KonMari Media, Inc)

If this sounds like you, luckily the tidying guru has a surprisingly easy fix. 'After you tidy and if you still have difficulties, check to see how many of what items you have in your closet,' explains Marie. 'For example, write down how many dresses do you have, or how many black shirts do you own.'

Whether you crack open a notebook for the job, start a google sheet or create your own Clueless style picture database. Creating a catalogue for your own wardrobe can help you not only remember what you already have in your wardrobe but stop you from filling it up again with things you don't need.

wardrobe

(Image credit: Future PLC/ Colin Poole)

If you're a shopping fan a constant flow of clothes into your wardrobe, especially when taking advantage of Black Friday deals, can be a recipe for a messy wardrobe. However, knowing exactly what you have, and whether you actually need another similar item will help put a stop to this.

An extra plus is that it can provide you with clear oversight of what wardrobe storage ideas you actually need to keep your belongings in order.

If you're decluttering, don't let your hard work go to waste and give Marie Kondo's wardrobe tidying tip a try.

Rebecca Knight
Deputy Editor, Digital

Rebecca Knight has been the Deputy Editor on the Ideal Home Website since 2022. She graduated with a Masters degree in magazine journalism from City, University of London in 2018, before starting her journalism career as a staff writer on women's weekly magazines. She fell into the world of homes and interiors after joining the Ideal Home website team in 2019 as a Digital Writer. In 2020 she moved into position of Homes News Editor working across Homes & Gardens, LivingEtc, Real Homes, Gardeningetc and Ideal Home covering everything from the latest viral cleaning hack to the next big interior trend.