That was me, not my socks, sighing

You should see my sock drawer. It’s gorgeous, full of happy socks.I didn’t understand Kondo’s folding until I came to my one pair of leg warmers and two pairs of knee highs. They have to be folded, in thirds. Kondo claims your socks will be happy when they are unfettered. I’m happier, too, and I have more socks. Without folded tops, they were aimless, and I didn’t follow Kondo’s folding technique. We’ll see how long they last now before they go wild. A couple were missing the mate, fancy ones—one martini sock and one Raggedy Anne striped sock. They’ll show up. My fitted sheets swallow them in the wash, and get folded away. I can wait.

Marie Kondo: The Life-Changing Magic of Ttdying Up : the Japanese art of decluttering and organizing. (2011)

(I couldn’t resist.)

You all remember Marie Kondo? “Japan’s preeminent guru of tidiness (b. 1984), a warrior princess in the war on clutter” has published four books advocating her KonMari Method that takes the art of tidiness to an obsessive level.

I was going to write about socks and heaven knows my sock drawer needs some serious attention. Here’s what Kondo has to say about socks (bold face hers): “Never, ever tie up your stockings. Never, ever ball up your socks.”

Socks and stockings, according to this neat freak, need a break. They should have a holiday in the drawer—their only chance to rest—not granted if they are “folded over, balled up, always in a state of tension, their fabric stretched and their elastic pulled. She begins with telling you how to fold and store your stockings —upright. Using a shoebox for a drawer and folding socks to fit, stored on edge, she says “you’ll notice your socks breathing a sigh of relief.”

Anthropomorphic socks!

I’m going to clear out my sock drawer right now.