Who knew that the art of folding could lead to such controversy? Many of us have been hooked on Marie Kondo’s famous ‘Konmari’ method of organization ever since Tidying Up with Marie Kondo hit Netflix. Among her most memorable tips and tricks is a clever upright method of folding clothing so that you can easily see everything in your drawer at once.
This strategy is especially beloved by parents of little ones, who rummage through formerly neat dressers looking for their favorite shirts like tidal waves. Kondo is also reportedly working on a children’s book about tidying up, which might prove to be a good influence on your household.
But things have gotten messy in the world of tidying up. A celebrity organizer (who knew that career path existed?) named Linda Koopersmith has made headlines by accusing Marie Kondo of stealing the ‘upright folding’ method from her. Is this a case of a stolen idea or two great minds thinking alike? Either way, a former client said of Koopersmith, “I’ve always said Linda is the only person I know who can fold your underwear to look like origami!”
For the record, folding underwear or shirts to stand upright is easier than it looks. In fact, your kids can try it at home. The novelty may distract them from the fact that they are actually doing chores for a few days:
We may not hold the life-changing secret to making clothes look like origami, but we do know how to make origami look like a lot of other things—and even kids can try it! Will your kids be the next great expert folders?
Dollar Bill Butterfly
This simple introduction to origami comes with fake dollar bills and easy-to-follow dotted lines for folding! Once your tiny artists have mastered folding these lovable bugs from SPIDER Magazine, they can move on to using their own allowance! Isn’t it harder to spend money when you’ve made it look so adorable?
Download and print this activity here.
Pup Pet
A dog can be a kid’s best friend, but it can also be a lot of work. Here’s a cute origami dog from CLICK Magazine that’s much easier to care for than a real puppy– and it’s totally mastered the ‘sit’ and ‘stay’ commands!
Download and print this activity here.
Hot Pink Bunny
We recently reported on the true history of MUSE’s infamous hot pink bunnies. Love them or hate them, you can create them with this origami activity, pioneered by mathematician and world-famous origami artist Robert J. Lang. This activity is a tad more challenging than the previous two because it involves using your own paper and following visual instructions, not folding along guide lines.
Download and print activity here.
Who knows? Soon, they may be able to rival this awesome paper sculpture by Satoshi Kamiya, created out of a single, uncut square. Now, can Marie Kondo and Linda Koopersmith do THIS with a pair of underwear?
