Today, I decided to tackle the daunting task of decluttering my wardrobe. I try to do it once a year. This way, I make sure I have everything I need and that what I don’t need finds a home somewhere else.
I strongly believe that a successfully put together outfit can only stem from an organised closet. If like me, you don’t have much closet space in your flat, then it is one more reason to make sure you declutter that wardrobe often, and well.
It doesn’t need to be a painful chore, you can make it fun by trying on lots of outfits and maybe even inviting a girlfriend over to help you. I like to work solo, just like I like to shop solo, but maybe some of you like to make it a group activity!
Here’s how I roll – my tips to organise your closet without losing your mind.
❤ Choose a time when you know you don’t have anything else to do & you feel happy, relaxed and confident – it is important to make sure you won’t discard anything too hastily.
❤ Start with what you kept last time thinking “I can use this to sleep in”. The truth is, you do use it to sleep in, but how good does it make you feel to sleep in an old tatty tee-shirt? Not very good, that’s how. So take all those items and put them straight in a bag. In the future, promise yourself to wear proper pyjamas / slips / chanel numero 5 to sleep. I will explain later what to do with this bag.
❤ Now let’s move on to the underwear and hosiery drawers… I tend to get rid of knickers as soon as they have a hole in them / an elastic getting loose / turning gray from too many washes. This way, my knickers drawer never gets out of control. As for bras, just try them all on. Any ill fitting one, put in a bag. Same goes for tights and socks. Holes, ladders – discard. I used to keep my laddered tights to wear under trousers when it gets really cold. It never really gets that cold. If it leaves you with nothing, make a list of what you need and go shopping for essentials.
❤ Are you warmed up already? Then it is time to look at tee-shirts and jumpers. I keep my tee-shirts and jumpers on a shelf, folded. Take out your pile of tees and quickly assess which ones you wear (make a pile), which ones you don’t wear because they are destroyed (start a bag) and which ones you don’t wear because you just don’t (make a pile). Put back in your closet the ones you wear. The destroyed ones, you can’t even give to charity shops, so either use the fabric to make stuff (pillowcases, toys etc) or simply discard them. I am not a big fan of throwing clothing away, but sometimes, that’s the only thing left to do. You are left with the tees you don’t wear just because… These are tricky ones. Put aside the ones you could give to friends (only if you are sure your friends will like them – they are your friends, not your bin) and make sure you don’t wait for ages before you actually give them away. What’s left can be divided in two piles: charity shop and eBay.
You can do the same for jumpers.
❤ Finally, on to the hanging things. This is what is most time consuming for me as I own many dresses and jackets. Get everything out of the closet and off the hangers. Check that all your hangers are wooden (not to spoil the clothes) and that they are not broken. Then do what you did with the tee- shirts and jumpers. When you hang your dresses and jackets back, make sure you button them up, so they don’t lose their shape. If you have very valuable items, put them in special hanging bags.
❤ To make my closet organisation efficient, I try to keep everything sorted by colour. My clothes are fairly colour coordinated anyway, so it is easy. If you have a lot of prints, try and sort your clothes by types of prints and then by colour.
What about all those bags? Well…
❤ Anything very old and tatty can either be thrown away or used to make things (I tend to opt for this one). If you are going to keep old clothes to make things, then rip them apart straight away and turn them into fabric as it is very easy for them to find their way back into your closet!
❤ Anything good that would make a friend happy, wash, iron & wrap in silk paper then send to your friend.
❤ Anything designer or vintage you don’t wear anymore, sell on eBay.
❤ Anything high street you don’t wear anymore, bring to your local charity shop.
❤ Anything that needs altering, go and have it altered, don’t delay it or they will quickly become clutter again!