All You Need to Know about How to Declutter and Organise Your Wardrobe
Do you have far too many clothes? Need more space in your wardrobe or closet? Do you make funny noises when trying to squeeze your clothes onto the rail because it’s so tightly packed? Then look no further!
If you want easy step-by-step instructions to making more room in your wardrobe, read on for the Time Fairy Wardrobe Workout…
Firstly Declutter – The most important part, and the best way to make space in your wardrobe:
- Empty – Start by taking everything out of the wardrobe. It’s best to sort as you go, so take each item out and decide which category it belongs to. I suggest you have 5 piles:
Keep – for your favourite clothes that you wear a lot, and the gems you find as you reach the depths of the wardrobe
Try on – for the clothes that you are unsure of, and haven’t worn for a while. Do they fit well? Do they suit your current style? Are they looking a bit tatty? Have you worn them in the last year or two? Why not?
Store – for out of season items, or those with sentimental value – they can be boxed and put on a high shelf, or in another room
Donate (or sell) – let someone else enjoy them and help a charity raise extra money
Throw out (or recycle) – for the things that aren’t good enough for resale
- Clean – Now that the wardrobe is empty, give it a quick clean.
- Test – If you have a ‘try on’ pile for items that you’re not sure about, split them into categories to save time (tops, bottoms & dresses) and start your personal fashion show! Do they fit well? Do they still suit your current style? Would you buy them if you saw them in the shops today? If in doubt, throw it out!
- Check – Now you’ve gone through every item – well done! If your ‘keep’ pile resembles a mountain, and the other piles barely exist, you might want to go through the ‘keep’ pile again, being a bit more ruthless!
- Remove temptation! – Now, box up your ‘store’ pile and find a home for it. Throw the sad stuff in the bin and bag up your donations so that you’re not tempted to reclaim them! Once that’s done, it’s time to reward yourself with a nice drink and a snack to keep your energy levels up!
Secondly Organise – How to make the most of the space you have:
- Categorise – Time to sort your clothes into categories. Do this by splitting your ‘keep’ pile into lots of smaller piles. How you organise will depend on your personality and how you go about choosing what you wear. Popular ways to organise are by:
- colour (great if you choose clothes by mood)
- types (e.g. trousers, long-sleeve tops, dresses, etc.)
- purpose (e.g. work, parties, smart, casual)
- season
- Refill the wardrobe – Put it all away. Simply hang up the clothes that you’re keeping, in the categories that you decided on.
A few tips:
- Heavy or bulky items are best folded or rolled on a shelf
- Use slimline hangers as they take up less space
- If you want categories to be easy to spot, use hangers of different colours (e.g. blue for work clothes, etc.)
- Get some tiered hangers as they take up less room
- Double up hangers by hooking two together with soda can tabs
- A great trick to save you time next year is to hang all clothes with the hangers ‘backwards’ and when you’ve worn something put it back the normal way. That way, you will know in a year’s time if you haven’t worn something, so makes it easier to decide if it’s time to donate it
- Maximise space – make the most of the space under the clothes by using some sort of storage container –such as storage boxes, storage units, hanging shoe racks (not just for shoes), or even a small bookshelf or drawers if there’s room.
- Shoes and bags – these can be sorted and organised in the same way that you did your clothes. Categorise footwear by type (e.g. dress shoes, boots, trainers, sandals etc.). Keep a selection of your most used footwear and bags easily accessible and put the rest in storage boxes (there are some really good ones available for shoes), racks, hanging racks, or other storage containers. Again, put out of season shoes and bags away. Use labels or photos on the outside of boxes to show the contents.
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Use a net curtain wire on the inside of the wardrobe door for belts, scarves or ties Accessories – accessories such as ties, belts and scarves work really well on the inside of wardrobe doors. There are lots of pre-made organisers available. Alternatively you can use hooks, towel rails, or a net curtain wire (see photo).
Ta-da! You’re finished! That’s all there is to it! Now you can open the wardrobe and feel very satisfied by the neat, organised collection of clothes, and find what you want easily. As an added bonus you can feel chuffed that you’ve helped other people by donating your unwanted items.
Do you have some tips of your own to share with other readers? Giving the Time Fairy Wardrobe Workout a go? Let us know how it goes.
If you want to do this but feel overwhelmed, The Time Fairy would be happy to help you!
Ruth Lowe
Based in Southam, Warwickshire
Contact me:
07928553658
ruthlowe@thetimefairy.co.uk
www.thetimefairy.co.uk/contact
Twitter: @UKTimeFairy