Many of us are guilty of having wardrobes that are stuffed to the brim with clothes, many of which we hardly, or maybe never, wear. Yes, there are of course special occasion clothes which only come out every now and again, but if you have every day clothes in your wardrobe that you are no longer wearing, it may be time to declutter your clothing.
Apart from the benefits in terms of tidiness, it’s much less stressful to decide what you want to wear (not to mention easier to keep on top of the laundry!) when you have a streamlined wardrobe with everything organised neatly. However, decluttering your wardrobe can be a daunting task, and so, here are a few tips to help you along the way to wonderful wardrobe organisation.
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| With the changing seasons, now is the perfect time for a clothes clear out. Here's how to make it easy... |
1. Take everything out of your wardrobe
Yes, I know, this feels like a big step however, you can't possibly attempt to declutter with half of the contents still hanging in the cupboard. Plus, who knows, that long lost favourite top may have slipped off a hanger and be lurking amongst the dust at the depths of your wardrobe?!
Take everything out, and pop it on the bed or the floor. Not only will it be easier to sort out, but you can also clean / hoover the wardrobe once it’s empty. Wardrobes can often become dumping grounds for items that do not belong in them so emptying it will be a great way of re-homing those bits.
2. Create different piles for your unwanted items
Do a quick overview of your pile of clothes: is there anything that immediately jumps out at you that you know you don’t want to keep? If so, use this as a basis for sorting out three piles as follows:
- Items to recycle: these items have simply seen better days and need to go in the recycling bin; check out local recycling centres for specific fabric recycling bins.
- Items to donate: any items that are still wearable but not valuable you may wish to donate to charity.
- Items to sell: these items are the ones that you feel you’d rather sell on sites such as Vinted, rather than donate.
Now go through the remainder of your clothes and sort them into the above piles, putting anything that you want to keep either to one side or back into your wardrobe, for now.
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| Recycle, donate or sell those unwanted items for a clutter free wardrobe |
3. Try on your remaining items
This takes time, but it’s worth trying on your remaining items, or at the very least those that you haven’t worn for a while. Only keep the items that:
- Make you feel good.
- Are in a decent condition (or can be mended, maybe with the addition of some fun decal or iron on patches for jeans).
- Have other items to go with in your wardrobe, and preferably multiple options.
- Fit your current lifestyle.
Anything that doesn’t fall into the above categories, consider getting rid of, otherwise you’ll just hoard it until your next wardrobe declutter session!
4. Reorganise your wardrobe
There are several ways that you can reorganise your wardrobe. You may wish to organise by category (e.g. work clothes, casual clothes, gym clothes etc), or you may wish to organise by colour or by season. Organising by category tends to make it easier to pair items together, but if you’re a visual person who works well with colours, this may be the route for you.
Similarly, if organising by season, you may prefer to move seasonal items into storage until it’s time to get them back out again, rather than having them in your wardrobe full time.
Once you’ve decided how you’re going to organise your newly decluttered wardrobe, I suggest hanging as much as possible. This makes it easier to instantly see what’s in your wardrobe. Anything that needs to be folded should be put into dividers or small boxes where possible, to make organisation easier. Do a Pinterest search for wardrobe inspiration and I’m sure you’ll find lots of ideas!
5. Deal with your unwanted piles ASAP!
Once you’ve decluttered, it’s important to deal with your unwanted piles ASAP, otherwise these clothes will just end up lying around in your home or may even creep back into circulation within your wardrobe!
Donate and recycle those piles the next time you’re going into town (preferably as soon as possible after your wardrobe decluttering session) and take the time to list the sell items on eBay or Vinted. Who knows, you may even make a few pounds to purchase the odd item that you need to replenish your newly organised wardrobe!
So there we have it: five easy steps to decluttering your wardrobe. If you’ve recently been through the process and have any other tips, feel free to leave them in the comments below, and happy decluttering!
