I need to sort my wardrobe out!
We haven't met a single lady who hasn't uttered those famous last words .. "I really need to sort my wardrobe out!", and we're betting you've probably said that too recently. But where do you start? With our guide and top tips you'll be decluttered and organised in no time!
To start with we would recommend getting everything out of your wardrobe, and we mean EVERYTHING! We need you to be completely honest with yourself, and a little brutal in your decisions. Remember, the goal of this exercise is to reduce the amount of clothing in your wardrobe, meaning you'll wear more of what you actually have! To reduce the clothes we're working with here we're going to put the clothing into the following piles:
1. Items that have not been worn for a year - ask yourself WHY you haven't worn these items. If they are sitting in your wardrobe not being worn, there's a reason why. Remember, be honest! If the top doesn't look right with anything, you'd wear the pants but only if you lost 10lbs, the shirt is too big and you feel frumpy, then the likelihood is that you won't EVER wear them, so these need to go to a charity shop or in a pile for selling on a second hand site such as Vinted or Ebay.
If you have a lot of clothing pieces in this pile, it may be worth offering these as a 'job lot' to get rid of these more quickly.
2. Things you’ve never worn, label intact - Sell these items to make some money back. Alternatively, if they still have the labels on, you coud gift these to a friend or loved one.
3. Things you hope to wear again some day - why do you want to keep the item? Does it still fit and feel great?
If it does and it's an occasional piece, such as a wedding guest dress or a dinner date outfit, then pop a cover over the hanger and put these in a different place if possible. Otherwise store these securely in a loft or cupboard so they're not taking up space in your day to day wardrobe.
4. Clothes that are uncomfortable or ill-fitting - here's the tricky one. If the clothing is uncomfortable - perhaps it's an itchy fabric, the neck's too high or the waistband digs in, then the reality is that you aren't going to wear them. Put these in your selling pile if they're in great condition, or in the charity pile if they are wearable but not sellable. If the items don't fit properly then ask yourself if they ever will .. REALISTICALLY! Could they be altered to make them fit so you'll wear them regularly? If they can, then make a separate pile to take to a local seamstress. If not, pop them in the sell or donate pile.
OK so now you should have a pile of clothing left that is comfortable, wearable, and that you use all regularly. This is what we're going to work from now.
To organise your day to day wardrobe, sort the clothing into categories:
- Casual wear - the pieces you always go to for chilling out at home, or popping out with the dog.
- Going out wear - fancier or dressier pieces
- Work wear - any uniform or staple work pieces should be together
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Anything that can be folded away such as jeans, leggings, gym clothes etc should go in neatly in drawers
The categories you don't use as much such as occasion wear or going out clothes, put to the far end of your wardrobe so you don't have to look through it every day when you're deciding what to wear.
Now hang your clothing back in the wardrobe in types. Put all pants together, dresses together etc, put over-layers together such as blazers and cardigans, and hang these next to the tops you would normally put under them such as vests and camisoles.
You should now be able to see what you have and can wear much more easily. You will probably be able to tell now if there's anything you really need to fill in any gaps in your wardrobe. For example, you may have a brightly coloured blazer but no tops to go under it, so you don't wear it often. Put a top on your shopping list! Maybe you put all your old leggings in the donate pile, so you need to restock those too. Add them to your list.
A way to stay organised with your wardrobe once you have everything you need, is to have a one in one out system, so when you buy an item, you get rid of an older one. Doing this means you won't build up clothes you don't wear, and your wardrobe is always refreshed.
Try these tips and let us know how you get on! Send us some before and after pics to our Inbox too!