Wondering if your wardrobe needs a sweep? If it’s full of clothes you no longer need, there’s no more room for new items and it takes you ages to find anything in the morning, make it your new year’s resolution to declutter your wardrobe.
This is a daunting task that not only is time-consuming but that will also put you through the emotional process of weeding out pieces of your life. We’ve put together a guide to help you through this task so you end up with a clean, intuitive and visually beautiful wardrobe interior that matches your lifestyle.
Step 1 | Gather your Decluttering Supplies
Organisation is key to this endeavour, so we suggest you have a box or bag ready for every item category. This division will depend on the type of wardrobe you are looking to create, but suggest creating around five different piles: “definitely yes”, “maybe”, “seasonal”, “occasion-wear” and a “donation or sale”.
We find this distribution to be ideal if you’d like to achieve a Capsule Wardrobe which consists of a few essential items (jeans, coats, skirts…) and several seasonal pieces. This term was first coined by Susie Faux, back in the 70s, to help working women maintain a stylish and practical wardrobe. Nowadays it remains an incredibly popular concept and we are admittedly fans.
Step 2 | Take Everything Out for Visualisation
You are now ready to start pulling everything out of your wardrobe. Having all your clothes piled up on top of your bed will help make this process more digestible and create a visual of what you’re working.
You can now separate your clothes into essential, occasion wear and out of season to facilitate the next steps.
Step 3 | Start With the “Definitely Yes” Pile
Pull out the obvious yeses first, and put them back in your wardrobe in the most accessible locations. These include any essentials items like the ones referred to in the Capsule Wardrobe concept, and the clothes that you have frequently used this past year.
This should be the easiest step and yet it might still present some challenges. If you come across a piece of clothing that you are not ready to throw out but is also not an 100% definitely yes it means you have started your “maybe” pile. Don’t worry, put it aside and we’ll come back to it later.
Step 4 | Take out the “Definitely No” Items
If you’re like us, this is the part you’ve been dreading. Just remember, numerous studies have proved time and time again that sleeping in a cluttered bedroom can affect your sleep quality and induce stress. By clearing out the clutter you will not only be improving your wardrobe interior but also your life.
To get through this selection, we find the KonMari method the way to go. Introduced by tidying expert Marie Kondo, this method encourages you to discard the clothing items that no longer spark joy and keep only the ones that speak to the heart.
The easiest way to find out which ones are “definitely nos” Ask yourself the following infallible questions:
- Does it bring me joy?
- Have I used it in the last year?
- Will I use it next year?
- Would I buy it again?
- Does it still fit?
You can then also put your “maybe” pile through this test and once you’re all done you can choose to follow Marie Kondo’s last step and thank your discarded items for their service to help let go.
Step 5 | Store Occasion-wear and Out of Season Items Separately
All there should be left on top of your bed now is your occasion wear pile and your out of season pile. Storing these separately to your day to day clothes will make it easier to get ready in the morning and avoid cluttering.
If you’re doing this during the winter for example you’ll just have to exchange your stored summer clothes for your winter clothes when the time comes and so on.
Having a bespoke wardrobe interior allows you to build a home for everything, which will make it that much easier on you to store your clothes into different categories. We offer a flexible range of contemporary wardrobe organisers, from double hanging options and shelving units to shoe racks and drawer towers that can be combined and customised to suit your lifestyle. Check out our Premium range, Relax collection and Aura storage systems.
Step 6 | Donate, Make Alterations or Sell
Congratulations for making it to the last step! Whether you would like to donate your “definitely no” pile, recycle it or sell it is entirely your decision. Whatever you decide, you’ll find that it feels good knowing that your clothes have gone on to be loved by someone else and we believe that making people happy is the best new year’s resolution there could be.
Create a Bespoke Wardrobe Interior
Discover our innovative and easy to install storage solutions to help keep your wardrobe clutter free with a stunning contemporary appeal. Head over to our online designer tool to create your own bespoke slide wardrobe doors and storage system today.
