What better time to do a proper wardrobe clear-out than spring? With the Great British Spring Clean around the corner, it’s the best time to organise your wardrobe. And if you’re struggling to organise your wardrobe, and find most days start with a fight to find what you need, then it’s time for a tidying session.
So, if you want to make the most of your space, you’re in the right place! Follow our tips to best organise your wardrobe.
What are the benefits of having an organised wardrobe?
- You’ll find the items you are looking for faster
- You can see what you have and therefore choose your outfits more easily
- You’ll know everything fits you, making getting dressed swifter (less trying on and taking off), and taking away anxiety
- You’ll maintain the tidiness with less effort
- You’ll know what you already own, curbing unnecessary shopping
- You can start the day in a more positive way
Empty your wardrobe
Before you start organising your wardrobe, make sure you have enough bed/floor space for all the items. Then, remove everything, including hangers, baskets, bins, and anything else on the floor or shelves, so you have an empty space to reset your wardrobe. If you don’t, you will find it almost impossible to sort through things if you only take one thing out at a time.
Clean your wardrobe
The first step in your home search is to figure out how much you can afford. Coming to a decision on how much you both can afford to spend on a house is very crucial in making sure y
Once you’ve done your clean out, first clean the entire inside of the wardrobe or chest of drawers, ideally using natural cleaning products.
Dust and wipe the shelving, hanging rods, and walls, and shelving and clean the floor. Don’t forget any baskets or bins that could be collecting dirt and dust.
Next, add in some form of moth protection – cedar bales are a good choice.
Separate your items into piles
What often happens with wardrobes is that people stow their items away in a dark, back corner, sometimes forgetting what they have. Before you try and organise an overflowing wardrobe, sort out what you actually need and have a big declutter. The best way to do this is to separate everything into piles by item: shirts, dresses, trousers, etc.
Sort through each item
Now it’s time to go through each item. Be realistic about when you last wore something, there’s no point in taking the time to organise clothing that you’re not going to wear again, so be honest with yourself. If you haven’t worn a certain item for the past year, it’s quite likely you won’t be wearing it again.
You can do this by going through these 6 categories:
- Keep – frequent use
- Keep – infrequent use
- Keep – out of season
- Charity
- Giveaway
- Sell
Firstly, concentrate on the items from the first 2 categories, as these are items that you want to keep and that don’t need any actions. Once you do that, go through all the other items, and separate them into the last 4 categories. If you’re having difficulty deciding, create a “maybe” bin and revisit it in one, three, or six months.
TOP TIP: Look at what you have multiples of and narrow this down – for example, if you have six white T-shirts, get rid of any that are greying or scruffy.
Assess your storage
Now you’ve gone through all the items, you should know what wardrobe space you have, and you can make decisions about how best to organise it, and what would work for you.
If you have plenty of space, then you may be able to put all your clothes back in the space, or you may have to think about storing some items elsewhere, like under the bed, or loft.
You also need to ask yourself if you’re your wardrobe space meets your needs, if not, you could invest in things like shelves, hanging racks, dividers, and drawers, but don’t be tempted to just go and buy everything, try to repurpose what you already have. Small bookcases, cubbies, and baskets are great for storing handbags, shoes, accessories, and gym clothes.
Keep things visible
Having to dig and pull everything out of your wardrobe to find one item can be time-consuming and create a more disorganised closet. Having all your options in front of you will make it easier to curate outfits and decide what you want to wear.
How often have you had to dig through your wardrobe to find something you need? Probably too often. Think about where it makes sense to store everything, and which spots are the most accessible to reach in your wardrobe. The most important thing here is to reserve the front and middle of your wardrobe for the clothes you wear most often.
When it comes to storing items you need/want to keep but don’t need every day, like sentimental items, holiday wardrobe, or occasional wear, places them in different locations, like under the bed or in the loft.
Put things back the right way
Sort your clothes by type and colour: you will be able to locate clothes quicker and they will look neater. This will also reveal whether you have a few too many stripy tops or jumpers, making decluttering a little easier.
- Sort your clothes by type and colour: you will be able to locate clothes quicker and it will look neater. This will also reveal whether you have a few too many stripy tops or jumpers, making decluttering a little easier.
- Revisit how you fold clothes: use Marie Kondo’s method to fold shirts and tops with collars facing down – it will make it easier to recognise what you’re looking for in the drawers.
- Use vacuum packs: they can help you save space by cutting your bulky items down to size. They also keep your items away from dust and moisture.
- Label everything: find things quickly without having to open storage boxes, bins, drawers, or vacuum-sealed bags.
- Use wall space: you can use walls to store hats and jewellery by using hooks or wall-hung rails.
- Alternate the way your shoes are facing: this will help you fit more on each row.
- Utilise floor space: use stackable boxes to store shoes or accessories to store on the bottom of your wardrobe.
We hope these tips will help you organise your wardrobe better and keep it that way!