How to declutter your wardrobe

My wardrobe: before and after the declutter.

By Jane Comben
Got a wardrobe of stuff and nothing to wear? An average woman has 100 items of clothing but only wears 30. Imagine having an easy-to-see selection of clothes you love and look good on you? It’s time to declutter your closet.

It doesn’t have to be as hard or as overwhelming as you may think. Here are the basics.

The process: take clothes out then decide whether they're a keep, toss or maybe.

1)  Prepare.
Set aside a few hours or decide to break the job up into chunks. Get in a good, positive headspace and be well fed and watered. Maybe put on some upbeat music and have some boxes or bags at the ready. Decide what you are going to do with the cast offs (Charity shop, clothing bin, school fair, clothes swap).

2) Take everything out of your wardrobe/drawers and empty it into a pile.

3) Sort into three piles. Work quickly and be decisive.
Keep:
Stuff that you really love, looks good on you and that you actually use.
Toss:
Items you don’t like, don’t suit/flatter you or are worn/damaged (and you realistically won’t get them fixed or remodeled). Toss anything with negative associations. If you haven’t used an item in 6 months (or 12 if it’s seasonal, like a winter coat) it goes into the “toss” pile.
Maybe:
This is for clothing you’re really really struggling to give away. If you’re having trouble getting rid of things see the thoughts section below.

4) Clean and organize.
Clean out your wardrobe then put the “keep” items back neatly. You can organize your stuff in a way that makes sense to you. Either by colour (all blacks together), by type (jeans with jeans, skirts with skirts), by season or by occasion (work wear, casual, sports, formal etc.). If possible, re-home belongings that are in the wardrobe but aren’t clothing or accessories.

5) Deal with the other piles as quickly as possible.
Store the “maybe” pile in a box for 6 months and if you don’t need any of the items in that time, give them away.

Get rid of your “toss” pile. You may want to divide it into bags to take to:

• the rubbish bin or charity clothing bin
• the charity/thrift shop
• a local event like a school gala or jumble sale
• friends
• to sell on trade me/ebay or in a second hand shop
• take to a clothes swap or run one yourself.

Get rid of the bags as soon as possible or they’ll turn into another job to drain you and you’ll be tempted to rummage through them all again! If in doubt go for the easiest option.

Tidy drawers, scarf & hat box, clothes to go!

Other thoughts
Having trouble getting rid of your stuff?
Don’t know if you really love it? It can be really hard. A phrase I’ve come across that helps is: if it’s not a “hell yes!” it’s a “hell no”. Follow your gut instinct and don’t settle for so-so stuff.

• Feeling guilty about giving an item away?
  Perhaps it was really expensive, it’s sentimental or it once fitted and you’re keeping it for when you’re thin again. This might take a bit of working through or you might find it easier after practicing on easier clutter.
  “You’ve already wasted money on that expensive thing so why keep beating yourself up about it? Either sell it or be generous and let someone else enjoy it.” 
• For sentimental clutter, do you actually NEED the item to remember the memory? Would a photograph or representative single item do? Could you do something creative with it (like hang a bag/dress on the wall, frame it or make it into something useful?). Would someone else find it useful (such as a local museum or theatre company?)
• Be realistic about your body as it is now. The cocktail dress may have looked fabulous on you at 20 but what about on a woman twice that? Those slightly snug jeans? Give yourself a time limit and either get serious and lose those couple of kilos or buy a more comfortable and flattering pair.
• Think about your style and how you want to portray yourself to the world. Think about what colours and shapes flatter you and weed out everything that doesn’t suit your style, shape, or colouring.
• Don’t have enough room?
  Could you store seasonal garments elsewhere? I have a box that is either full of summery clothes or woolly thermals and a drawer containing my boots.
  

Save wardrobe space and try boots in a drawer.

Revel in the loveliness and order of your tidy wardrobe. Have a celebratory tea or coffee (or wine) and be sure to show it off to a friend as soon as you can.