How do you feel when you open your wardrobe? Anxious? Confused? Overwhelmed? Well, it’s time to restore your sanity with an organised wardrobe.
That means you will be able to find your favourite yellow sweater or that brown leather handbag your mom gave you for Christmas. Also, you’ll spend less time putting an outfit together. No matter the size of your closet, you can organise your wardrobe with these simple tips:
Purge Your Closet
One of the key reasons your closet is disorganised is that it’s full of stuff you don’t need. That red dress you last wore to your cousin Becky’s wedding 7 years ago needs to go. Maybe you bought those cool black velvet boots because they were trendy, but you don’t fancy them anymore. Perhaps you’ve lost or gained a considerable amount of weight, but you’re still holding on to those sweatpants.
If you haven’t worn an item in your closet for over a year or if you don’t feel happy with a specific item, it’s got to go. Keep only what fits you now and what you feel happy wearing now. Separate your items in piles or baskets labelled ‘keep’, ‘charity’, ‘maybe’.
Donate the clothing you don’t need but make sure it’s still in good condition because the charity organisation will dispose of it anyway.
Store Items For Different Seasons
Imagine opening your closet during summer and being met with winter jackets. It’s a waste of space, and you’ll have to dig through your clothing to find your summer wear.
This means your wardrobe will automatically get disorganised. You should be able to open your closet and find what you need for the season in the shortest time possible. For clothes and shoes that you may need for a special occasion or different seasons, store them in linen or cotton. Avoid plastic bags, or you risk ruining your items with mildew.
Ensure that you treat them for moths with lavender sachets. Avoid mothballs as they are toxic to pets and humans. Keep these items away in a cool place or high shelf in your wardrobe.
Organise Your Items by Category
One of the oldest wardrobe organising tactics that most stylists agree on is using the categories of type, style, length, colour, (and height for shoes). The different types include skirts, formal pants, casual pants, shirts, dresses, work clothes, and nightwear. After separating these sections, organise them by colour, starting with the lightest to the darkest.
For dresses, hang from the shortest first to the longest and organise the shirts by sleeve length. Use the vertical shelves in your wardrobe to store folded t-shirts and shoes, still in the order of colour and type.
If your vertical space is insufficient, consider using boxes and dividers to create more storage for your jewellery and underwear, or install adhesive hooks for items like scarves, purses, belts, and small handbags.
Maintain Your New Wardrobe
If you take the time to frequently maintain your wardrobe, you won’t spend much time organising it. Once a month, look through your wardrobe and quickly take out what needs to go into storage or charity.
Re-do a full wardrobe organisation every 6 months. Set a schedule for this process, it can be by a special occasion like the day before your birthday or New Year’s Eve or a significant event like an anniversary.
If it so happens that you can’t find a specific pair of pants, it might be time to re-organise. Also, before you buy any new clothing, think about whether you need it. To avoid cluttering, you could decide that for every new pair of shoes that you buy, one has to go. Or for every two new dresses, you must give away two from the wardrobe. This is especially helpful if you’re an emotional shopper.
With these easy organisation tips, you no longer need to press your body against the wardrobe door to keep it shut and you can easily find your favourite blue jeans.
