I don't know about you, but cleaning out my wardrobe is a task I always seem to put off doing. The thought of organising my clothes, discovering hidden gems I had long forgotten about and clearing out old items fills me with OCD glee, however, the doing part is another story. In order to combat my procrastination (and probably general hoarding of too many clothes), I've come up with a 5-step-guide to making things feel a lot less daunting and a lot more refreshing.
1. MAKE A MESS
Possibly considered the most fun part; tip out your entire wardrobe/ clothes rail/ drawers onto your bed or floor creating a blank canvas to hang everything back up in. You can easily see how many items of clothing you have (and honestly the results can be shocking), plus see the space where they live more clearly, especially if your storage was super cluttered and overflowing. Plus, making a massive mess gives you more of an incentive to tidy everything back up again. Farewell are the days of mass floordrobes...
2. CROSS EXAMINE
Okay, now the hard part - deciding what to keep and what to discard. It's time to be ruthless, trust me, you'll be grateful for it after. Start by allowing yourself 3 piles; keep, maybe (we'll come to that later) and chuck. Pull out all the clothes you know for certain you'll be keeping, e.g. your basics, your jeans, your everyday staples. With the remainder, go through with a fine tooth comb and ask yourself the following questions:
- When did you last wear it? If you haven't worn the item in the last 3 months (seasonal items are the only exception), then realistically you're probably not going to wear it again.
- Does it still fit? Stop hanging on to things that are too big or too small. Unless you got the item tailored when you first bought it, chances are you won't get it done now. Always buy clothes to fit your shape, rather than items you can 'fix' or 'grow into'.
- Does it go with the rest of your wardrobe/aesthetic? We all have things we've bought on a whim or because they're so 'in' RN, (erm hello footless tights...), but unless you can style said piece with at least 3 outfits that you would actually wear day-to-day, in the real word, it's gotta go.
Tough love.
3. ASK FOR ADVICE
Remember the maybe pile from earlier? It's her time to shine. Enlist the help of your family or friends (or both if you're super brave) and go through every item seeking advice from the most honest people in your life. They will tell you if something does/doesn't look good or suit your figure, and be more ruthless in forcing you to let go.
Image from Pinterest
4. ORGANISE YOUR OUTFITS
Now you're finally in a more Marie Kondo space - both mentally and in your wardrobe - it's time to pull your clothes into outfits. Who doesn't love organisation eh? As previously mentioned, if you can style one item at least 3 different ways, you know you're onto a winner. Pull together killer going out-out looks, workwear vibes and general weekend ensembles to make you remember why you loved your clothes in the first place. Plus, having these outfits in the bank will be such a time saver when you've snoozed your alarm for the fifth time in a row...
5. RE-USE, RECYCLE, RE-HOME
Hopefully, if you've been really ruthless, you'll have a pile of good quality clothes ready to remove from your wardrobe. Now is the time to donate to charity, sell on eBay or Depop, or even just give to your friends. In addition to charity shops accepting donations, there are usually clothes banks in offices, some shops (like Topshop and H&M) and in supermarket car parks. One man's trash is another man's treasure after all.