The seasons are changing and that’s when it’s ideal to declutter our wardrobes. A clogged up wardrobe means it is harder to get ready in the morning. In contrast; a simplified wardrobe is a joy to look at, and figuring out an outfit is a breeze.
It makes me happy to see only my favourite clothes when I open my wardrobe. Favourite clothes are like old friends don’t you think? I don’t want them suffocated by clothes I don’t use.
Simple fact: if we don’t really like an item of clothing we don’t use it, and it just hangs there, month in month out.
These are the 6 steps to a simplified wardrobe.
- Stop shopping! Don’t even go near clothes shops for a while. Your bank balance will steadily rise.
- Pull out every thing you have and pile it on your bed. If you procrastinate you’ll be sleeping on the couch tonight! The other option is to do a sub-category of clothing at a time (recommended for busy mothers of young kids!). Do your t-shirts and PJs today, jeans and jumpers tomorrow.
- Pick up each item and do the joy/no joy test (Thankyou Marie for such a simple method). Bag up the ones you are letting go of.
- Put back your keepers neatly and with love. I have 25 hangers and the rest are folded Kondo style into shoe boxes and on couple of shelves.
- Put the bags of clothes to donate in your car right away. Then you can drop them at a charity next trip out.
- Instead of buying more clothes you can enjoy mixing and matching endlessly. Congratulate yourself! If you really need a treat buy some matching hangers!
A note on out-of-season clothes.
I love to keep my out of season clothes in my travel suitcase. When summer ends and colder weather comes, or vice versa, I get out my suitcase and swap things out. It is so refreshing to see ‘new’ clothes every 6 months (without spending a cent). Swapping for seasons also forces you to assess what you actually use. Some years back I started keeping my out of season clothes in packing cells inside the suitcase. Packing cells are zip up pouches normally used for separating clothes when travelling. It is much easier then to assess and swap out. I recommend it. I have one cell for jumpers, one for tops, one for bottoms, and one for PJs, and all small items go in the zip pocket in the suitcase.
A note on shopping.
Make a note in your phone if you need an item of clothing. When you go to the shops follow your list. You can even take a photo of your wardrobe to remind you what you actually have.
How much do we need?
I limit myself to 25 hangers with 1 or 2 items on each. I also have my folded clothes in shoeboxes in drawers, and some on shelves. This has been way more than enough for me and I have various types of clothes (work/home/garden). I have come to know my style and so most stuff mixes and matches to endless outfits. I also have the out-of-season stuff in my suitcase in our shed. An important thing to consider is that you really don’t want more than will get used and washed regularly. Otherwise clothes just hang there month after month providing dust mites with a safe party zone!
Golden rule at night.
Once upon a time when I was younger, I was a clothes slob. I had a mountain on a chair all the time waiting to be put away. I asked my super tidy friend Juliet how come she never had a pile. She told me her secret. She never got changed unless she was standing right in front of her wardrobe. Then it was easy to put things away immediately. So I do this every evening. If by any chance I do have a couple of things on the bed at night I put them away at that same moment. Back to zero. This 3 minute ritual every night means our bedroom stays tidy and peaceful and clothes never pile up. Every night we go to bed with tidy room. We also do not have any chairs in our bedroom. Ever!
Let me know how it goes if you simplify your own wardrobe!
Siobhan 💃🏽
Into the clearing 