Feeling overwhelmed by a jam packed closet and struggling to find anything to wear? It’s time for a wardrobe audit. Start fresh with new hangers and follow this step-by-step guide to declutter, organize, and refresh your wardrobe. Let's transform your closet into a curated selection that truly reflects your style and meets your needs.
Step One: Empty and Sort
Pull out your entire wardrobe (and any clothing you have packed away) and sort them into two piles:
a) Clothes you love and wear regularly (approx 20% of wardrobe)
b) Clothes you hardly ever wear (approx 80% of wardrobe
Step Two: Categorise
Then organize the above two piles into the following four categories:
- Dry cleaning
- Mending / Alteration
- Donate / Discard
- Pack away
Step Three: Love Pile Audit
Start with the 'Love Pile.' Check each garment for dry cleaning and mending needs. If needed, place the item in the appropriate category as above. Otherwise, hang it on one of your new matching hangers.
Step Four: Hardly Worn Pile Audit
Next go onto pile 1b. (the ‘Hardly ever wear pile’) – Firstly, be strong! Go through the pile leaving emotions and memories out of it. Items that no longer fit, are damaged, aged, pilling, or no longer suit your lifestyle or how you now like to dress, need to be donated or discarded.
Step Five: Try On and Decide
Try on each remaining piece. In front of a full-length mirror, ask yourself the following questions. As you start answering, place the garments in one of the four main categories described above in step two.
- How do I look and feel?
- What do I need in my wardrobe to be able to wear this more?
- Does it need a slight adjustment to fit better?
- Is the cost of the adjustment worth the benefit?
Step Six: Immediate Action
Place items from the Dry Cleaning, Mending, Donate and Discard categories into large bags or boxes and take them to your car immediately. This ensures you deal with them right away.
Step Seven: Store Seasonal Items
Place the 'Pack Away' pile in an attic, garage, or at the top of your wardrobe. For maximum space-saving, consider using vacuum bags.
You are now officially ready for the season ahead! Remember that this is an ongoing process. Don’t expect to get it right the first time, you will get better and better at this process the more you do it. If you get to the end of this process and are feeling disheartened with your wardrobe, please contact one of our trained stylists to book yourself a one-on-one styling session.
