I absolutely love getting stuck into a client’s wardrobe. The process of auditing what they own, removing what doesn’t work and organising what does the very definition of job satisfaction for me. I leave them with a beautifully organised space that contains only items that they enjoy wearing and make them look/feel good.
When you’re feeling overwhelmed by your wardrobe it can be difficult to know where to start with the auditing process so for this week’s blog I wanted to share some of my tips and techniques that I hope will help.
Is Your Wardrobe Overwhelmed?
Is everything stuffed together making it hard to move items so you can see everything? Do you struggle to close your wardrobe doors/drawers properly?
Do you reach for the same few items over and over again?
When you have a special occasion or evening out do you struggle to put together an outfit from items you already own (and end up buying something new?)
Are there several pieces of clothing that have never been worn/still have the tags on?
Do you often lose items or forget what you own (so end up buying something almost identical only to realise after the fact that you already owned something similar?)
If you answered yes to one or more of the questions above then there’s a good chance you’re suffering from wardrobe overwhelm and are most likely wearing around 20% of your clothes 80% of the time.
It’s time to get your wardrobe decluttered, audited and most importantly start WEARING IT ALL!
Take It In Sections
If the thought of auditing your wardrobe in one go is too daunting then take it in stages – start with dresses one day, jeans the next and so on. There’s no need to rush the process and sometimes the hardest part is getting started. You may even find that once you’re in the flow of things you can tackle a couple of sections at a time.
Get The Right Equipment
Dress covers, drawer compartments, clear shoes boxes and moth repellants are just some of my essentials for easy wardrobe organisation. I also swear by velvet skinny hangers which save masses of space and ensure items don’t slip off once hung up (all these items are available on Amazon). Make sure you have plenty of bin liners/charity bags to hand too.
Be Brutal
If you haven’t worn something in the last six months, get rid of it. Don’t hang onto things that you hope to slim into one day and don’t save anything for best. Be really honest with yourself about whether you’re really going to wear the things you’re holding onto.
Make Sure You Can See It All
Hang up as many items as you can. For anything that is in draws try to roll them (using the famous Marie Kondo method) and display them so they can be seen when you open your drawers. You’re more likely to wear everything if you can actually see it.
Wear Everything Once
After you’ve decluttered and organised everything I want to challenge you to wear everything you own once before repeat-wearing anything. This will force you to wear things that you might have kept for the wrong reasons and acts as a little secondary wardrobe cleanse. It will also help you rediscover pieces you might have forgotten about and enjoy wearing.
Take Pictures
Document your outfits as your work your way through your wardrobe, once you’ve worn it all look at how you can style things differently a second time around.
One in, One out
Now you have an audited wardrobe you need to keep on top of things so you don’t end up back where you started. You can do this by adopting a ‘one in, one out’ policy for any new purchases to ensure your wardrobe doesn’t get overwhelmed again.
Ultimately, your wardrobe should spark joy and excitement every time you open its doors. Set the bar really high in terms of what you allow into your wardrobe and never settle things that are ‘fine’ or ‘will do for now’.
You’re worth SO much more than that.
Until next time,
AM xo