How to build a workable wardrobe that works for you.
De-cluttering is an emotional time as clothes are filled with memories, and are personal to you. We all hold onto items in case they come back in fashion or just in case we may need to wear that little black dress. I would suggest that you start with your wardrobe first followed by your chest of drawers and move onto footwear, you may get the bug and want to work through your house.
When did you last wear it?
For every item ask yourself, when did I last wear it? If you have not worn it for a while there must be a reason, Do I love it? Does it fit me? If not can it be altered? Is it in one of my best colours?. Next step to try it on, how does it look, do I feel good in it? We are aiming to end up with a wardrobe of clothes that we not only look good in but make us feel good too. Some of you may like to have a friend with them, someone who knows you and you feel comfortable to give you an honest opinion.
Be Honest
Now you have to be honest with yourself, if it does not fit anymore am I likely to be able to slim down enough to be able to wear it again. Try not to feel too guilty if you have paid a lot for something and think it is wasteful if you are not going to wear it again, you don’t want it to clog up your closet. There are also lots of places you can sell your unwanted clothes . Clothes should bring you joy and make you feel good if you are unsure try it on and take a look at yourself and ask would I like to wear this out somewhere? There is the answer. I always work on the theory of one item in one item out, so if I buy a new hand bag one must go!!!
Start sorting the items
Start by making four piles 1) Items that need to go to the dry cleaners, mended or altered in some way, 2) clothes that you can either sell or give way 3) Items that can go to a charity shop and 4) Items for the rubbish. If you really can’t throw away some items its a good idea to pack them away and if in six months time you have not missed them then you might feel more comfortable letting them go.
What we are aiming to do here is to streamline your wardrobe so that everything you have makes you look and feel good. It is a known fact that most women wear 20% of their wardrobe 80% of the time. How great would it feel if you opened your wardrobe and everything in it you love to wear. You will end up with less clothes but you will wear them all.
Now to put your wardrobe back
Having completed the de-clutter you need to put the items back into the wardrobe in some kind or order so it is easy to find what you are looking for. I put all my blouses/shirts together in colours from the lightest to the darkest, the same of tops/t-shirts and finally my jackets. On the hanging side of my wardrobe I start with dresses followed by my hanging trousers which I hang from the waist band so as to not get any lines along the knee, jeans and then skirts. On the bottom I stack my shoes in shoe boxes and on the front of each box is a photo of the shoes inside. On the shelf on the top I stack my sweat tops and heavy jumpers which I also colour co-ordinate.
There are lots of ideas on storage which allows us to avoid cluttered draws and makes ease of finding things. I have a board on Pinterest for storage ideas so why not take a look ?https://uk.pinterest.com/sandrasparrowha/storage-ideas/
One final thought – Cut down your wardrobe by 25% by asking yourself this question. If I were shopping today would I buy this? If the answer is No !! – then out it goes!!!
Most of all have FUN – You will feel so good afterwards, you may now have some gaps in your wardrobe that need to be filled. I can feel a shopping trip coming on!! If you need any help or advise please do not hesitate to contact me
