How to Organise & Declutter Your Wardrobe
Written by the style experts who we look up to everyday, Australian Style Institute
Nowadays, a change of season is no longer needed for a wardrobe spring clean. More time at home has us all reflecting on our purchasing and consumer choices, including our wardrobe purchases. As stylists, a wardrobe refresh or wardrobe edit is one of our very favourite things to do. Our resident experts share their tips and advice on how to organise your closet.
4 tips to declutter your wardrobe.
- Enjoy the process – Take a cue from Sex and the City, get your squad together and make it fun.
- Allocate time in your day – Blast your favourite music, break out the vino and get to work. Brief your assistants on what you’re wanting to achieve.
- Create a system – Are you looking to cull your wardrobe significantly? Or, are you simply trying to get rid of a few items which no longer serve you? Come up with a voting system to eliminate bias, but trust your friend’s judgement.
- Go easy on yourself – Don’t feel bad if you cannot part with one or two of your favourite things, despite the votes.
Steps to organising your wardrobe.
Start by creating a sorting system.
Separate your clothes into four categories; ‘love’, ‘maybe’, ‘donate’ and ‘toss’. These are the four categories to begin with; you can always reexamine your love pile for a few more culls, but try not to go back through your toss pile. Reframe from putting items in your toss pile unless they’re damaged beyond repair. Anything that can be donated and should be donated, provided it’s still in good condition. Also, if you’re environmentally minded, consider up-styling the item into something else. Get creative with your toss pile. Slogan t-shirts make cool cushion covers, knitted jumpers make cosy pet beds and repurpose your flannelette pyjamas.
Don’t be afraid to cull.
Get rid of anything that no longer fits, that you haven’t worn in the last six months or that you no longer like. You don’t need to keep something simply because you paid for it. Too often we guilt ourselves into keeping things because we paid money for them. Let yourself off the hook by donating these items. Your buyers remorse could be someone else’s favourite finds.
Keep sentimental style involved.
Donate clothes that you associate with bad memories, you don’t need that kind of bad juju. Similarly, don’t keep an outfit you’ll never wear again just because it has sentimental value. However, also don’t feel pressured to get rid of an item that makes you happy, or holds positive memories, just because you no longer wear it.
Build outfits.
Now that you’ve sorted through the items individually, put together a couple of great outfits from your love and maybe piles. If you find something you can’t build an outfit around, it could be time to say goodbye. If you notice some gaps in your wardrobe, create a shopping list of a few hero items you might need to invest in.
How to organise your wardrobe.
Now that you have completely edited and decluttered your wardrobe, it’s time to organise your garments and accessories in a way that makes it easy for you to choose an outfit each morning. Our stylists love to use black slimline velvet hangers to hang everything the same way in your wardrobe. Knitwear should be neatly folded and stored in drawers or racks that prevent them from catching or losing its shape. There are a few ways to organise your hanging items. Either colour code your wardrobe or sort your clothes on occasion, this will make the OCD side of you incredibly happy.
How to organise skirts in your wardrobe.
Some of the most important and expensive pieces in our wardrobes are pants and skirts, so it’s only right that we hang and store them correctly. Skirts often get lost in our wardrobes, folded between hangers or stuffed in drawers. Instead, invest in some good quality skirt hangers with adjustable clips. Not only will they keep your skirts in shape but they make organising your wardrobe so much neater. There are many ways to order your skirts once they are hung but our favourite way is to order them by season. Hang your thicker skirts together for Winter so a seasonal switch is easy. With these tips, you should have no issues finding a skirt again.
How to organise bags in your wardrobe.
If you’ve ever wondered about the best way to store handbags and purses in your closet, you wouldn’t be alone. It is so easy to ruin bags when stored incorrectly in our closets. Our experts suggest using shelves to stand them upright so that they keep their shape. We tend to store our everyday bags at eye level or lower, while our occasional bags are stored overhead as they are used less. If space is an issue in your closet, no worries you’ll find many hanger options for bags including over-the-door hanger rings which hold multiple small bags. 
Sorting and culling your wardrobe is no easy feat so why not consider hiring a trained stylist to help you? While your friend’s opinions are golden, they may be caught up in their own tastes. A professional fashion stylist can offer you a non-biased opinion on what you should and should not be keeping, based on what is best for your body shape, lifestyle and so much more. Learn more from Australian Style Institude
