How to Organise and Declutter Your Wardrobe

Having a well organised wardrobe can make getting dressed in the mornings, for occasions, an easy task. So if you dread looking in your closet to find something to wear, this is an article for you. We share our tips to decluttering and organising your wardrobe so that everything in there is something you want to wear.

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Organising your wardrobe

Rotate your clothing seasonally

One way to not feel overwhelmed when looking in your wardrobe is to rotate your clothing seasonally. These are the items that will see you through for at least 6 months, focused on the season you’re in. Having both your spring/summer and autumn/winter clothes on display can make it look messy and impossible to find specific items.

Spring/summer wardrobe

Your spring/summer wardrobe will consist of the usual summer wear (a rough guide is shown below) with a few thicker jumpers/hoodies and a couple pairs of jeans for those colder nights or unseasonable days.

We’d recommend having your summer clothes in your wardrobe from early April.

Core clothing for the spring/summer season

• Skirts
• Shorts
• Dresses
• Light-weight jumpers
• Raincoats
• Sandals
• Flip-flops
• T-shirts
• Camisoles

Repair holes or stains in clothing with our wardrobe refresh feature. We offer some tips to storing clothes that you don’t want sitting in the wardrobe.

Autumn/winter wardrobe

Your autumn/winter wardrobe will have long sleeved tops, jumpers, thicker coats, trousers etc. You should look to rotate your winter wardrobe with your summer one around early-mid October.

Core clothing for the autumn/winter season

• Jumpers (turtlenecks/roll necks)
• Trousers/jeans
• Coats- thick and rain
• Boots
• Long sleeved tops

You’ll also want a few pieces in both that can help with the transition of the seasons. Cardigans, long sleeved tops, light-weight jumpers, tights, trousers etc. can help you layer clothing to keep warm as we transition from season to season.

Make it easy to find things

There are lots of ways you can actually organise your clothes, below are just some ideas on how you can hang and store your clothes in the wardrobe:

Organise by pieces

One way of organising your wardrobe is to group the pieces together. I store mine as follows:

• Dresses at the back, with maxis first and all dresses organised in functionality (party, occasion, office, day etc.).
• Cardigans- longer cardigans first then shorter ones
• Blouses
• Skirts that need hanging
• Short, light-weight jackets like my blazer, denim jacket etc. at the front

Organise your clothes by colour

Another organisational tool is to coordinate your clothes into colours. Visually this looks quite nice and can help when working with contrasting colours. However, it can make it difficult to spot a particular item.

Organise your wardrobe by outfits

Want to make things really easy? You could always create core outfits and organise your clothes this way. If you find it difficult to know what to piece together, you find the concept of putting together an outfit stressful, this can be a really effective and time saving option.

Organisers for storing your clothes

Invest in some nice baskets to store flip flops, sandals, flats etc. or maybe use them for scarves, belts, bags or hats. We like these seagrass baskets from Ikea for a pop of colour.

You can also maximise the space in your drawers and make it easier to find the items you want to get your hands on with drawer organisers. From underwear to cosmetics, these are brilliant at helping you get the most out of the space you have.

Be ruthless when organising your closet

An essential process in organising your wardrobe is being ruthless in the clearing process. If it doesn’t fit, you’ve not worn in a long time, it doesn’t seem to go with anything else you own, it may be time to re-home or recycle.

We can hold a lot of sentimentality over clothing and often end up justifying a piece that perhaps should’ve been re-homed a long time ago. Using a flowchart, like this one from Vogue, can be really helpful in having a good, cleansing clear out. Afterwards, you’ll only have pieces you love, will wear, and know looks good on you. There is nothing more depressing to see something in your wardrobe you love but can’t wear, for whatever reason. We want to know we can wear and be comfortable in everything we have in our wardrobes.

Other tips to organising and sorting your wardrobe

Take a good look at your shoes

Do they need re-heeling? Set yourself a time limit, if you don’t get it done within that time frame they obviously weren’t on your mind and should go.

Get matching hangers

Help make your wardrobe look pretty and inviting with matching hangers. We love the wooden hangers for a sophisticated touch, plus, if they break or get a little worse for wear, they can be recycled.

Don’t limit yourself to just your wardrobe

Apply these concepts everywhere. Search the sock drawers, underwear drawers, bag cupboards, coat hangers, linens etc.

Attempt repairs where possible

Take a look at our wardrobe refresh feature to find out how to repair holes, missing buttons, how to refresh smelly clothing and how to effectively store your clothing (a must read if you’re going with our seasonal wardrobe recommendation!).

Beyond repair? Be sure to donate it to your local recycling bank where they’ll repair and donate to charity for you or they’ll re-purpose the item for a different use entirely.

If you are looking at coordinating your hangers, note that charity shops do not take donations of hangers. If you have dry cleaner ones, check with the store if they accept returns (some do), otherwise, they’ll need to go to the recycling centre for specific sorting.

Want to sell some of your clothes and make the most money from them? We show you how in our guide to selling your pre-loved clothes.