Life hacks: 7 steps to wardrobe heaven

Beth Cochrane Beth Cochrane
Stilt Wardrobe, Barnby & Day Barnby & Day 臥室
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There are many reasons why you'd want to reorganise your clothing. Have you heard yourself complain that you never have anything to wear? That you can't find that certain something? That you don't know if something's missing from your wardrobe or simply in the wash? If you've heard yourself say any of these things whilst rummaging through your wardrobe or drawers, it's probably time for some reorganisation! 

Before you do anything at all, empty all your drawers and hanging space. Take everything out so you can look at not only the space you have to work with, but also sort through the items you need to and want to keep. Starting from this point gives you a great sense of perspective and opens up all the possibilities you wouldn't have thought about with all your clothes still crammed into your storage spaces.

Now, take a deep breath and let's get started. It's time to organise your clothing, once and for all…

Pile it up

Once you've emptied the wardrobe and drawers of clothes and anything else that's found its way in there, pile up your clothes into organised stacks. Take each item and decide what you want to do with it.

Pile 1: Clothes to keep and that you wear frequently. When you put these items back make sure they'er within easy reach.

Pile 2: Clothes to keep but you don't necessarily wear all the time. This can include things like the Christmas party dress or other general formal wear. Keep these items in a safe space that you can get to when the clothes are needed.

Pile 3: Clothes that you wear but aren't of the season you're currently in. Put these somewhere safe, where in the spring months you can reach out for those summer shorts.

There can be other piles too – clothes that require repair, for example. For all the clothes you don't want to keep, divide them into two piles: one for charity donation and another that's genuine rubbish and of no use to anyone.

The favourites

Everyone has their favourite items of clothing, whether it's that oversized jumper, comfy trousers or new pair of boots. Whatever these items are, you know you'll be wearing them a lot. So, don't put them in the back of the wardrobe and avoid the temptation to simply hide them from sight,  convincing yourself that you'll finally start wearing new and 'more exciting things. It never works!

Instead, embrace the old favourites and bring them to the front of your storage space, within easy reach and on show: be proud of your clothes! Having your favourites near the front of your wardrobe/drawer space also means you won't be constantly rummaging around for these pieces – you'll save so much time on a daily basis, simply being able to reach in and grab them. So save yourself time and effort and put your favourite items within easy reach. 

Condition of clothes

The condition of your clothes will make a big impact on what clothes manage to survive the clear out and earn their place back into the wardrobe. Ideally, none of your clothes should go straight in to the bin but sometimes that can't be helped. Clothes that are generally tattered and torn and of no use to anyone should really be disposed of, but hopefully you won't have any pieces quite so dire in your wardrobe.

With luck, most of the items you no longer want could be passed to family or friends or donated to charity. These are generally items in a good condition but simply no longer needed. Perhaps they're currently out of fashion or were an unwanted birthday present.

Clean out

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It's so important to strip back your wardrobe to what it really needs to be. Wherever your items final resting place is, the really important thing is that they'll no longer be taking up that precious space.

But it's not just clothes that you need to banish. We all know those nick-nacks that find their way into our storage ; things that we don't know where else to put or promise ourselves we'll probably organise later. Once you've cleaned out the storage space you'll feel so much better about reorganising your clothes since it will seem like so much extra space has appeared. There's hope yet for your wardrobe organising!

Colour and shades

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Now this is quite a lovely idea. Once everything's been thrown out and all the items you have left are the ones you definitely want to put back in your storage space, decide how you want to put it all back. Of course, keep the favourites to the front and the not-so-essential items further back but how to organise them within these parameters?

A favourite way of doing this is by colour co-coordinating them. Hanging up your shirts in neat rows, one white shirt section, melding into the lighter blues, flowing into the darker blues and eventually ending up with navy and then black, can look absolutely wonderful. And why not make your wardrobe look amazing? Your clothes should be something you are excited about so make the most of that and show them off, even from your wardrobe!

Divide by season

There's no point in having your summer shorts and floral dresses at the top of the drawers if it's the middle of winter. And now that the nights have grown longer and we're all wearing a few extra layers, it's definitely time to hide away all your summer clothes for next year.

Bring your jumpers and jeans to the top of your piles, ensuring they're within easy reach, because you'll be needing them! Doing this will save the time and stress of rummaging through the items that you won't be wearing for another few months. Instead, finding the clothes that you'll actually be wearing will be easy and effortless. Of course, you'll be colour coding your sweaters and pullovers in accordance with the coding system, which makes it not only practical but a great aesthetic choice too.

Bits and pieces

Sure, we all have them: the bits and pieces that, for whatever reason, you can't throw away. Maybe these are the family heirlooms or the Christmas gifts that you can't quite bear to part with. Regardless of how little you want these items or how infrequently you use them, you have to find a place to store them. 

Take the bull by the horns and figure out where to keep them out of sight. Built in storage is great for items like this since there's an abundance of space and it's all hidden by little doors or sliding mirrors. But this isn't your only option. Another common favourite is the basket/box under the bed, where it's completely out of sight but safe from damage. Be creative with your ideas and utilise the spaces you wouldn't immediately think of: under the bed, on top of the wardrobe and under the stairs. 

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